Antique Croquet Style Golf Club, Putter By F.H Ayres.
Antique Croquet Style Golf Club, Putter By F.H Ayres.
F.H. Ayres Croquet-style Putter, G.H. Harrison.
A very rare gunmetal blade center shafted croquet-style putter. Both sides of the blade are usable and it is fitted with a hickory shaft made in the form of an octagonal croquet mallet handle. This helps the player 'feel' the alignment of the club and in conjunction with the technique of straddling the putt and the use a "croquet style" stroke, pendulum-fashion between the legs, made putting a lot easier than the traditional method. The club head is stamped 'F.H. Ayres, Patent Applied For' on one side.
G.H. Harrison, Royal Isle of Wight Golf Club, developed a gunmetal bladed croquet-style putter. He also invented the "Harrison Patent Putter" (end-shafted, duplex putter with octagonal grip) of which F.H. Ayres were the sole manufacturer. Ayres may also have had the rights to manufacture the Croquet-style putter, or simply decided to copy it. This form of putting successfully was soon outlawed by the governing bodies as it worked so well for all golfers.
There were no rules governing clubs until 1908 which allowed the club makers free reign. At the end of the 1908 rules introduced the first regulations on form and make of clubs "A club comprised 'a plain shaft and a head which does not contain any mechanical contrivance, such as springs". The 1910 amendment had the additional statement about centre-shafted putters, "....it also regards as illegal the use of such clubs as those of the mallet-head type, or such clubs as have the neck so bent as to produce a similar effect."
Note that in this decision the Committee were of the opinion that a vertical croquet-style putting stroke was not allowable. It wasn't until 1968 that the standing astride the line style of putting (i.e. a croquet stroke) was actually made illegal.
Dimensions:
1900-1949
Circa 1900
Hickory & gunmetal
United Kingdom
F.H. Ayres
Exceptional
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![](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://sportantiques.co.uk/golf/clubs/antique-croquet-style-golf-club-putter-by-fh-ayres&media=https://seek-unique-co.s3.amazonaws.com/sportantiques-64hFGwj3-uEHU73t22/stock/612fee782d149_3_28409.jpg&description=F.H. Ayres Croquet-style Putter, G.H. Harrison.A very rare gunmetal blade center shafted croquet-style putter. Both sides of the blade are usable and it is fitted with a hickory shaft made in the form of an octagonal croquet mallet handle. This helps the player 'feel' the alignment of the club and in conjunction with the technique of straddling the putt and the use a "croquet style" stroke, pendulum-fashion between the legs, made putting a lot easier than the traditional method. The club head is stamped 'F.H. Ayres, Patent Applied For' on one side.G.H. Harrison, Royal Isle of Wight Golf Club, developed a gunmetal bladed croquet-style putter. He also invented the "Harrison Patent Putter" (end-shafted, duplex putter with octagonal grip) of which F.H. Ayres were the sole manufacturer. Ayres may also have had the rights to manufacture the Croquet-style putter, or simply decided to copy it. This form of putting successfully was soon outlawed by the governing bodies as it worked so well for all golfers.There were no rules governing clubs until 1908 which allowed the club makers free reign. At the end of the 1908 rules introduced the first regulations on form and make of clubs "A club comprised 'a plain shaft and a head which does not contain any mechanical contrivance, such as springs". The 1910 amendment had the additional statement about centre-shafted putters, "....it also regards as illegal the use of such clubs as those of the mallet-head type, or such clubs as have the neck so bent as to produce a similar effect."Note that in this decision the Committee were of the opinion that a vertical croquet-style putting stroke was not allowable. It wasn't until 1968 that the standing astride the line style of putting (i.e. a croquet stroke) was actually made illegal.){kind=link}