Bennett Lang was born in Scotland in 1849.  In the book Golf In Perth and Perthshire, Peter Baxter gives an account of Lang.  Prior to the death of young Tom Morris in 1875, Ben Lang had the good fortune to meet young Tom in Glasgow.  Lang next moved to St. Andrews where he entered the clubmaking business, working for Tom Morris Sr.  He then went to work for Jame Anderson and then Robert Forgan. Next he moved to Musselburgh and work for Douglas McEwan and Son.  Shortly after 1880 he moved to Dunbar where he was employed by Patrick. Then at Ainmouth he worked with Mungo Park, then at Troon with Willie Fernie. 

In 1888 Lang returned to Perth, where he had spent some time as a child, and became the superintendent/greenkeeper, succeeding William Stewart. In 1892 Lang went to Ireland and worked as the professional at County Down Club in Newcastle. Next up was a stint at North Berwick where he was employed by Sir W. Dalrymple to make Dalrymple's duplex clubs. After that it was on to Royal Montreal in Canada, where he worked for three years prior to 1900.

As you can tell, Lang assembled an incredible resume working for some of the great clubmakers of his day.  Consequently, he did not make many long nose clubs under his own name.  The example offered here is the only Ben Lang long nose the auctioneer recalls seeing.  The club likely dates to the end of the long nose era, when Lang was on his own at Perth. The club still maintains its original finish.  The head is solid, though there is some chipping to the varnish on the head.  The shaft appears original to the club if judged by the old whipping on the neck.  The shaft, however, could be a reshaft, as it is stamped "T Morris, St. Andrews, N. B." (NB stands for North Britain.)  Because the club shows little use, it is also possible that this was the shaft originally installed in this club. The sheepskin grip is in wonderful condition and is original to the shaft.  The leather face insert is set in place using 8 nails, the heads of which were driven well into the leather in order to never touch the ball.

The 42-inch length of this will made driver would make it a good club to hit into the wind.  The face has little loft, and the slightly shorter shaft would help the golfer to make good contact while fighting a stiff breeze.