319 – 2009 YIP Mashie Niblick

These are some old clubs that belonged to my wife’s granddad. I just love the names of the clubs. Jigger, Putter, Mashie, Mashie Niblick, Niblick. What’s that even mean?

Oh, here’s the answer…
MASHIE NIBLICK

The old name for a club with a loft of about 41 degrees, which bore some characteristics of a modern nine-iron.

Mashie niblick featured in the 1907 Army and Navy catalogue: "If your ball is lying in an almost unplayable position, try one of these machie niblicks."

Mashie comes from the word mash, which in Scotland was used as another word for sledgehammer. In billiards, the term "masse" suggests a downward, stabbing stroke with the cue held almost vertical to give total back-spin.

Niblick is also probably of Scottish origin, and follows nib, or nose. This refers to the shape of the niblick, which was shorter in the nose than any other wooden club.

Some information courtesy of the British Golf Museum,
based near St Andrews golf course in Scotland.