![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Cran-225x300.jpg\")
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Cran iron<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Spring-225x300.jpg\")
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Spring Face The face plate was separated from the back of the iron by springs<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Rake-225x300.jpg\")
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Rake Iron<\/p>\n
Except for one occasion, prior to 1920 the United States Golf Association (USGA) nor the Royal and Ancient (R&A) showed any interest in controlling the club designs. The ruling bodies allowed rake irons, wooden faced irons (Cran), and spring-faced irons. In 1903 when Walter Travis won the British Open using a new designed putter called the Schenectady to win the British Amateur Championship, the R&A banned all centre-shafted putters until 1953. The USGA did not follow their lead. \u00a0Also when the new wound Haskell ball appeared on the market around 1904 club manufacturers began marking the face of their irons with dots and slashes in various designs. The ruling bodies paid no attention to these changes in the face markings of the irons from the standard smooth face.\u00a0 Because the new bounding Billy wound ball traveled much further than the old gutty, the manufacturers felt the golfer needed some assistance to control the flight.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Dots-slash-225x300.jpg\")
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Cross-225x300.jpg\")
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Early markings on the face of the iron to assist the player to control the flight.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/sayers-225x300.jpg\")
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Ben Sayers ribbed or deep grooved iron<\/p>\n
This article describes the short life span for a very interesting group of hickory-shafted golf clubs. Ben Sayers first invented the Backspin club in 1914. But during the War Years golfers had their minds on other more important problems. In 1920 the US Patent office issued two patents to William F. Reach. In the collecting world these clubs became known as the waterfall and half waterfall irons. Reach described the object of his invention as: \u201cThe object of this present invention is to provide a club which will be effective for imparting backward spin to the ball whether struck by the direct or cut shot.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Full-Water-300x211.jpg\")
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Full waterfall iron<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Half-Water--300x186.jpg\")
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Half waterfall iron<\/p>\n
His new face design for an iron opened the door for a wide variety of ribbed, slotted, deep grooved, and waffle face markings. Each intended to make it easier for the average golfer to impart backspin on his approach shot. After winning the 1920 PGA Championship using his self designed ribbed clubs, Jock wrote a series of articles that appeared in the prominent national newspapers. He argued one of the hardest shots in golf for the average amateur to execute was the pitch from fifty \u2013 one hundred yards with backspin. Using the new ribbed clubs made the shot much easier for the average amateur to execute.<\/p>\n
Reach then assigned his patents to AG Spalding. In 1920 Spalding began manufacturing their waterfall, slotted, and ribbed golf clubs. Research indicates these specialty clubs were only manufactured with two lofts \u2013 mashie (modern day 5 iron) and a mashie niblick (7 iron). Once the Spalding clubs appeared on the market other manufacturers such as Macgregor, Burke, Sayers, Gibsons, Halley, and Stewart all began manufacturing clubs with similar face markings to provide backspin on the ball.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/rib-Gib-225x300.jpg\")
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Ribbed or deep grooved<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Slotted-225x300.jpg\")
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Slotted notice the flat area between the slots<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Angle-slot--225x300.jpg\")
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Brick-225x300.jpg\")
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Brick face iron<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Waffle-225x300.jpg\")
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Waffle iron This club also came as a combination waffle on the bottom\u00a0 and 3 slots on top<\/p>\n
Of the entire top rated players at this time, Jock Hutchinson had the most success using these specialty clubs. \u00a0In 1920 he won the Western Open and the PGA championships. The following year on his home course, St Andrews, he won the British Open in a playoff against Roger Wethered. Because of Jock\u2019s instant success every amateur golfer began carrying one or two of the back spin clubs in his bag. The backspin shot usually took several years for the average amateur to perfect. With the new invention and with a little practice the amateur could play his approach shot near the hole and have the ball stop dead or hit and come back towards the hole. The best players, such as Francis Ouimet 1923 US Open Champion, Walter Hagen, and Jim Barnes all advocated the USGA and the R&A should ban these new clubs.\u00a0 Gibson\u2019s, the largest golf manufacturing company in the world, nicknamed their rib club \u00a0\u201cthe Jerko\u201d because the ball suddenly checked when striking the green giving the appearance of being jerked.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/jerko-225x300.jpg\")
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Gibsons’ ribbed Jerko iron<\/p>\n
The manufacturers wanted players to use the new ribbed and slotted irons because the sharp edges removed a small portion of the ball on each impact. \u00a0After several strikes with the grooved clubs the ball must be discarded. The old British professionals who spent countless hours practicing to perfect the dead stop shot with the smooth face irons felt the new clubs negated all their dedication. The old professional who perfected the shot had an advantage because he could execute the stop shot when needed.<\/p>\n
After his PGA, Western Open, and British Open victories Hutchinson became the advocate for the ribbed clubs. He and Jim Barnes promoted the use of these clubs on their North American exhibition tour in 1922. In Vancouver Hutchinson showed the local golfers how they could lower their handicaps by purchasing a ribbed mashie or mashie niblick to impart instant backspin to their approach shots.<\/p>\n
After Hutchinson \u201cribbed his way around St. Andrews\u201d, the R&A banned all ribbed, slotted, and deep grooved clubs from their competitions. Hutchinson\u2019s display included a backspin hole in one. In 1923 the USGA followed with their ban. But the manufactures showed their ingenuity by developing a new club. Using a heavy machinists punch the companies produced a new \u201cpunch\u201d iron. The heavy punch mark produced a rim around the hole in the face. These punch marks were about \u00bc inch in diameter with a ridge around the perimeter of the hole. In 1924 both the R&A and the USGA banned these punch marked clubs.<\/p>\n
During the height of the golf-collecting period from 1985 \u2013 2000 these illegal clubs were in high demand. Because the manufactures produced mostly the \u201cribbed clubs\u201d they were easily purchased. The slotted and the waffle iron designs were more difficult to find. Since the punched clubs were only manufactured for one year, this category of illegal clubs is still difficult to find.<\/p>\n
The BC Golf Museum is constantly on the search for these illegal golf clubs especially the waterfall and punched irons.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Waterfall--300x222.jpg\")
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Left Single Waterfall\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Right Double Waterfall<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bcgolfhouse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Punch--300x138.jpg\")
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Punch<\/p>\n
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