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 1930's. 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.