Horton Smith's

Kenneth Smith Driver

(From Horton Smith Family)

        Though maybe not a household name to casual golfers, golf collectors have a special place in their hearts (and wallets!) for inaugural Masters Tournament Champion Horton Smith. It's no surprise that high quality Horton Smith memorabilia often brings record prices at auction, including our sale of Horton's Green Jacket for a world record $682,229 in September, as well as one of Horton's wedges for $21,539.

        Those two pieces came from the small personal collection of Horton Smith's family, as does the offered club - a custom Kenneth Smith driver that was personally used by Horton Smith.

        The family is certain that this driver was passed down in the family for a specific reason, as only about a dozen pieces of Horton Smith memorabilia, including the famous Green Jacket, were kept by the family for the past several decades. Unfortunately, the exact details about whether this driver was used to win either of Horton Smith's Masters Tournaments, or in his 1929 Season when he won 8 events, has been lost over time.

        What we do know, in addition to holding a prominent spot in the family's collection, is that Horton Smith first visited Kenneth Smith's clubmaking shop in June 1928. And, based on the markings of this driver, this club was produced by Kenneth Smith in 1935 or prior. So we can be reasonably certain that this club was produced by Kenneth Smith for Horton sometime between 1928 and 1935, and likely put into play by Horton immediately thereafter. There is slightly more promising news too. Due to the unusual two-toned plus screw-in-middle driver face, it may be possible to photo match this club if the right photo of Horton using it is ever found.

        This original Horton Smith-used Kenneth Smith custom driver comes with a letter of provenance from Horton Smith family.