Neck & Hosel Joints

Capter four provides an in-depth look at the various ways clubmakers attached the clubhead to the shaft. Splice joints, fork splices, dual splices, dovetail splices, sockets, screw sockets, splice sockets, one-piece woods, one-piece irons, fork hosels, claw hosels, and more are presented.

This Robert Ramsbottom "Crescent" iron received a British patent dated August 2, 1894. Ramsbottom calculated that the claw shape of his hosel would prevent the shaft from breaking where it entered the head, and that the rounded crescent shape of his sole would allow his iron to effectively play a ball in heavy grass or a cupped lie.