Lard shafts are exceptionally visual collectibles with hundreds of holes hand drilled in a six sided steel shaft.  Because they were one of the earliest steel shafts commercially produced,  Lard-shafted clubs are also quite historic.  Spalding sold these clubs 8 years before the USGA ruled that steel shafts conformed to the rules of golf. Complete with its original leather wrap grip and original whipping atop the hosel, this left-handed 39" Spalding gold medal mid iron is an outstanding example in all respects. Because this club is left-handed, it is inherently more rare than the right-handed models.

This perforated shaft was covered under two patents issued in 1916 and 1917 to Allan Lard. Spalding offered the club in its 1918 and 1919 catalogs. Spalding promoted Lard's metal shafts as a substitute for the best hickory shafts, which were in short supply. Drilling out the metal to create the hundreds of holes in the shaft was necessary to bring the shaft to a decent weight. Ironically, with top quality hickory shafts in short supply, a shortage of steel during World War 1 interrupted the production of Lard's steel shaft.