Clubs: A 'half set' of irons retailed by Wilfrid E. Reid, professional at Banstead Downs Golf Club from 1906 to 1914.

Makers: Mid Iron - C. Davidson, Musselburgh Flanged Mashie - W.M. Winton Company, Montrose  Spade Niblick - A.Patrick, Leven  Putter - W.M. Winton

Year: c.1910

Shafts: Original hickory shafts, with new suede leather grips.

Lengths: Mid Iron - 39.5"  Flanged Mashie - 38.5"  Spade Niblick - 38"  Putter - 34"

Lofts: Mid Iron - 22 degrees  Flanged Mashie - 38 degrees  Spade Niblick - 42 degrees  

Swing Weights: Mid Iron - D5  Flanged Mashie - D9  Spade Niblick - F1

Condition: Good condition for age, with clear name and cleek marks stamped on the back of the blades. Hickory shafts are all firmly fitted to head with no visible signs of cracks or splits. The old leather grips have been replaced with new suede leather grips and underlisting to thicken them.

Other details: A 'half-set' of four irons retailed by Wilfrid Reid, the professional at Banstead Downs Golf Club, London (1906-14). Mid Iron has a punched face, the Mashie a lined face, the Spade Niblick a dashed face, and the Putter has a lined face.

Reid studied club making under Davie McLeod at the Edinburgh Burgesses Club (1900), before taking a job in the club making department of the Forth Rubber Company in Edinburgh, where he stayed for the next two years. Aged 19 he then took his first professional job, as head professional at Seacroft Golf Club in Skegness, England (1903-04). Wilfrid was a protégé of Harry Vardon who helped him get a subsequent professional job at La Boulie Golf Club, Versailles, France, in 1905. In 1906 he moved back to England as professional at Banstead Downs Golf Club in Sutton,  on the outskirts of London, where he stayed for the next nine years. Apparently, Reid was not short on confidence, and was a fine competitive golfer despite being small of stature. He played in successive Open Championships between 1903 and 1914, as well as other tournaments/matches, beating his mentor, Vardon, on several occasions.

On 7 August 1913 Reid set sail from Liverpool to America with Harry Vardon and Ted Ray where they played in a number of tournaments including the U.S. Open that year, in which he tied for 16th. Reid tied Vardon for the 2nd round lead and played with Francis Ouimet in the 3rd round.

Wilfrid returned to England, but his visit to the United States must have left a profound impression on him, as in February 1915 Reid emigrated to America with his brother Arthur (also a golf professional). At the invitation of Clarence H. Geist, Reid took the job as golf professional at Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey. Later, at the suggestion of the DuPont family, he became the golf professional at the Wilmington Country Club, Delaware, and also became a member of the PGA of America in 1917. He was appointed to the national PGA Executive Committee as a vice-president at large, a position he held for two years.

In August 1920 he was elected vice-president of the PGA of America, and he was re-elected in 1921. In 1920 and 1921 he also held the office of secretary of the Southeastern Section PGA. In 1921 Reid obtained U.S. citizenship and in December of that year attended the founding meeting of the Philadelphia Section PGA and was a member of the organising committee. Later in 1929 he was the president of the Michigan Section PGA for three years.

Reid served as a professional at several of America's top clubs, including Country Club of Detroit, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, Beverly Country Club, Chicago, Illinois, Broadmoor Golf Club, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Seminole Golf Club, North Palm Beach, Florida, and Atlantic City Country Club, Northfield, New Jersey. He won the 1926 Michigan PGA Championship and had 26 holes-in-one in his long playing career.

More photographs available on request.