Circa 1890 Bussey & Co.
"Steel Socket" Patent Club

In 1890, William Bussey and Joseph Pinder of London received only the 7th patent ever issued for a golf club. The patent (No. 16,953 issued on October 23, 1890) covered multi-piece "socket" golf club heads. Bussey & Pinder had developed what they believed to be a better way to attached a shaft to the head of a golf club using separate pieces for the head and the hosel.

Offered here is a rare 1890s Bussey & Co. steel socket patent club. Though it is a little difficult to see in the photographs, the head and hosel are two separate pieces. The back of the head contains a nice, easily readable stamp: "Bussey & Co., London, Patent Steel Socket". The original shaft is also stamped "Lofter", and the club still retains its original grip and an end cap with the "GGB" trademark with an arrow running through it.