Golf clubs today come in different shapes, sizes and materials. Your game is not complete without your very own special clubs. But back when golf, as a recreational activity, was invented, there was just one type of club — a stick that would guide a ball into a hole! Interestingly, it was the evolution of the golf ball that led to innovation in club design and material. Until the early 1600’s, golfers played with a wooden ball. The best material to play with a wooden ball was, of course, a wooden club. But as the ball went from wood to leather and then to ‘gutta percha’, club making came of age and iron clubs began to be made. Gutta percha (or the ‘gutty’ ball) were made of a rubbery type of tree sap that was formed into a hard sphere while it was hot. Iron clubs were well suited to this harder material, and became the club of choice.

Today, players use a variety of club types. Clubs are made of anything from steel to graphite to aluminum, Even the clubs called ‘woods’ are not always made of wood, but instead have a metal, graphite or plastic head. By the early 1900’s Americans began to dominate the industry and still lead the production of our highest quality clubs.