The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-06-15
THE WOODS Used n GOLF
uiekory ana DogwooA the Favosites
fer Shafts and HeoAs-GRoWtA -
the Industry In the Last 1--WE
Tears-Sone lnteresting Matters.

One az the interesting things in connec-
ton with the growth Of golf In this coun-
try IL the steady demand for cheaper ma
teriais OF All kinds THAI 20 10 make up
golfers outfit. and now here has this been
more apparent than in the manufacture
OF wooden clubs. Makers here unite IN
saying tina. while there Is ssia steady
demand for the imported implements. by
far the greater number OF purchasers are
content with those turned out by home
labor. and whereas two years ago = and
- were the customary prices charged for
these implements. a good driver or brassey
may now be obtained g. low a. 81
A prominent maker In this city. who
turns out hundreds OF clubs every week.
and whose experience In matters Of this
kind qualities him to speak with author
ity. told the writer that the American
product II not only supplanting that Of
foreign make. but that large consign-
ments OF roughly hewn block are now
sent abroad TO b fashioned there into
heads for the different varieties OF clubs
The enormous demand which has sprung
up within the last two years seems TO
have stimulated the manufacturers 10 ex-
pertinent with every conceivable wood
that would combine durability and cheap
ness. and some have even gone 30 far a.
to place on the market heads which have
been made from paper pulp reduced by
enormous pressure
In Scotland beech and hornbeam have
been used from time immemorial for heads
and shafts. but over here these varieties
have largely given place to dogwood and
hickory. The dogwood serves for the head
OF the club and the hickory for the shaft.
and under the different climatic conditions
they have proved more serviceabie and less
apt to warp than the Scotch woods Most
of the makers In this city get their hick-
cry from New Jersey and this state. but
the best dogwood comes from Virginia.
where 1t Is carefully selected and seasoned
before being sent on for use. Even then
q good clubmaker win not consider his
reputation safe unless the heads are again
seasoned for year or more before being
ultimately fashioned fof sale. According
TO one authority nothing makes a better
shaft than a wagon tongue that has served
Its purpose In sun and rain for more years
than the game itself has run. and the play
er who IL fortunate enough 10 secure
shaft In this way may rest assured that his
club win stand him safely In many tr,-
ing moment.
Experiments have been made recently
with appIewood. and they have been more
or less successful. In fact, a weil-selected
piece of applewood Is said to possess
strong advantages. but as q rule II has
proved to uneven and knotty for general
use. and II 10 hardly likely TO become popu-
lar. Not long ago number OF makers
endeavored TO employ ash. but this. too.
was found unsatisfactory on account Of
It's variable QuaiitieA eome interest was
created last season BY the attempt OF a
certain manufacturer to use greenwood. a
variety that Is obtained from the West In
dies for shafts. but l; was found TO lack
the auppleness necessary for . good club.
and the attempt was abandoned. good
wood for heads Is the common persimm0n
Of Virginia. but the superiority OF dog
wood for this part Of the club seems to
posxess such unrivaled merits that its use
In the vicinity Is now almost universal.
Clubmakers generally secure their
shafts In the rough. the nicer portions OF
the work. such as the trimming and pol
ixhing. being done entirely by hand. II
is here that the skill OF the workman Is
brought into play. for upon II depends
the supplcness and balance with which
the club II fashioned. and this tuning
process. as II Is sometimes called. n
watched with almost the same care with
which a fne violin Is constructed. The
heads. too. are got In the rough. or block.
and the cutting away OF the outer surface
II usually done with a fine handsaw and
file the process often occupying several
hours OF course. this applies only to the
so-caiied handmade clubs. the cheaper
varieties being finished almost entirely by
machinery.
II the origin OF golf dates as far back
"a some authorities claim the game II
not such q recent importation a. most
people seem to think. Curfousiy enough
the earliest reference TO golf In America
is found. as II Il In Scotland. In bylaws
prohibiting II as being a public nuisance.
II certainly must have been played IN
this state 2*o years ago. for IN hunting
hack among the old ordinances Of the
New Netherlands colony. Josiah Newman.
Of this city. has discovered the following
reference which seems 10 place the origin
OF the game here beyond question a.
early as ls5S II II q rather marka BILE
passage. and IL given here In full:
THE W. commissary and commissartes
of Fort Orange and village of Beverwyck.
having heard divers complaints from the
harghers 81 this place against playing at
golf along the streets. which causes great
damage 10 the windows Of the houses.
and exposes people TO the danger OF be-
dom of the public streets: therefore Their
forbid all persons playing golf I'm the
streets. or pain OF forfeising q. Is for each
person who shall he found doing So
THIS certainly disposes OF the claims OF
the Montreal Golf Club 10 being the sirst
tn introduce golf In America. and indi-
Gates that public golf In New York II not
such new thing after aii.-New York
Commercial Advertiser.