Lot # 4: Spalding Croquet Dual Face Putter/Chipper c. 1900

Starting Bid: $1,000.00

Bids: 16 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall 2022",
which ran from 11/3/2022 7:00 PM to
11/19/2022 8:00 PM



An absolutely outstanding piece made by A.G. Spalding & Bros right around 1900, this dual-face club can be used as a putter or a chipper.  One side of the blade has little to no loft, and the other has a comparatively significant amount of loft.  The club has its original AG Spalding & Bros stamped shaft and white kid grip. The club was designed to be used croquet style, hence the shaft is 28 1/2" in length.  Note that the club has its original shaft and grip and has not been cut down.  A golfer could still tilt the club to the side and used it right-or left-handed if desired.

One side of the head is marked "A.G. Spalding & Bros," "Makers." and "Hand Forged" in tiny letters.  The shaft is stamped "A.G. Spalding & Bros" on a single line.

The bottom 3+ inches of the shaft is wrapped with a type of filament tape. This is because the shaft is likely cracked in that area, but nothing stands out and the head is tight to the shaft.  The auctioneer believes it would be a simple process to remove the tape, glue any crack and clean up the shaft shouid that be desired. Or just leave the club like it is.  Its a killer piece either way.  

This club is a perfect example of why the auctioneer finds the world of antique golf club so fascinating: The creativity discovered in early wood shaft clubs does not quit!  This is a putter the auctioneer has never seen before and did not know existed.  There is a highly unusual "relative" of this putter shown in TCA2 V2 p525, but its head, also made by Spalding, is only "half a disc."  Both of these clubs were not production models. They were creative efforts made by the craftsmen at Spalding and were fully and properly finished.  Both are absolutely outstanding and the only ones known to the auctioneer.  For the record, the Spalding half disc club in TCA2 sold at Sotheby's in 2007 as lot 483 for $8,750. Again, the Spalding hand forged club offered here is a GREAT club!

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