Accession Number

2012.001

Description

A late 19th/early 20th Century golf club with hickory-wood shaft and iron head, the grip covered in leather.

Narrative

This golf stick with hickory shaft and stamped iron head was made by William Gibson and Company of Kinghorn, Fife, Scotland and sold at the Cape Golf Club (renamed Royal Cape Golf Club in 1910) at Wynberg South Africa.  The stamped single star cleat mark denotes the club as a Gibson.  The stamped name 'J.W. Stewart-Wynberg' refers to the Cape Golf Club's professional golfer from 1899 to 1908.

Some "golf sticks" were sold from the smoking room at the 1909 Craigdarroch auction. They were listed as lot: "58 Three Golf Sticks". This example was collected for display in the Smoking Room at Craigdarroch to present the room as it appeared during the Dunsmuir period.

History of Use

Made in Scotland. Sold at the Cape Golf Club in Wynberg, South Africa. Used by J.W. Stewart, the Cape Gold Club's professional golfer from 1899-1908.

This golf stick was owned by the donor's grandfather, George Johnson (April 4, 1893-September 20, 1982) from circa 1930 and was used by him in Camrose and Edmonton, Alberta until 1959, when it was used weekly at Ardmore Golf Course in North Saanich BC (where his ashes are scattered) until about 1975. George Johnson was born in Scarborough, England and emigrated to Canada before WW1. He joined the Canadian Army when war was declared, and served at the Front in the 46th Battalion (South Saskatchewan) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

Date

1899 – 1908

Dimensions

99 cm

Material

Wood, hickory; Metal, iron; Leather

Technique

Cast; Stamped; Varnished

Country of Origin

Scotland