Club Names
For All Hickory Play
The following names and numbers apply to wooden shafted golf clubs, both pre-1900 and post-1900:
| Typical Ref # |
Club Type |
Common Hickory Club Name |
Modern Equivalent Club Lie, Loft and Length |
| 1 | Wood | Driver (or Play Club) | Driver |
| 2 | Wood | Brassie | 2-wood |
| 3 | Wood | Spoon | 3-wood |
| 4 | Wood | Cleek | 4-wood |
| 5 | Wood | Baffy * | 5-wood |
| 1 | Iron | Driving iron or Cleek | 3-iron |
| 2 | Iron | Mid-Iron | 4-iron |
| 3 | Iron | Mid-Mashie | 5-iron |
| 4 | Iron | Mashie Iron ** | 6-iron |
| 5 | Iron | Mashie | 7-iron |
| 6 | Iron | Spade Mashie *** | 8-iron |
| 7 | Iron | Mashie Niblick | 9-iron |
| 8 | Iron | Pitching Niblick | Pitching Wedge |
| 9 | Iron | Niblick | Gap Wedge |
| S | Iron | Sand Iron | Sand Wedge |
| P | Putter | Putter | Putter |
Wood shafts were generally made from hickory wood. In addition, bamboo and other woods were also used.
* A wood of similar loft but with a “stubby” face was known as a “Bulldog.”
** There was also a club with a similar loft but smaller clubhead known as a “Jigger.” This was often used for run-up shots and chipping. Some variations had longer shafts and were therefore used for longer shots, often where a low trajectory was desired. A variation on the Jigger was the “Sammy” which had rounded edges.
*** According to Louisville Golf, Ben Sayers did not like the shape of the Mashie Niblick , so he asked Tom Stewart to make him a club that looked like a mashie but had the loft of the mashie niblick. This club became know as the Benny and ended up as a club of 38 degrees to replace the Spade Mashie and fill the gap between the mashie and the mashie niblick.
Note: For more information about the how and why of the various clubs listed above, you are directed to read H.G. Hutchinson’s 28-page mini-book, “The Early Days of Golf – Clubs and Balls” circa 1900. See our Recommended Reading list.
For Pre-1900 Hickory Play
Long-nose wooden clubs consisted of Driver/Play Club, Brassie, Long Spoon, Short Spoon and Baffing Spoon. Some of these clubs had brass plates. Pre-1900 irons are sometimes called “smoothies” since they had no scoring or marks on the club faces. These hand-forged clubs were usually heavier and thicker than their post-1900 equivalents. Most smoothie sets are short sets with only 3-4 irons, so loft gapping tends to be wider (e.g. 20, 25, 35, 45 and 55 degrees).
