Circa 1920s Monel Metal
Niblick

The concept of making a club head rustless dates back as far as the late 1890s when manufacturers began experimenting with a process called sherardizing, which formed a zinc-iron based layer on the steel surface of the club that prevented corrosion.

By the late 1920s, there had been many other attempts at making rustless clubs. Manufacturers such as Burke used a popular alloy called Monel, which combined nickel, copper, iron, manganese, and silicon to provide a rustless metal that would eventually be replaced by stainless steel. Monel metal’s crowning achievement can still be seen today at the top of the Chrysler Building in New York City; the spire at the top is made of Monel and helped the skyscraper briefly become the tallest structure in the world in 1929 until it was passed by the Empire State Building in 1930.

This deep-face niblick is a great example of how Monel metal functioned in a golf club head. After more than a century, it’s still free of rust but it’s also very heavy. On full-swing clubs, this can be an issue but in the case of this niblick, the weight aids in its primary function as a rescue club helping it easily extract misguided balls from deep rough. This particular head was made for club maker and pro James McConnell, who worked at Brookside Country Club in Pottstown, PA from 1924-1928.

• 47 degrees of loft, G1 swingweight, 36-1/4 inches long

• New suede grip and whipping

• Refurbished for play (head reset with epoxy, new brass pin, shaft reconditioned)

• $60 (Click button below for shipping quote and payment options)