ANTIQUE HICKORY ‘LEVEN’ PRACTICE DRIVER GOLF CLUB. (c. 1920 United Kingdom)

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45.00inch high    (  114.30 cm high)

Ref:24244
A very rare hickory shafted, socket head, ‘Leven’ driver with a polished leather grip. The working Charles leven’s practice driver has a built-in mechanism that would measure how far a golfer’s practice swing would hit a golf ball. The club was patented on July 28th 1921 (patent No. 186,210). The wooden club head has a cover plate with Leven’s trade mark and the words ‘The “Leven” Practice Driver, Patent Applied For’, with yardage measurements of 0, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275 and 300. Found on the reverse side of the cover plate is ‘Actual Carry in the Air. O, 92, 122, 136, 149, 160, 169, 178, 186, 194 and 202.
When a golfer made a practice swing the mechanism within the club head would register this and show the possible corresponding yardage that the golf ball may have achieved, this is done by the principle of centrifugal force. A weight inside the head moves towards the toe when the club is swung, the harder it is swung the further the weight moves. The weight is locked in place by a ratchet device and a small triangular marker displays the weight’s movement against a yardage measurement printed on the cover plate (triangle mark on 0 in photos). Pushing the button on the back of the head resets the yardage to zero.
It is known that Leven also made a patent iron with the measuring mechanism inside the hosel.