During the 1920s, steel shafts reinvented the game.  Wood was the only shaft material known to the game across the previous centuries, except for a few exceptions. 

Produced under a British registered design issued in 1912 to Edwin Hamilton Winkworth Scott, this square steel shaft putter is the earliest steel shaft club that a collector has any sort of reasonable change to obtain.  The shaft is square across its entire length as is the original leather wrap grip.  The back of the head is marked “E.H. Winkworth Scott” in script, etc.  Scott also received a British Patent for his club in 1912 and 1913, long before the USGA's 1924 resolution legalizing metal shafts under USGA rules.  It was not until 1929 before the R&A changed their rules to allow metal shafts.

This is a nice example in original condition.