There are rut irons - and there are rut irons. Over the years Green Jacket Auctions has been fortunate to offer some world class examples by John Gray, as well several other even earlier blacksmith made examples - but the present club is something truly special. 25 years ago, in 1990, this club first appeared in the summer golf memorabilia sale by Phillip's Auctions and was estimated to bring 800-1200 GBP. It brought 4000 GBP (!) after intense bidding and was acquired by Jamie Patino who put together one of the very finest collections of golf memorabilia ever assembled. This club was displayed for years at his private golf museum at Valderama Golf Club in Spain.

One can see why this club drew so much interest. The extremely thick, round, heavy head is small and well dished. The 5" hosel shows strong nicking, and club shaft appears to be original. The sheep skin grip is no longer present, but the wool underlisting is still there. Overall, this is as fine an example of a rut iron as a collector could ever hope to own, and we would not be at all surprised to see the same level of bidding excitement that was shown some 25 years ago. The club measures 36".