This lot consists of three vintage and distinctly unusual steel shaft putters from the Fred X Fry collection.

The brass blade with the notch in the heel has a black Bristol shaft stamped with the patent date of Jan 21, 1926.  This date is a clear indicator that his club was made in 1926 or shortly thereafter. The blade of this putter is thin at the sole and it gets thicker as it approaches the top line. This positioned the weight higher up on the blade in an effort to help the club give the ball topspin so it would be more likely to dive into the hole given half a chance.  It also has an alignment aid that protrudes a ways behind the putter's top line. Of course, the notched heel design is also highly unusual.

The brass putter with the uncoated steel shaft is marked "Pat. Pending" on the sole.  It 's blade is triangular in cross section and 4 7/8" in length, which is notably longer than it is on most blade putters.  

The shiny mallet putter is a "Go-Ben" putter invented by George Bennie and covered under the British Registered designed No. 751801/2. That information is stamped on the sole.

Bennie received the registered design in 1930 to cover his highly unusual putter. Both the toe and the heel angle back away from the scored surface of the face, which is flat. According to a patent he received in 1929, the central portion of the face on this putter projects ahead of the heel and the toe for purposes of sighting and hitting the ball, to aid the golfer on his final short putts.

As mentioned, all three of these putters are from the Fred X. Fry collection, and their shafts bear his inventory labels.  Fry, the dean of American golf club collectors, was busy building his collection forty years before the Golf Collectors Society (now The Golf Heritage Society) was formed in 1970. Collecting with great passion, Fry amassed around 450 clubs, mostly putters. He cataloged, displayed, and cherished his treasures.  A number of national magazines ran articles about his collection of putters between 1936 and 1963. For more on Fry, and to view some of the articles, Click Here.  All three of Fry's inventory sheets will be included with this lot.