This is one of only two known collapsible practice clubs with a hickory shaft. Many steel-shafted copies were made years later. Theoretically, this kind of club would help the struggling golfer perfect his or her swing. If the club was swung correctly, the shaft/hinge would remain rigid. If the club was swung incorrectly between the take away and the finish, the shaft would "break" at the hinge.
This is the very club pictured and described in TCA2: V2, p504.