Lot # 97: MacGregor "Wrong Way" Side Splice Driver

Category: Golf Clubs

Starting Bid: $150.00

Bids: 4 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Inaugural Auction",
which ran from 3/6/2019 12:00 PM to
3/23/2019 8:00 PM



Of all the ways a spliced shaft could be attached to a driver, locating the splice on the leading edge of the neck (with the flat surface of the shaft positioned opposite of the flat face) would appear to be the strangest if not the worst....which just might explain why this is the only driver with a splice joint on the leading side of the neck the auctioneer has seen!  But somebody thought it was worth a try!  And that person was George Mattern, of the Crawford, MacGregor, and Canby Company.

Mattern received a patent for his side splice over 117 years ago, on July 2, 1901. According to his patent, Mattern positioned the splice on the side of the neck in order to "provide a perfect center-balanced club—in other words a club in which the weight in the head is equally distributed throughout the length of the club."   Mattern noted that if the glued joint was whipped, the club would become "practically one integral piece." He also stated that the neck could or could not be whipped with twine. "The whipping of twine may be dispensed with, however, as it is not absolutely necessary to the joint. "

This example offered here does not have any whipping. The patent date is stamped on the side of the neck opposite the low end of the shaft.  There is a small chip on the toe.  The original varnish has been removed from the head, and the club still looks good. The "MacGregor, Dayton, O" stamp in the crown is still deep and clear with some original paint remaining.

 

 

 

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