This perforated shaft was covered under two patents issued in 1916 and 1917 to Allan Lard. Spalding, offering the club in its 1918 and 1919 catalogs, promoted Lard's metal shafts as a substitute for the best hickory shafts which were in short supply.  Ironically, a shortage of steel during World War 1 interrupted the production of Lard's steel shaft. The shaft itself has 6 sides bearing hundreds of holes. Drilling out the metal was necessary to bring the shaft to a decent weight.

Lard shafts are exceptionally visual collectibles.  Because they used one of the earliest steel shafts commercially produced, Lard-shafted clubs are also quite historic.  Spalding sold these clubs 7-8 years before the USGA ruled that steel shafts conformed to the rules of golf.

The head of this iron has been buffed up a bit as part of cleaning the rust off the head.  Complete with its original leather wrap grip and whipping atop the hosel, this 37" iron has possibly the most intricate shaft ever produced. A gun boring machine was used to bore out the center of the shaft and then the outer portion of the shaft was milled to create the six sides.  All the holes were then drilled out afterwards. Read all about Alan Lard's whistler shaft in TCA2 Vol 2, p 658-659.