What Was the Golf Club Called the 'Driving Putter'?

The "driving putter" (often hyphenated as "driving-putter") was a golf club, long since gone from golf, that was sometimes used by pre-20th century golfers. But did they use it for driving, or for putting? Yes!

In fact, the driving putter could be used for either driving or putting — or for various other shots, too. It was a very short club (in the same neighborhood as a standard putter) with a stiff shaft and very low-lofted wooden head.

The The Historical Dictionary of Golfing Terms (book titles in this article are affiliate links) describes this club as, "A straight-faced wooden club, no longer in use, that was used for driving low shots, especially against the wind." That definition doesn't even mention putting, but the driving putter was most definitely used for putting, too.

For confirmation of that, we'll turn to Willie Park Jr., a two-time British Open winner in the 1880s. In his book The Game of Golf, published in 1896, Park described the driving putter as, "really a driver with a short, stiff shaft and a deep face, more upright than an ordinary driver and flatter than an ordinary putter, and it is used for playing long putts and also for driving against a headwind."

The driving putter was a specialty club, a sort of prototype utility club. It was, Park wrote, "not generally ... part of the indispensable equipment of a golfer." But they were common additions to the bag for top golfers and frequent golfers in the 1800s.

Park also explained that "the shortness and stiffness of the shaft ensure accuracy, and less tendency to pull or heel the ball."

Writing nearly 20 years earlier than Park, the legendary clubmaker Robert Forgan, whose use of and knowledge of the club extended further back in time than Park's, focused more on shots on and around the green than did Park in his descriptions of the driving putter. This might indicate that the way the club was used had, in fact, changed over time.

Writing in his 1881 book The Golfer's Handbook, Forgan differentiated the driving putter from the "green putter," an old term referring to the standard putter. He said the driving putter was 3 feet, 6 inches in length, compared to the 3-foot length of the "green putter."

Forgan wrote: "One function of the Driving-Putter is to 'cheat the wind' by a sending a low skimming ball — a most desirable virtue in boisterous weather; another is to force a ball out of long grass; another to play a half- or quarter-stroke ..."

But, Forgan explained, those functions were mostly already covered by other golf clubs in the bag. And that explains why, he said, "the 'Driving-Putter' is fast falling into disuse."

More old golf clubs:

• The 'lofter' or 'lofting iron'
• The 'rut iron' or 'track iron'
• The 'brassie' (or 'brassy') club

Sources:
Davies, Peter. The Historical Dictionary of Golfing Terms, 1993, Robson Books.
Forgan, Robert. The Golfer's Handbook, Including History of the Game, Hints to Beginners, the Feats of Champion Golfers, 1881, Marcus Ward London.
Park, William Junior. The Game of Golf, 1896, Longman Green and Company.