Long living in the shadow of the renowned Tom Stewart, St. Andrews had another great cleek maker working in the golden age of club making. Robert Condie also had a fine reputation for producing quality iron clubs and forged beautiful iron heads for many of the great makers and professionals.

Born in 1863, Condie began his career as an apprentice blacksmith. At some point he joined the forge of James Anderson in Anstruther where he worked as a smith, learning club making in the process. In the late 1880s he moved to St. Andrews and received a further year's training in the forge of Robert White. He opened his own forge and shop on Market Street no later than 1890 and began making cleeks and iron club heads for the growing St. Andrews market.

His earliest heads were made for "the trade" like the established shops of J.H. Hutchison and Ben Sayers as well as many up-and-coming makers like Robert Simpson, Andrew Forgan and Auchterlonie & Crosthwaite. A number of these older heads bear his first cleek mark, a fern frond, which was only used for a short period.

Subsequently he switched to the better known mark of the rose which he continued to use into the 1930s. This mark brought him both fame and imitators. It was said that to give the impression of fine Scottish workmanship, the Crawford, McGregor & Canby Company adopted a similar rose mark for use on their clubs in the early 1900s.

Many Condie club heads are stamped with a maker's or professional’s name and the rose mark but some later heads can be found with the Condie name. He also made some heads for the Tom Morris shop's Autograph Series.

The success of Robert Condie's business was due to two important characteristics. He possessed considerable skills as a worker of metal and these, according to a contemporary source, "took him above the ordinary." Not only was he able to produce top quality heads but he had the ability to teach those same skills to his employees. It was also recognized that he employed the best workmen available. Because of these exacting standards his output was never of monumental proportions.

In the early 1900s, Robert Condie crossed the Atlantic to visit some of the Scottish club makers who had emigrated to positions in America and get a first hand view of American club manufacturers and their methods. In particular, he noted the Americans' use of drop forging to produce their iron club heads. He returned to Scotland convinced that hand forging was still the superior method for producing clubs, continuing the tradition of quality and character that would always be associated with Scottish made clubs.

In the 1910 Golf Traders' and Manufacturers' Exhibit held in St. Andrews, the Condie firm won first prize for club making. Shortly afterward, his son George took an active role in the daily affairs of the business. Also a very able craftsman, George continued the tradition of hand forged excellence into the 1930s. The firm made other metal golfing implements like hole cutters and tins, flag sticks, and golf ball molds.

In keeping with their commitment to old fashioned quality, the firm declined to produce many patent or unusual club heads. Nor did they go in for the various model lines larger manufacturers used to attract buyers of differing means. If any shop was able to remain successful in the 20th century using 19th century methods, it was the Condie firm. Condie iron heads are the model of durability and simplicity for which Scottish hand craftsmanship are famous.

Robert Condie was known as a capable golfer and held membership at the St. Andrews Golf Club along with many other local club makers. He passed away in 1923 but the firm bearing his name continued in business, under the leadership of his son George, until the second World War.

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