A Top 10 Golf Invention

Top Ten Most Important Golf Inventions in Golf History.

In golf history there have been millions of golf inventions, but today I thought we would focus on one of the most pivotal inventions in all of golf history- Willie Park Junior’s Bent Neck Putter.

If you play a putter with any amount of offset be that a Scottie Cameron, Ping, Bettenardi or Odyssey, it’s a descendent of Willie Park Junior’s invention. To tell you more about it I asked my dear friend, Pete Georgiady author of several amazing golf books on the history of golf clubs including: Collecting Antique Golf Clubs, Golf Club Cleek Marks & Trade Marks, North American Clubmakers, Compendium of British Golf Clubmakers, & the Antique Golf Club Price Guide to share the story of Willie Park’s Bent Neck Putter.

In short, there are few people on this planet that I would entrust this article to as much as Pete Georgiady.

Willie Park Bent Neck Putter by Pete Georgiady

In studying the history of golf equipment, primarily the development of clubs and the history of club makers and club manufacturers, I feel it is valuable to understand which of the thousands of club designs concocted by the old makers actually influenced change in designs that resulted in clubs we currently play with today.  One of the ten most important, in my opinion, is the bent neck putter developed by Willie Park, Junior.  Please note that I used the verb ‘developed’ rather than ‘designed’ for a good reason. Another note should be made that being the first such club, it was described in several ways beside bent neck.  Wry neck is another common descriptor for this club as well as the more Scottish kink-aft.  

The club was patented by Park at a time when patenting was used as an identifying label to inspire sales rather than for strict design protection.  The patent application was made in late 1892 and the patent was granted in 1894 (number 20,914 for that year).

The story of the birth of that club is one that is unclear in absolute terms but the popular rendition is that it came about accidentally.  The story goes that the club was actually a standard blade putter from Park’s shop, the sort that Tom Stewart referred to as an ‘ordinary’ putter.  The accident occurred when the club was dropped in the stable yard and subsequently run over by a metal shod wagon wheel.  The weight of the wagon caused the hosel to be bent at precisely the right spot just enough to cause the blade to be slightly offset.  Undoubtedly, as a joke one of the hands took it to the green and used it, pronouncing it as an improvement over the ordinary model.

One would assume it was tinkered with to make it more precise and usable before it fully resembled the club that went on sale. Golf publications accounts have indicated that the club was on sale before the patent was formally granted.

One interesting account of Park’s participation in Open Championships occurred in 1894 when the Championship was contested at Royal St. George’s in Kent, the Open’s first championship in England.  A group of reporters were at the train station in London awaiting Park’s arrival.  Since he was a known commodity having won the Championships of 1887 and 1889 his arrival in the south was greatly anticipated.  When Park and Fiery, his caddie, descended onto the station platform the reporters descended upon Fiery thinking he was the Scottish champion.  His rugged looks were more in keeping with visions of northerners.  The press also noted that Park was playing with his recently patented putter which was producing record sales.  Later, the 1899 Open, a press report stated that Park, Harry Vardon and Harold Hilton were all playing with Park bent neck putters.  In 1899 another observer commented, ‘The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour [M.P. and future Prime Minister] has not only purchased one, but got several of his friends to do so.’

The principle of moving the blade to an alignment position behind the hosel is simply to place hands ahead of the ball.   From another perspective the improvement came from the offset allowing the ball to be directly under the line of the shaft with the blade behind.  Prior to the Park innovation virtually all putters did not have that attribute.  Wooden head putters, the predominant putting club for around 700 years actually had a face that protruded in front of the shaft by virtue of the shape of the clubhead.  Putting cleeks only became popular alternatives to the wood putter head in the second half of the 19th century and the majority of those of the ‘ordinary’ design, i.e. not having offset blade, had the blade in line with the shaft.

