"A monumental discovery." 

Those are the words of Jeff Ellis, the world's leading expert on early golf clubs and balls. The offered square toe iron has been researched by Jeff for many years, and is the subject of one of the most important pieces of golf scholarship. A full transcript of Jeff Ellis' impressive research paper on this club can be REVIEWED HERE.

Without further ado, we present..."The Oldest Iron" 

To quote Jeff's research paper:

Golf dates at least as far back as 1457, the date of the oldest known written reference to the game. Because golf is so old, I have often been asked what is the oldest golf club? I now have a new answer. It is likely the iron clubhead shown at the top of this report—and I believe it dates to the 1500s.

After being allowed to study this clubhead on many occasions over the past two decades, I can confirm that it is the oldest iron I have ever seen, heard of, or read about. After languishing in two small collections for the past three decades, and half a millennium of being lost to civilization, it is time to bring this remarkable club to the world’s attention.

In his article, Jeff writes that this wrought iron clubhead is unlike any other: 

The head is made from two pieces; it has a layered hosel that wraps halfway again around itself; the blade is laminated, its construction consistent with the ancient methods used to make Damascus steel; and its face is covered with deep peening marks. These are four features not one of which is found on any other existing iron made during the feather ball era that I know of. All the structural differences between this club and the nine previously recognized oldest irons indicate that this club was made before all of them. 

The fourth image shows one of these features, that the blade is made from pieces of wrought iron laminated together consistent with the methods used to make Damascus steel. The lamination lines are visible, running front to back, across the top of the blade next to the hosel. In some areas, the iron between these lines has a bluish-greenish tint due to the slight differences in the chemical elements that make up the different pieces of laminated iron. No other known iron was constructed using this ancient technique. Other images show other unique features—the two-piece blade, wrapped hosel, and heavily peened face.

Only a short length of the original shaft remains. The partial wood shaft had turned black because the head was exposed to the elements for centuries. When an old club has a broken shaft, collectors and museums sometimes choose to reshaft the clubheads in order to create a full golf club. The owner of this club has chosen not to do so, and Jeff Ellis agrees with that decision. "On a club this old, it is far better to leave the shaft remnant in place than to reshaft the head. The remnant's weathered condition is evidence of great age, and one does not want to mess with the ancient pin and thereby disturb the original condition of the hosel."

A scant few square toe irons are known to exist, and many are institutionally owned by The Royal & Ancient, Royal Musselburgh, Royal Blackheath, Royal Troon, and the like. Because of the extreme rarity, and their importance to the earliest days of golf, square toe irons have always been among the most valuable golf artifacts. On the rare occasion that a square toe iron reaches the auction block, it has commanded a princely sum. As reported in the October 1994 issue of Golf Digest, a square toe sold for a record price of $1.25 million.

Now, 30 years later, this "monumental discovery" c1500s square-toe iron is now offered for auction. It is not an exaggeration to say that this clubhead might literally be the oldest golf club in existence.

Measurements: Clubhead 4 1/8" wide. Hosel 5 1/4" long, 1" thick. Shaft remnant 3 5/8". Toe height 1 3/4".

Letter of Authenticity from Jeff Ellis
Hard Copy of "The Oldest Iron" Research Paper