Treasure Island

According to author and golfing memorabilia expert, DALE CONCANNON, Britain is literally awash with rare golfing treasures just waiting to be discovered. But what makes that old hickory club you were about to throw out worth hundreds of pounds, maybe even thousands? And how can that box of old balls be worth the price of an expensive golfing holiday? So perhaps this is the time to ask, do you have a golfing fortune in the attic?

Most people think of golfing memorabilia as a few old hickories hanging on the clubhouse wall. But that is just the tip of the collecting iceberg. Today, in an industry worth over £25-million, the desire for long-nose woods and feathery balls is stronger than ever with auction houses, internet sites and professional dealers all offering the opportunity to buy some rare golfing treasure.

Two Feature Balls and Four Handmade Gutties all in near mint condition

In February this year, Sky TV launched their first interactive golfing memorabilia auction live on their Sports channel. No doubt hoping to capitalise on the huge interest in old golfiana, viewers were invited to bid against a 30-strong audience at Royal Blackheath from the comfort of their own living room using the touch-tone facility on their telephones. A truly hi-tech event bids flooded in from all corners

of the globe with eager collectors hoping to buy at least one of the hickory clubs, guttie balls and old books on offer.

Shown throughout Europe and parts of North America, the sale was later described by hosts, The Auction Channel, as "a truly action packed event" and "a wonderful success." But while the Sky event pointed the way to the future of golf collecting, the old-style auction houses of Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips show no wish to get left behind.

Continuing to schedule major sales in the week leading up to the Open Championship in July, this is where the serious collector does his or her buying. As always, only those with the deepest pockets will end up the winner but unlike Tiger Woods and co slugging it out for the silver claret jug at St Andrews, when some collector walks off with the trophy, no one asks them to hand it back the following year!

So why golf? As with anything collectable the bottom-line is money and golfers have lots of it. The game also offers a lot more items to collect in comparison to other sports like tennis, cricket or boxing. For starters, you have a minimum of 14 clubs, any number of balls, a bag, tees, head covers, shoes, scorecard and a glove. Then if you add to the list, books, bronzes, artwork, postcards, programmes, autographs and medals, the possibilities are simply endless. The truth is Britain is literally awash with rare golfing treasures just

Very rare British Open programme, sold for $2,100 in July 2000

waiting to be discovered. So having established there has probably never been a better time to dig out that bag of old hickories from the attic, what type of thing is considered 'collectible' in golfing terms? After all, to the untrained eye it is often impossible to tell one wooden shafted club worth £10, from another worth £10,000! But there is a difference, a difference that could make that tatty box of old balls you were about the throw out worth hundreds, maybe even thousands.

As a rule, the majority of golfing rarities pre-date the introduction of the steel-shaft around 1920. Although there is a market for more modern items like MacGregor woods from the sixties and early Ping Putters, most collectors prefer much older items from the 19th century. So when searching for that one-off rarity, it pays to remember the four golden rules of collecting; MAKER, AGE, RARITY and CONDITION. Another great tip is to look out for any club with an unusual design or shape, (like an adjustable head for example) as this is often a great pointer to value.

In terms of age, the most sought after clubs are the early 'long-nose' woods. Not unlike a modern-day ice hockey stick, they take their name from the pear-shaped appearance of the head and were in common use for over four hundred years up to the mid-1800s. Stamped with the maker's name, they are usually fitted with a calf leather grip and can range in value anywhere between £2,000 and £50,000.

While 'unknown' clubs are being unearthed all the time, among the better names to look out for are Dunn, Dickson, Jackson and Wilson. Increasingly hard to find, should you be fortunate to find any one of these hiding in your attic, you can start booking that expensive golfing holiday. The same applies to any long nose club stamped Hugh Philp. Considered the 'Chippendale' of the club-making world, a good example by this St Andrews craftsman can fetch up to £15,000 at auction.

Selection of early clubs - late 18th and early 19th Century

Early iron-headed clubs, especially putters, are also popular. In 1999, Christie's sold a collection of early clubs owned by Royal Perth Golfing Society among which was a thick-bladed putter dating from 1780. Eventually snapped up by millionaire tin magnate, Jaime Ortiz-Patińo for a cool £103,000 it now sits proudly in his private museum at Valderrama Golf Club in southern Spain. Golf balls are also highly sought after with the feathery top of most collectors 'wanted' list. Taking their name from the goose or chicken feathers used to fill them, the most sought after examples are those made by legendary

professionals like Old Tom Morris and Allan Robertson. Today, early examples from the mid-19th century are considered extremely rare with an estimated value in excess of £8,000! In comparison, unnamed feather balls can sell for as little as £1,000 - a real bargain in collecting terms!

With feathery balls now almost impossible to find, most collectors now prefer to buy gutta-percha balls from the late 1890's. Known as 'gutties' they are about the same size and weight of a modern golf ball and because they were moulded in a press - and not hand-made like the feathery - tend to maintain their original condition. (A vital consideration when buying any item of golfing memorabilia.) For example, Phillips of Chester once offered a ball covered with a map of the world with each continent picked out in block capitals. Estimated at £3,000- £3,500 in 1995, this so-called 'Terrestrial Globe’ eventually sold for an amazing £10,500! Last year, a similar ball was offered with a hairline crack running through it and it fetched a fraction of the price at £1,500.

Moving away from equipment, books are the next most popular area to collect in with a well-stocked library literally worth its weight in gold. In June 1998, Pacific Book Auctions in San Francisco offered for sale the most comprehensive collection of golfing literature ever to come on the market.	Gutty Ball marker - sold for $42,000 on 12th July 2000.
Drawing spirited bidding from the assembled group of golf junkies, the sale realised a world record total of $252,425 - with a third of that drawn from just twelve books!

Like most golfing bygones, the older the better, but while this applies to the majority of golf books, it does not follow that every title over a century old is worth a small fortune. Then, as now, it was not uncommon for a popular book to be republished over and over again which inevitably reduces its value. As with clubs and balls, condition is vitally important and they should be as near their original state as possible, which includes a clean, unmarked cover with little outward sign of repair. Most importantly, It should also have a strong binding with all text and illustrations present and correct. Having it signed by the author also helps..

Another sideline to the hobby of golf book collecting is the rising interest in early magazines. Reporting on important events like the Open Championship, often within days of it finishing, they offer a unique insight into a bygone era.  Among the first to be published was Golf - A Weekly Record of Ye Royal and Ancient Game in 1890. Like today it featured articles on famous players, the opening of new courses, competition results and advertisements for the latest golf equipment. In other words, it was a thoroughly good read.

Like many items of golfing memorabilia, a few years ago you could buy them up for pennies. Today, bound copies of the pre-1900 editions can fetch up to £1,000 at auction. Think about that next time you throw something away..

Some final tips...

Put your money in..

• Programmes especially the Open Championship and Ryder Cup [A recent Open programme from 1983 fetched £75 on the Internet.]
• Any ink-signed photos of major winners.[Imagine how much a good picture of Seve will be worth in twenty years time.]
• Limited edition golf books on any subject. [The more unusual the better.]
• Golfing postcards from the turn of the century. [Still cheap but set to take-off anytime]
• British size golf balls wrapped and still in their original box.

Keep your money out of:

• Replica flags from the Open or other major championships.
• Visors or gloves with illegible marker pen signatures
• Limited edition sets of golf clubs made out of ship rudders, the wing of Concorde and the roof of the Millennium Dome.
• Golf shirts emblazoned with 'St Andrews -Home of the Open in 2000.'

Places to see Golfing Memorabilia

British Golf Museum, Bruce Embankment, St Andrews, Fife. (phone for opening times)