Identifying Early Offset Blade putters

The original model has these markings:  the word PATENT in italic block letters over W. PARKS  SPECIAL (also in block letters) in an oval format with no outline.  While the club generated sales for Park it is fairly scarce today and good examples of the original design+markings are hard to find.  There are also later models with the standard ‘W. Park, Maker, Musselburgh’ in the oval cartouche.

So now the question arises was the Bent Neck Park putter the originator of the blade offset?  Don’t know if we will ever find out.   With the Park model design actually conceived around 1892 it has a solid claim to be the earliest such club.  

One of the earliest competitors was a design type called the bent blade.  As the name implies instead of bending the hosel to achieve the offset the blade was bent 90° from its attachment point to the bottom of the hosel.  Of the several maker’s models the one that may be the oldest is Taylor’s Putter, a bent blade example that J.H. Taylor used in his 1894 and 1895 Open victories.  Taylor’s first putters were made by Willie Wilson of St. Andrews and carry Wilson’s maker’s mark.  Later model Taylor’s putters came from other forges.  Those Wilson clubs are also serialized with sequence numbers.  [I have owned two of the Wilson-made models and the higher of the two serial numbers is 380 so that he probably sold at least that many]  (photo of the Taylor’s Putter)

A second copy was a bent blade model introduced by Anderson’s Anstruther works and its design was registered.  The registration number is 277771 and can be found on most of their production models.  Some were produced in gunmetal instead of steel.  Many of these, but not all, are serialized with numbers extending into the 5 digit range.    (photo of the Anderson club)

Registering or patenting a design almost became a necessity to get trade publication reviews and capture the imagination of potential customers in the 1890s.  Another bent hosel example was from Ramsey Hunter at Sandwich, Kent.  His patent number is on most of his clubs, 4810, and his putters were also serialized.  [I have owned two and the higher of the two serial numbers is 845 so it is a fair guess that he sold at least that many] (photo of the Hunter club)

Park’s innovative club was widely heralded and praised and accounts inferred it was popular with the golfing public. Even after his competitive career was at an end his architectural work kept Park in the news and sales were also boosted by the publication of his two instructional books. (photo of the Nicoll original Park Putter markings)

If one has an opportunity to examine two Park Putters side by side there are often wide variations in the amount of bend in the hosel.  Since clubs were still being hand made the amount of bend was both subject to the variabilities of hand making as well as negotiable by the buyer.

A second version of the Park Putter was made in the early 20th century (by George Nicoll) and although it carries the markings Willie Park’s ORIGINAL BENT NECK PUTTER, it is not ‘the original’ model. (photo of the Nicoll model)

Throughout the hickory shaft era of the 20th century other makers bent neck blade putters often carried the markings PARK PUTTER, attempting to cash in on the originator’s popularity and fame.  (photo of the Hewitt club)

Today, the bewildering range of modern putter heads, irrespective of design and construction, have the striking face of the putter head offset so it lies behind the line of the shaft.  Whether it was a wagon wheel accident or not, Park’s innovation revolutionized putting beginning 130 years ago.

Pete Georgiady is the Chairman of the National Hickory Championship. If you are interested in playing Pre-1900 Gutty Golf you can learn a bit more about antique golf clubs and one of the most unique golf tournaments in the world, “The National Hickory Championship on episode #23 of TalkinGolf History.

Interview with an Auctioneer

Interview with Brad Roberts of the Golf Auction:

What is the most amazing golf antiquity you have ever had the pleasure to put up for auction? 

There are a few types of golf antiques that we get real excited about. One item is the type of item not previously known to exist, like a ticket or program to a particular event, or maybe a signed golf ball. Another item would be an instrument of the game that helped document or promote the evolution of this great game, something like a Major Championship Winning Used Putter, set of irons, golf bag, etc. The other is an item that has never been seen but many are aware of. This type of item usually changes hands behind closed doors, but when it has a chance to be presented on a global sale it truly electrifies the industry.

