Trick Shot Club

This oversized trick shot club with bamboo shaft is said to have been used by Joe Kirkwood in his golf demonstrations and trick shot displays. Such displays were a way for professionals to make a living in a time when tournament prize money was not lucrative.

A fine golfer with wins in the Open Championships of Canada (twice), Australia (1920) and New Zealand and third in the British Open, Joe Kirkwood was best known as a trick shot artist and showman. He began his trick shot career in 1924, teaming up with American Walter Hagen for a world tour, entertaining hundreds of thousands of people. Newsreels of their exhibitions were shown in movie theatres around America. Tricks included hitting balls off watch faces; teeing up three balls and only hitting the middle one; and teeing off from the howdah atop a domesticated elephant.

The annual winner of the Australian PGA Championship receives the Kirkwood Cup.