Circa 1925 Donald Ross
Pinehurst-Run-Up

This particular club looks like a putter, but it’s actually a higher-lofted approach club called a “semi-putter.” Most clubs marked as such were made by MacGregor in the mid-1920s. A popular tact among hickory golfers looking to hold a green on approach was to use higher-lofted putting cleeks or their mashie to run the ball up to the green rather than fly it in through the air. The semi-putter split the difference in loft between a putting cleek (usually around 12 degrees) and the standard mashie (usually around 35 degrees). It often had a shorter shaft than standard to encourage a putting stroke.

Most of MacGregor’s semi-putters prominently feature their maker mark, but this one doesn’t so I’m not exactly sure who made it. Instead, it features the name of famous golf architect Donald Ross and reference to his Pinehurst golf course. Anyone who has tried to tame Ross’ famous humpback greens knows they’re difficult to hold unless you have a precise wedge game, so this club’s purpose was to keep the ball as close to the ground as possible while still covering some distance. If you’re a beginning hickory golfer, clubs like this one are very helpful as you transition away from flying the ball into greens and into using the bump-and-run or run-up that was widely employed in the hickory era.

Clubs with Ross’ name are not frequently found, so in addition to being a helpful club for hickory golf play it’s also quite collectible.

• 23 degrees of loft, C0 swingweight, 36-1/2 inches long

• Excellent condition - original shaft and grip

• Head has been reset for play

• SOLD