An Ancient Art Revived

One of the early Scottish clubmaking families was the Dunn’s of Musselburgh.

Willie Dunn Sr. along with his twin brother, Jamie, had been apprenticed to the feather ball makers, the Gourlays at Bruntsfield, before Willie moved south, taking the position of ‘keeper of the Green’ at Blackheath in 1851. Three years later, he was joined by his brother, and the pair remained in Blackheath for the next ten years, before returning to Scotland. Willie then became ‘Keeper of the Green’ at Leith Thistle Club, aided once again by Jamie as his assistant. In 1871 Willie started his own clubmaking business, first in Musselburgh, before moving it to North Berwick.

Willie Dunn Sr. had two sons, Thomas (b.1847), and Willie Jr. (b.1865), both of whom followed in their father’s golfing footsteps.

Tom Dunn went on to become Keeper of the Green at the newly formed Wimbledon Golf Club, and whilst there, was joined by his younger brother, Willie jr., who served as his apprentice. After completing his apprenticeship, Willie jr. took his first professional job at Westward Ho! in 1886, but stayed for less than two years.

Born in Musselburgh, Scotland, Charles Gibson was apprentice to Willie Dunn Sr., learning alongside Willie’s eldest son, Tom, at the North Berwick workshop. It was when Willie Dunn’s youngest son, Willie Jr., moved to become professional at Biarritz Golf Club, in the South of France, that Gibson was successful in obtaining the vacant position of clulbmaker and professional at the Royal North Devon Golf Club, Westward Ho! in 1888.

Charles Gibson took little interest in teaching or playing golf, but was a great clubmaker, employing numerous apprentices during his tenure at Westward Ho! Many of Gibson’s apprentices went on to make their own mark, mostly as clubmakers, but others, like five times Open Championship winner, John Henry Taylor, as great golfers. All four of Charles’s sons went into the golf business; Charles Jr. professional at Oxford G.C., Bill at Sheffield G.C., Bob at Royal Calcutta and Jack at Smouha City (Egypt). Other notable apprentices of Gibson’s were; George Cann, who formed a very successful clubmaking business with his school friend J H Taylor; The Cawsey brothers, George and Harry; Johnny Rowe (Royal Ashdown Forest), Harry Fulford , George Pennington and Frank ‘Smiler’ Lewis (golf instructor to Edward VIII, George VI and American President Woodrow Wilson).

Charles Gibson’s last apprentice was Eddie Davies. Like many of the local school boys, when he could, Eddie was caddying at the Royal North Devon Golf Club, developing his skills as an artisan player, and harbouring ambitions to become a clubmaker. As soon as he was school leaving age, Eddie was knocking on the Gibson workshop door, asking to be taken on as an apprentice. On his third attempt, aged 14, his perseverance paid off, and he was offered a five year apprenticeship. Eddie spent the next 76 years clubmaking, with the Gibsons at Westward Ho!, and then on his own, from his workshop in nearby Northam.

Shaun continued the family golfing tradition when he joined his grandfather in 1991 to concentrate on producing hickory clubs, full size and miniature, for the heritage golf market. Working alongside Eddie, Shaun learned the traditional skills and techniques of the craft, handed down through a continuous line of clubmaking apprentices, from the earliest Scottish feather ball and longnose club makers.