As for the most amazing golf antiquity, I feel the Historic Newly Discovered Augusta National Amen Corner Plans Signed by Alister MacKenzie with Handwritten Notes that we presented in our 2021 December Auction would certainly rank up there. From golf design, to signature rarity, to its impact on the golfing world, it checks the most boxes and gets my vote. Of course you could ask me the same question tomorrow, and you will probably get a different answer. 

2. What is the white whale of golf collectibles? What item would you love to see up for auction and what would its estimated value be? 

Why not start where Championship Golf started, and go with the putter used by Willie Park Sr. to claim the inaugural OPEN Championship over Old Tom Morris by a mere two strokes. Let's have some fun and just start the bidding at $1.00! I'm sure the value would probably be one bid higher than whatever Connor Lewis' maximum bid is!

3. Can you think of an auction item that had a performance that shocked you at auction? 

Every. Single. Auction. This happens quite often at The Golf Auction, and ultimately it is the result of the many passionate golf collectors around the glove finding excitement in the opportunity we provide. We worked alongside Tracey Stewart and presented a pair of Payne Stewart's Tournament Worn Argyle Socks that sold for a little over $3,000.00. Also the Tiger Woods Pro-Debut Scorecard from his final round which included his first professional hole-in-one blew by the previous sold scorecard record by over $80k!

 4. What advice can you give first time bidders in a golf auction?

Take your time and learn about items you might not normally collect, because you might find yourself appreciating certain aspects of golf history that you had not previously been aware of. Also, have fun. The competitive nature of golf as well as the respect given to the game translates right into the collectibles industry. If you aren't playing well, you can still appreciate the walk. If you aren't winning an item, you can still appreciate the history learned.

5. What advice can you impart to golfers who are looking to start collecting?

We can't appreciate the history of this great game unless we first do our part to protect it. We all have a passion, and what better way than to translate that passion into tangible items that act as catalysts for great talks about the history of the game. Collect what you like, and don't let an opportunity to acquire your own White Whale pass you by, because you never know if you'll get that chance again. We are fans first and foremost, and we do our best to continually offer a wide array of eclectic golf collectibles that truly reflects the different types of golf collectors. No collector gets left behind! Not every golfer is the same, and neither is every collector. We at The Golf Auction specialize in the appreciation of golf history, and not the liquidation of its artifacts. Take your time, have fun, and hit them kind of straight!

Wicker Baskets For Sale!

Few golf flagsticks are more iconic than the Wicker Baskets of Merion Golf Club. When you see one, nearly every golfer in the world connects it to Merion.

Did you know that many golf links in Scotland utilized wicker baskets to mark the location of the golf hole well before Merion did so? In the early days of golf and up until the 1900s our golfing forefathers used several instruments to mark the location of the hole- the first of which (so I have been told) may have been a bird feather. Clearly less than ideal for the long approach and the near sided golfer. Fortunately for us we have the artwork of John Smart from the late 1880s which shares several images of Scotland’s Golf Links utilizing wicker baskets.

The origin story for the wicker flagsticks at Merion was that the Merion’s architect, Hugh Wilson came across the idea while on a 7 month trip through Scotland and England, where Wilson came upon sheep herders utilizing wicker baskets that were filled with their lunches. I might argue that Wilson may have also come across several golf links that utilized wicker baskets for flagsticks. No matter the reasoning, Wilson brought the idea to Merion and the rest is golf history.

Enter William Flynn who was hired to help build the new courses at Merion Golf Club and for a short time served as their superintendent. Flynn would carve his own destiny in the golf architecture world, but in 1915 not only would William Flynn patent the wicker flagstick, but he used it as a way to advertise his design firm.

For a mere $50 in 1915 your grandfather or grandmother could have purchased 18 wicker basket flagsticks, or they could have bought one for a mere $3.00!!!

William Flynn called these new Wicker Baskets, “Golf Standards.” No matter what he called them or what we call them today - their legacy is tied to one of my favorite golf clubs in the world - Merion!