Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1898-04-14
WooDs USED in GOLF.

In ytniperaal Isss.ans,
In 5sseoslsad, sSom time immemoY;a,.
bssck q hoSnbeam have besn tygasdea
as the best wood for golf club heads and
ash as the most pliabIe and spfingy Sor
the shafts. One effect OF the growth OF
the game in the United Slater aas been
the introduction of dogwood and per-
simmon for heads and of hickory for
shafts into Grsat Britain. It ia sn old
story now that this season the Scottish
handmade golf clubs are riyaled OH the
home market by machine turned clubs
from this country, but tho importation
OF the woods named In rough blocks in
to Scotland has gone on for some two
years and is steadily increasing. The
first wood turner to take up tho saving
and shaping Of CLUB heads in tho rough
in this country has his shop In Now
York. 1t is on an upper iioor in % fac
tory on the west side. q dingy, sawdust
filed room, in which the dust from the
whirling band SAWS aettIes Oh the cloth
ing like flour and titillates tho sossrils
like snuff.
cit had been % years I had out and
twisted wood before I heard Of golf"
said tho pleasant faced German boss
yesterday. "But now I turn out many
heads and shafts, aber there Is now op.
position; even tho sewing machine oom-
panies aro now to mako Thorn for tho
trade. Yot | still got tho best pay, and
my timo is filled up, SO it must be mine
arc tho best goods already"
Willie Dunn, then at Shinneooolk
Hills, was tho first golfer to give ON or
dor to tho German. Tho lattor worked
on beeoh for Dunn, Sam Tucker and
others until some time In 1896, whom
Tuoke, brought him somo dogwood sont
from I m Barker ut Riohfield Syringe.
Persimmon was tho next wood tried,
and the two, with hickory for shafts,
have since boon in STRONG demand.
Groonhoart is also used for shafts suo-
oossfully. but it Is apt to be &c stiff.
Tho German boss now furnis' ,s tho
wood, supplying my sort Of head or
shaft wanted by tho gross. He obtains
tho dogwood and persimmon in Vir-
ginia, hickory In New Jersey and this
state, and greonhoart from tho West
Indios. Ho has made many experiments
with different woods for heads. Cedar,
California redwood, poplar, black gun
and maple were found to DO too soft,
elm and ash too variable, and oaik too
short grained and brittle. Tho old wood
turner has now In hand an experiment
in shafts that no thinks may amount to
something. This Is tho use Of q CLOSE
grained reddish African wood, sont to
him by Bovoridgo, tho olubmaker at
S~hinnocook Hills. According to Bover-
idgo, tho wood Is called assegai, and il
used by tho Hnlna for thoir snenra. na
tho Indians formerly used lanoowood for
arrows.
Apple wood makes q durable and re-
silient head, but it is SO apt to be knot
ty and hard that it does not pay tho
wood turnor to use it az q staple COM
modify, A carefully selected piooo Of
apple wood, he admits, will mako O good
head. He says the Same Of certain roots
brought to him by some amateur golf
ers. Both apple wood and roots have
merits, but they cost moro timo and
money than thoy arc worth to Gull tho
good from tho bad blocks.
Tho wood turner's opinions, whilo
based only on tho commercial sido Of
tho question, ,Areo with tho experiences
of American e~n!fers. Hickory is inoom-
parable for shafts, md in our ohango-
ablo climate dogwood and porsimmon
aro moro satisfactory than beech in tho
heads. In tho moist air of Scotland or
England n boeoh hoad will keep SO soft
aud springy that it will show tho lent
of tho ball aftor tho drive, and whom
tho faco wears away tho hoad is still
kept seryiceablo by n rofaoing Of loath-
or. But in this country beech hardons
and chips Or splits, and 1t cannot be do
pended on. Dogwood, if woll seasoned,
is rs durable as compressed wood or
motal, and whether faced with leather
or not docs not lose its resilioncy on ao-
count Of its hardness. Many players
hold that when q seasoned dogwood
head can DO obtained for tho second
play club it is useless to carry q bras
soy, for whore tho dogwood cannot DO
trusted it Is tiIno to uso an iron.-Now
York Sun.