Marked "St. Andrews" in a large, bold stamp on the crown, this club was most likely made by a professional clubmaker but marked with a non-personal name in order to be sold through a sporting goods store, such as John Wisden & Co. back in the 1880s.

The auctioneer bases his reasoning in part on the fact that the only other "St. Andrews" stamped long nose club he has seen had its shaft stamped "John Wisden & Co, 21 Cranbourne Str, London, WC."  Wisden, one of London's foremost sports outfitters, began selling golf clubs and other golf requisites in London no later than 1874. This club would have been made somewhere around 1880 for Wisden to retail directly to the public. Even without a maker's name on the crown, this club is well made and remains in great shape!

The 44 1/2" shaft is original as is the grip.  There are three small sections of whipping on the shaft. The shaft does not appear to be cracked.  The whipping was likely installed either as a preventative measure or in an effort to, hopefully, stiffen the shaft just a touch.

The head measures 5 1/2" in length, 1 7/8" in width, and 1 1/8" in face depth.  If you like collecting hard to find long nose clubs marked with obscure stamps, this one qualifies. Plus it's quite handsome!

Few longnose clubs says St. Andrews like this one!

This club is on the far right in the accompanying group image.