Willie Park Sr. won the first British Open, held at Prestwick in 1860.
He won a total of 4 Open titles, the same number as Tom Morris Sr., and
established himself as one of the greatest names in golf's storied
history. The Park's of Musselburgh will ever be honored by the game of
golf. Offered here is a putter made by the hands of that 4-time Open champ Willie Sr.
The head measures 5 1/2" in length, 1 15/16" in width, and 1" in face depth. The name stamp is clearly readable, the 35" shaft and neck whipping are original. The original sheepskin grip is missing, and there appears to be some type of really old tape wrap that winds around the underlisting underneath. This exterior tape wrap might be original as it appears to have residue of a sheepskin grip spiraling around its entire length. It could easily be some type of fabric stuck in place by pitch.
The club shows normal wear. There are three lead buttons on the sole that likely tie into the lead backweight. Park Sr. did not always used lead buttons on the sole, but multiple lead buttons in the sole was a trait of his. To view another Wllie Park Sr putter with three lead buttons in the sole, see TCA2 v1 p80.
Putter is on the far left in the accompanying group photo.