This listing is for a Ampco Hickory Shafted “HARDER THAN STEEL” #15 Putter in excellent, used, vintage condition. The head of the club has the normal scratches and slight gouges that one would expect to see in a club that is nearly 100-years-old. The shaft is in remarkably good shape. There is a slight bend to the shaft in the grip area, but the remainder of the shaft is quite straight with very few scratches to the dark, antiqued finish. This bend in the grip area actually feels very good when I grip the club. There is some wear to the finish where the shaft meets the head. The pinning of the head is very secure. The leather grip is also in fantastic shape with intact whippings. I am fairly certain that it is not the original grip. However, it is an excellent replica of an original grip.

I estimate that the loft is ~10°, which is common for putters of this vintage, the lie is ~70°, the swing weight is B9, and the length is 34.5”. 

I own and use a variety of Ampco irons, including a Mid-Iron, Mashie, Mashie Niblick, Niblick, and one of my favorite clubs, a Jigger. I also own a putter exactly like this one that I personally cleaned up, repinned, and regripped. I enjoy playing with these clubs. As with the putter in this listing, the shafts of all of these clubs are in extraordinarily good shape with beautiful antiqued finishes, just as this club has. Ampco must have had an excellent hickory shaft supplier.

Ampco Metal is now a large multi-national company headquartered in Switzerland that specializes in the manufacture of engineered alloys of different compositions and properties, intended for specific uses in the aerospace, automobile, energy conservation, manufacturing, and other industries. It also produces non-sparking safety tools for the oil industry, as well as the firefighting and fire prevention sectors. However, the original American Metal Products Company was founded in 1914 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company’s first product was a specially-formulated bronze alloy hard enough to cut steel. The head of this putter was made of this alloy in the mid-1920s. I own a hickory-shafted aluminum alloy-headed driver that the company also produced around the same time, decades before the supposedly first metal woods were initially produced by TaylorMade in 1979.

I love playing golf with hickory clubs. I have much more fun playing with them than I do with my modern clubs. The wooden shafts give the clubs a much better feel than the steel and carbon shafts. As Louisville Golf states on their website: “Persimmon heads and hickory shafts provide ball feedback that just can’t be replicated.” Playing with hickory clubs requires much more precision than playing with modern clubs. They are a much truer test of one's golf ability. One benefit of playing with hickory clubs is that I have enjoyed participating in a few Society of Hickory Golf tournaments, which are held all over the world.

Since my retirement, I collect, refinish, and sell hickory shafted clubs, as well as some modern clubs. I did not need to do anything with this club as I purchased it in nearly perfect condition for a vintage club, but I have added to the shaft a coat of Tried and True Varnish Oil, an excellent finish that will provide wonderful protection for the shaft. I highly recommend this product as a means to keep hickory shafts in good condition. I also used a tiny bit of Skidmore’s Restoration Cream, a beeswax product, to freshen the leather grip. Once again, I highly recommend this product as an excellent conditioner for leather grips.

Perhaps, you may wonder why I have such long descriptions in my listings. I do so for two reasons: 1) I am actually trying to “sell” my offerings; 2) I am sick and tired of buying items on eBay from sellers who do not accurately describe or photograph the items that they are selling, resulting in the buyer receiving a product with undisclosed and unseen problems. I have a money back policy with all my auctions. If you are not satisfied with the item that I am selling and the description that I have provided, I am willing to refund your money, exclusive of return shipping expenses, upon the return of the item, in the condition that I sent it, within thirty days.

I pride myself in being honest and transparent when selling on eBay. A few years ago, I sold regularly on eBay until I was twice scammed and extorted by two foreign buyers. I stopped selling on eBay for quite some time. However, I have started selling again, and I hope that I will not have a repeat of my bad selling experiences. I promise to do my best to see that does not happen again.

I ship via USPS Priority Mail unless the buyer requests otherwise. Unfortunately, I cannot offer free shipping as I once did, when shipping a golf club cost less than $10. As domestic shipping golf clubs now costs $25-35, I am offering shipping for a flat rate of $25. I ship within 72 hours (usually the next day) of the end of the auction.