A History of Golf Clubs
The origins of golf clubs can be traced back to 1826 where club maker Robert Forgan of Scotland used American hickory wood to manufacturer shafts. Hickory was soon adopted as the wood of choice despite cheaper alternatives available.
1848 saw the conception of the Guttie golf balls which saw traditional long nose golf clubs become obsolete. A new generation of golf club was required to cope with the increased stress associated with this new type of golf ball. These clubs best resemble the modern set of woods in today’s game of golf.
In the early nineteenth century, golfers associated Scotland with quality golf equipment in the same way that we associate fine chocolate being produced in Belgium and Switzerland – at this time golf equipment production in Scotland was considered to be an extremely profitable and worthy business.
At the start of twentieth century, America had started to manufacturer and export golf clubs in large volumes, whilst replacing outdated materials such as hickory, with hard woods such as beech – the new choice for golf club heads. A growing demand for hand-forged metal club heads had also arrived at this time – in 1902, the first groove-faced irons appeared and offered an increased amount of backspin, compared to wooden heads.
Despite an initially slow take-up, steel shafts had been experimented with since the late nineteenth century. Steel shafts became legalised in 1929, after the Prince of Wales was spotted using a set of steel shafted golf clubs at St. Andrews. As popularity grew for the steel shafted golf club – the US Open was the first major tournament to feature this new type of golf club.
The Sports HQ is a trading company of Sports PLC – and is a European division for Confidence Sporting Goods, inc., the famous manufacturer from Palm Springs, California. Sports PLC supplies a wide range of golf equipment, including golf clubs from major brands such as Confidence, Palm Springs, Forgan, Prosimmon, Texan Classics, Ram, Bay Hill and Wilson – other products include: Golf Balls, Golf Trolleys, Accessories, Golf Bags, Clothing, Shoes and Golf Clothing. Because we sell directly to you, you can expect to save up to 85% on normal retail prices when buying from us.