Offered here is an original circa 1850 Hugh Philp Long Nose Putter. 

“[A] genuine ‘Philp’ today is worth untold gold". That quote was written over 120 years ago – in the October 5, 1900 issue of Golf Illustrated. More than a century has passed, but in terms of golf memorabilia, no truer words have ever been spoken.

They call Hugh Philp the "Stradivarius" of golf clubmakers - an ode to the late 17th/early 18th century violin maker still regarded as perhaps greatest craftsman in history. Other clubmakers respected Hugh Philp's work so much that they played with his clubs, not their own. None other than Old Tom Morris, Willie Park, Sr., and Willie Dunn, Sr.  - all clubmakers themselves - were known to have favored Hugh Philp clubs when they played golf. And after Philp’s death in 1856, other clubmakers advertised that they could produce a [fake] Philp club for the willing buyer!

In Jeff Ellis' tome, The Clubmaker's Art, he states that Hugh Philp "has been universally recognized as clubmaking's finest artisan." (The Clubmaker's Art, 2nd Edition, p. 54). Even during the 1890s, people advertised in "Golf" magazine to purchase Philp's clubs for well above the prices for any other club. This is a rare opportunity to own an authentic example of the craftsmanship of Hugh Philp.

Hugh Philp, of course, went on to refine his craft by designing some of the most elegant and superbly detailed clubs of the 1830s to 1850s. Any club by Hugh Philp is worth collecting. But offered here is an extremely attractive High Philp long nose putter with a fairly strong and definitely readable crown stamp. Replacement grip. This bottom of the club has an old auction catalog sticker still affixed.