The 2-level crown of this putter is stamped "R Forgan" and "Forganite" in a diamond shape. Forganite clubs date to the early 1920s. They were designed to be impervious to moisture and to resist heat and cold. Forganite heads are made of wood impregnated under heavy pressure with a sealant. The process would add so much weight to the club that drivers and spoons made from Forganite did not normally use soleplates or backweights. This small Forganite putter head, however, does use a thick soleplate.
This Robert Forgan Forganite putter is from the Fred X. Fry Collection, and its shaft bears his
inventory label. 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.