VALUE JUDGMENT Long before Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, there was King James I, who legalized golf playing on Sundays and appointed the first royal club maker. But despite the sport’s long history and huge popularity, the number of golf club collectors remains considerably small. Many experts believe this situation is about to change, as an extensive 650-lot auction of historic golf clubs goes on the block at Sotheby’s this fall.

Clubs made between the mid-1800s and early 1900s are more plentiful, but the most coveted models still sell for five figures. The value of these clubs often lies in the name of the artisan who crafted it. "The job of professional golfer was making the clubs and balls as well as participating in tournaments," says Graham Budd, who headed Sotheby’s London sports memorabilia department for 25 years before becoming a consultant to the auction house. "Old Tom Morris, known as the father of golf, was the first true, great professional. Some collectors would be thrilled to own a club he played and made." Morris clubs, according to Ellis, go for up to $15,000. Clubs made by Hugh Philp, another 19th-century legend, sell for several thousand dollars.

The big draws for some collectors, Budd says, are the "weird and wacky inventions" of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Inventors patented a number of mechanical clubs: irons with levers or screws to change loft or with rakelike heads for playing in puddles; putters with rollers or triangular heads with sides for short putts, long putts and chip shots; and even a driver filled with tiny lead balls that would roll forward during the shot, theoretically making the golf shot more powerful.

Ellis found a circa 1880 WG Roy President water iron—so-named because a huge hole in the middle made it "clear-headed"—hanging on the wall of a building in Scotland. He offered $20,000 for it—probably far more than it was worth, he admits, but he wanted it because it was so unusual. The owner at first refused to sell it, but months later he finally agreed to take the offer. It is estimated that the club will go for $15,000 to $25,000 at the auction.

THE ASSEMBLAGE is expected to bring in more than $4 million at auction this September.

Ellis doesn’t say which of his clubs are his favorites, and he doesn’t give estimates on what they might be worth. "These are darn near like kids to me," he says. "I can’t say, ‘I like this child better than that child.’ Each one has a special story. I don’t say what clubs are worth in my books, because I don’t want people to look at a club and say this one is only $300 so it can’t be as good as this one for $8,000. That’s not true. Some are more easily replaced, and some are more meaningful in how I got the club. It’s my golf club family."

Collector’s Handicap
As with all collectibles, buyers do risk forgeries. In some instances, clubs are "antiqued"—a name like MacGregor is sanded off and a celebrity name like Ty Cobb or W.C. Fields is added to boost the price of a $50 club to $5,000 or more, Ellis warns. He also cautions that some antiques are actually replicas of even older clubs. "Morris" clubs, for instance, were being made long after his death.

Ellis admits that, early in his collecting, he did buy an altered club. It was indeed old, but it had three modifications that seemed minor. Later, he realized they weren’t so innocent. In general, the few who create bogus antique clubs do not possess the critical understanding of antique clubmakers, Ellis says, which means a trained eye can spot alterations, along with differences in materials and patina. He adds that clubs in poor condition, even those associated with an important name, may be worth far less than their more pristine counterparts.