Offered here is a rare Spalding "Whistler" shafted iron with a backspin spade mashie head. This is one of the very first steel shafted irons sold in America, and was covered under inventor Allan Lard's patents of 1915 and 1916. Spalding was one of several companies to offer the Lard shaft, with their 1918 catalog heralding it as "the club of the future" and "a successful substitute for the fast disappearing, fine second growth hickory which can no longer be had in sufficient quantities to meet the demands for perfect wood shafts." The Lard shaft was made from a solid piece of steel that was bored out and milled to form 6 sides, then drilled with hundreds of small holes in order to reduce the weight. When swung under certain conditions, these holes caused the club to "whistle" - hence the "Whistler" nickname.