... ironing caused damage, hole in the centre at the start (6)
I believe the answer is:
origin
'the start' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for origin that I've seen before include "Source - provenance" , "Where X meets Y" , "For a start" , "Square one" , "Point of creation" .)