A group of five interesting specimens of early golf club making in New Zealand, two clubs stamped, t...
A group of five interesting specimens of early golf club making in New Zealand, two clubs stamped, the first H. DUNN and the other DUNN between a P and a L, possibly Ladies Play club, constructed in the traditional long nosed style of the feather ball era but with the hickory shafts attached by the later method of socket joints as opposed to scared necks, the timber of the clubheads is unfamiliar and presumably a suitable local timber was selected, the group comprising play clubs and spoons, but with the fifth club probably best described as a walking stick rather than a cut-down putter, one club with a hairline crack but overall the group is in good condition The first golf club formed in New Zealand was the Otago Golf Club in Dunedin established in 1874, now called Balmacewan GC. This group of clubs were discovered in the deep south of New Zealand in a small farming village in a region that was dominated by Scottish settlers, as is evident from the local place names such as Duntroon, Balclutha, Invercargill, Clyde etc. It seems entirely plausible that the Dunns were one these Scottish settler families and brought with them a degree of expertise in the art of clubmaking, albeit it as accomplished and enthusiastic amateurs.