Lot # 72: Goodrich Adjustable All-In-One Iron, Mechanical Club

Starting Bid: $500.00

Bids: 0 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
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This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall 2020",
which ran from 11/4/2020 12:00 PM to
11/21/2020 8:00 PM



During the wood shaft era, when the golf carts found in today's world were but a dream, caddies were often the club carriers. Even so, there were those golfers who carried their own clubs. As a result, the idea of designing a single club that would take the place of a number of clubs or a club that could play all shots, so the golfer would not have to carry a bag full of clubs, was explored by a few different inventors. 

Marked "Goodrich Sales Co, Chicago" and "All One A1LL" on the back of the blade, this iron is one such mechanical club.  It is designed so it can be adjusted to three different lofts.  Just rotate the knurled ring at the base of the hosel to raise and lower a pin inside the hosel.  This pin or "plunger" fits into any of the three holes in the top of the blade under the hosel.  The bottom of the blade is attached by a special screw that allows the blade to pivot forward or backward, so any of the three lofts can be selected by lining up the corresponding hole underneath the raised pin.  The Four slots in the hosel lowered the weight of the hosel to compensate for the added weight of the mechanism, to keep the head from being too heavy.

This club was based on a patent issued to Charles Curry of Chicago, Illinois on January 6, 1914, and it bears this 1914 patent date. Latimer Goodrich, who received a patent for this very club in 1918, described it as an improvement on Curry's 1914 patent.  For more information, see TCA2 V2 p452.

Adjustable irons, and mechanical clubs in general, are among the most desirable collectibles.  The ingenuity engineering that went into making many of these clubs are amazing to behold. As a person can see when examining this club, constructing the bottom of the hosel with a rod inside that is raised and lowered by turning a knurled ring built into the hosel, with a rotating blade with three holes designed into the top of its heel to receive the rod, is all wonderfully creative on many levels.  The all-original Goodrich adjustable All 1 iron offered here is a remarkable feat of engineering with outstanding creativity—all of which make this an exceptional golf club. 

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