1896 Edward Slade 
Spring-Face Metal Wood 

Nearly a century before metal woods became ubiquitous, Edward Slade received the first-ever U.S. patent for a metal wood in 1896. That first metal wood is the subject of much frustration to collectors, however, as only one example was previously known to exist - Jeff Ellis' Edward Slade Spring-Face metal wood that is pictured on page 343 of The Clubmaker's Art (Second Edition).

 Well, we can now definitely say that at least two 1896 Edward Slade Spring-Face Metal Woods exist. It turns out that this club has been tucked away in a private collection in Germany for years. This club features an aluminum alloy head with a spring-loaded wooden block set in the face.