niblick

[ nib-lik ]

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.

niblick

/ ˈnɪblɪk /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of niblick¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of niblick¹

C19: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

Without the commitment of golf to saving archaic and banal objects, the “niblick” and “mashie” would be truly endangered.

From Washington Post

“The ancient Moundbuilders unwittingly left behind the setting for as strange and sporty a golf course as ever felt the blow of a niblick,” an article about the course in the January 1930 issue of Golf Illustrated proclaimed.

From New York Times

It became clear to me recently that Mr. George Bush of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C., is the best thing that's happened to golf since Teddy Roosevelt ran up San Juan Hill with a mashie niblick in his fist; since Dwight Eisenhower whistled a spoon onto Omaha Beach, a tough par 4 over water; in fact, since Gerald Ford ate the all-weather grip on a putter, believing it to be a tamale husk.

From Golf Digest

He then had the humiliation of exchanging his putter for his niblick, and, we may assume without being unkind, that was the last seriously competitive round he ever played.

From Golf Digest

Fleming knew golf well, and although he was writing 60 years ago, when players would pull a spoon or a niblick out of their bag rather than a fairway wood or a nine-iron, there is nothing dated about Bond’s cleverly planned revenge.

From The Guardian