Replica Long Nose Clubmaking

Here we explain what it takes to make your own long nose golf club. In this case we are making a driver or play club as it was known as would have been used in approximately 1870.

1. Procure some properly seasoned beech wood from your nearest wood yard. This ideally needs to be at least 5 inches by 5 inches square and about 10 inches long. Inspect it carefully to make sure there are no splits in the grain.

2. To ensure the club head is robust enough to strike a golf ball, the head is carved with the grain of the wood running as shown by the blue line. That is, the grain flows somewhere in the middle of the angle between the hitting face and the neck. Bear this in mind when selecting the block of wood.

3. The angle between the sole of the club head and the angle at which the shaft extends is known as the “lie”. Shorter people tend to swing golf clubs in a relatively flat plane and this means the lie angle is greater. Clubs for taller people usually have less of a lie angle. Long nose clubs also lend themselves to a flatter swing because of the length of the club head. The play club we are making is for a person 5ft 9” tall and the lie angle is 130 degrees.

4. The shape of the club when looking at the striking face is drawn onto the wooden block with a pencil as shown. The club head is going to have a face depth of just over an inch so draw two parallel lines about 1 and a half inches apart (shown on the left side of the picture). Draw another pair of lines to indicate the neck. The angle between the bottom of the face and the back of the neck needs to be approx 130 degress. Remember the grain of the wood should flow roughly as shown by the blue line.

5. With a suitable saw cut along the top and bottom face lines, and along the neck lines, perpendicular to the face.

6. Draw the shape of the head onto the block as you require it when seen from above ( the curved line ). Continue this line up to the top of the neck leaving a material thinckness of approximately half an inch.

7. With a suitable saw cut down the neck to remove the section marked waste. In the picture on the left the work has been turned around.

8. By now the piece should be taking a form that you can imagine will be a club head. On the picture of the left a couple of extra small cuts have been made to the side of the neck and the back of the head. You can also see in pencil on the back of the neck the pointed area to which the shaft will be attached.

9. The heads of long nose clubs were often 6 inches in length from the heel of the club to the toe. Trim this length to approx 6 inches as indicated on the picture.

10. From here on the club head is shaped by hand. Initially use a course file and then successive finer files. When the desired shape is attained move to course and fine sand paper.

11. Here we see the neck section completed.

12. Once the head shape has been attained (usually after a considerable number of hours of filing! ) the next task is to fit a horn section to protect the leading edge of the head. Animal horn sections can be obtained from various sources - seek out and ask walking stick makers or other such craftsmen if in doubt! You need to rebate out a section of the underside of the head using a saw and chisel. The horn section needs to be about quarter of an inch in thickness. Glue to horn into place using a suitable glue. Once the glue has set drill three small holes about 3/16 “ in diameter through the horn and into the head. Take care not to go too deep!

13. Insert and glue wooden dowels firmly into the holes. Small pieces of hickory from old golf club shafts are ideal.

14. When the glue is set file off the excess dowel sections and sand smooth.

15. Next we have to prepare the recess in the back of the head which takes the lead weighting. Mark in pencil on the rear of the head the outline of the rebate to take the lead. Intersecting holes are first drilled into the rear of the head as marked in pencil on the top of the head. When molten lead is poured into the rebate it will flow down these holes and solidify. Hence the lead with be self retained and will need no additional fixing. On this picture the holes have been drilled but the rebate has not yet been cut. The rebate needs only to be cut about a quater of an inch in depth into the rear of the head in a rectangular shape. IMPORTANT NOTE: In the last few decades it has been established that lead is a posionous and dangerous substance to human heath. When melted it gives off highly toxic fumes. Similarly, lead dust is extremely hazardous and inhalation or ingestion can be fatal. If you wish to use lead as the weight in your club then melt it in an extremely well ventilated area ( i.e outdoors ) and do not file it when finishing the club. Seek qualified expert advice if in doubt. Better still source some alternative metal lead-free alloy.

16. Before the molten metal is poured into the rebate it is necessary to create a shield so that it will not run out and away. None firing clay is the most suitable material for this job. Apply a large lump to the back of the head and form it so that a pouring hole is made. Melt the metal over and suitable heat source in a suitable pouring container or ladle. Ensure you wear appropriate safety glasses and clothing. Pour the molten metal into the club head through the hole in the clay in a realtively slow and steady manner so as to avoid air pockets forming. Stop pouring when it is clear the cavity has been filled!

17. The molten metal is likely to solidify after a few seconds. When you are certain it has solidified (although it still may be VERY hot) carefully remove the clay and place the club head in a vice. Use a sharp chisel to trim and shape the hot metal insert if necessary. This is a much easier job when the metal is still hot! When the metal has cooled completely apply several coats of varnish to the club head.

18. Select a suitable shaft for the club. In this instance the shaft we have used is 41 inches in length as has been fully seasoned and stained. File the end of the shaft so that an angled flat land can be glued to the corresponding flat land on the back of the neck of the club. This type of join is termed a scare and before 1900 “scared neck golf clubs” were the dominat type. Use a suitable glue which is not too brittle when fully set to join the head to the shaft. Too brittle glues are likely to fracture when the club is used. You local hardware shop should be able to advise. Once the glue has fully set it may be necessary to file completely over and around the joint to make it smooth and relatively seemless in preparation for having pitched linen whipping wrapped around it.

19. These pictures show the finished playclub with pitched whipping. The different lighting on the bottom picture shows the warm colour of the varnished beech head. Contact us at info@timewarpgolf.com if you have any questions about this article or would like to purchase a replica long nose golf club. Individual clubs can be made to order to your specification.