The Nipper was the brainchild of David Miles of Dundee, Scotland, and covered under his 1905 British patent and 1910 US patent that copied his British patent.

This compact head club was designed to function as a wood, complete with the face profile of a wood, but with an iron head. The basic objective of his iron club as stated in his British patent, (No. 5,121) dated September 11, 1905, was “to improve ... driving clubs by adapting them to suit rubber cored or pneumatic balls." (A pneumatic ball has a pressurized air chamber in its center.) In addition to the claim that his iron could drive either a rubber core or pneumatic ball greater distances, Myles also claimed his iron, due to its small head, was exceptionally playable from a heavy lie.

In designing his invention, Myles states:

“I make the head of the driving clubs of metal instead of wood ...and of a shape somewhat similar to such wooden clubs, but of smaller bulk, that is to say the length of the club is shortened very considerably, the depth of face kept the same while the weight is approximately the same as the weight of a wooden club used by the same player and for the same purpose.”

Accordingly, the outline of the face on his iron is shaped like the face of a wood, and it also maintains the same approximate face area. To give his iron head the same approximate weight as a wooden club, Myles concentrated “as much metal as possible behind the striking center" of the face. As produced, only a reasonable amount of extra metal was used.

The Nipper offered here has its original 40 ½ inch shaft,  old sheepskin grip, and remains in excellent condition.

TCA2 V2 p576