niblick

American  

[nib-lik] / ˈnɪb lɪk /

noun

Golf.

1. a club with an iron head, the face of which has the greatest slope of all the irons, for hitting the ball with maximum loft.

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niblick British  

/ ˈnɪblɪk /

noun

1. golf (formerly) a club, a no. 9 iron, giving a great deal of lift

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Etymology

Origin of niblick

1855–60; perhaps nibble + -ick, variant of -ock

Explanation

A niblick is an old-fashioned kind of heavy golf club. The modern name for a niblick is a nine iron. When golf was brand new, all clubs were handmade out of wood, but as the sport grew more popular they became standardized and were sometimes made of iron. These iron clubs — or irons — originally had distinct individual names, including niblick, as well as "cleek" and "mashie," and were used from about 1903 until the 1930s. A niblick became known as a "nine iron," just one in a list of numbered iron clubs. The origin of the word niblick remains a complete mystery.

Example Sentences

I raked up an old copy of Strumers with the Niblick for him, and read bits of the Telephone Directory out aloud.

From The Holiday Round by Milne, A. A. (Alan Alexander)

Niblick, nib′lik, n. a golf-club with cup-shaped head.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

Niblick, the, points of, 47, 49, 135; swing with, in bunker, 136.

From The Complete Golfer by Vardon, Harry

I raked up an old copy of Stumers with the Niblick for him, and read bits of the Telephone Directory out aloud.

From Happy Days by Milne, A. A. (Alan Alexander)

N was his Niblick around my head shaken: O was the Oil poured on waters so stormy, P was the Putt which, next hole, made me dormy.

From Mr. Punch's Golf Stories by Various