GOLF TREASURES:
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

I have been trying to find out about a golf club I have in my possession made by a P Randall from sundridge park in kent, it is a wooden shafted putter reg no. 685349 , little slam 345208. can you throw any light on this subject as to age etc. many thanks in advance.
Robert van Hoey Smith

Dale Concannon writes:

First the bad news. Despite what you may have heard about vast sums being paid at auction for antique golf clubs, less than 10% of all wooden-shafted clubs are worth more than £10! The reason is simple — Like today, most clubs were produced in huge numbers to cater for the golfing boom of the early 1900's. And while the vast majority of them have disappeared over the years, there are still countless hickory shafted golf clubs still in existence.

Today, the vast majority of hickory clubs made between 1900 and 1930 are only worth between £5-£10 for irons and £10-£20 for woods. Of course, similar clubs are offered for sale at vastly inflated prices in antique shops etc. but this is the figure most collectors would pay for them at auction. As for those early steel-shafted clubs dating from the 1930's and 1940's with shafts made to look like 'cane' or 'wood' they currently have little value above £5. Therefore, the simple truth is that most 'antique' clubs found gathering dust in the attic or picked up at flea market or boot fairs are sadly, not going to make your fortune. That said, there are always exceptions.

So how can you tell if your club/s are in the common bracket? Made between 1900 and 1932, this usually applies to any golf club that:

• Has any marking on the striking face such as lines, dots or dashes. (Pre-1900 clubs had no face markings to impart spin.)
• Has a symbol or 'cleek 'mark denoting the company who made it stamped on the back of the head like an anvil or star for example.
• Has metal-caps at the end of the grip or thin Black leather grips.
• Has yardage ranges stamped on the back (80-125-yds for example).
• Has a stainless steel or chromed head stamped 'rustless.' or 'matched set.'
• Has a metal or aluminium shaft that is coated or painted to look like 'cane' or 'wood'.

As for your particular golf club/s:

• Randall was club professional at Sundridge Park in Kent between 1902 to 1938. Born in 1880, he was a founder member of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) and was pro at both Bush Hill Park and Malden (Wimbledon) before heading south to Sundridge. Known as 'Jack' Randall he was an excellent club maker and produced some plain, but extremely well made clubs in his time there including putters. The putter you own was probably made in the twenties and only has a nominal value. After the War there is no record of what happened to him. I hope you find this information of help.
  
  
• George Nichol of Leven (Scotland) were among the first golf companies in the world to manufacture matched sets of irons. In business from 1881 to 1983, Pin Splitter Z clubs were popular models from the sixties and seventies as were the Pin Seekers from the late seventies. Considered fairly low grade clubs compared with MacGregors etc, the set you describe sound like something from the fifties or sixties. Today, a used set of Pin Splitters Z would only be worth around £50 today. (Did you know that Ernest Vaux, former assistant to Harry Vardon at South Herts Golf Club, was still alive up to five years ago.)  
  
  
• Grays Golfing Ashtray. The golf course pictured with the windmill would be London Scottish Golf Club on Wimbledon Common. Value: aprox. £40 
  
  
• The Goffers Blackheath Print. You will have to send more info on this print to get an accurate value. Is it coloured or black and white. What size is the actual print? So many copies were made from the original painting that it is often hard to tell.