The first golf balls were made of leather of untanned bull’s hide, two round pieces forming the ends, and a piece for the middle. These pieces were softened, shaped and firmly sewed together, a small hole being left through which the feathers might afterward be inserted.
Who invented the first golf ball?
Golf’s first professional, Allan Robertson, was considered the premier ball and club maker of his time, in the early 1800s. In 1835, at age 14, Tom Morris (later known as Old Tom Morris & the Grandfather of Golf) began working under Robertson at St. Andrews. The two worked together making featherie golf balls until the advent of the guttie ball.
What are golf balls made out of?
Eventually, most golf ball manufacturers settled on one form of rubber or another. The composition of the rubber used is a closely guarded trade secret. Rubber thread was wound around the rubber core, as tightly as possible and a cover of Balata was applied.
What does the inside of a golf ball look like?
What Does the Inside of a Golf Ball Look Like? A thin plastic cover with an interior of one or more thin sandwiched layers inside a large rubber core, that’s how it looks. Depending on the brand as well as the provided quality, the interior, however, can vary.
How did the ball get its unique characteristics?
The feathers and leather were wet and, as they dried, the feathers expanded and the leather shrank, creating a two way pressure and a tight ball with characteristics only recently matched by modern balls. Opinion is divided as to whether the feathers or leather were boiled and there was more than a 'hat' full of feathers in each ball.
What did the first golf ball look like?
In 1618 the 'Featherie' golf ball was introduced, which was made similar to the hairy golf balls but with goose or chicken feathers. Since the featherie golf ball was filled with feathers it was able to be stuffed more full than the hairy, making it harder thus able to fly farther.
What were the first golf balls?
The first golf balls from the 14th Century were made out of wood, specifically beech, by carpenters using hand tools. They weren't perfectly round and it's safe to assume that they sucked. The 17th Century saw the slight design improvement of the featherie, a leather ball stuffed with bird feathers and stitched shut.
What is the oldest golf ball?
We know that the first record of a sold golf ball dates from 1452,18 while the first feather ball known as the featherie was introduced only in the early 17th century. In 1618, a golf ball maker James Melvill from St.
What color was the first golf ball?
Then or later, the featherie ball was developed and introduced. A featherie, or feathery, is a hand-sewn round leather pouch stuffed with chicken or goose feathers and coated with paint, usually white in color. A standard featherie used a gentleman's top hat full of feathers.
When did they stop making wound golf balls?
Remember, wound golf balls were popular prior to the 2000s and they were constructed with thread windings that wrapped around their cores.
Did golf balls used to make rubber bands?
Fifty years later, a ball was developed that had a solid rubber core wound with rubber thread and a gutta-percha cover; it was resilient and became the norm.
Are old golf balls worth anything?
Because of the age and the craftsmanship put into these balls they are among the ones that have the highest price tag of collectible golf balls. These balls are referred to as antique, and goes for sums upwards of +$5000! See example from eBay below.
What is the liquid inside a golf ball?
Contrary to golf folklore, the liquid cores aren't dangerous. Titleist, for example, has used a salt water and corn syrup blend. Today's core is generally made from synthetic rubber -- which may be mixed with bits of metal, such as tungsten or titanium -- or a plastic-like material such as acrylate.
What makes a golf ball Illegal?
Legal golf balls can't be smaller than 1.68 inches in diameter. The Polara balls have a diameter of 1.68 inches (the same size as normal). If you have a smaller ball, you'll have less drag and that should give you more distance.
When did orange golf balls start?
Wilson introduced the first colored golf ball in 1923—the Wilson Hol-Hi Ball in Canary Yellow and Oriole Orange.
What does golf stand for?
The word 'golf' is not an acronym for anything. Rather, it derives linguistically from the Dutch word 'kolf' or 'kolve,' meaning quite simply 'club.
Why are golf balls always white?
It was a bright color and was a good alternative compared to the natural brown of the feathery balls. It is not as if high-intensity yellows and neons were available options, so for hundreds of years, white was the standard color.
Are old golf balls worth anything?
Because of the age and the craftsmanship put into these balls they are among the ones that have the highest price tag of collectible golf balls. These balls are referred to as antique, and goes for sums upwards of +$5000! See example from eBay below.
Who invented the first golf ball in 1400?
1400 First golf ball was invented by yina funez.
Who invented top golf?
TopgolfTrade nameTopgolf Entertainment GroupIndustrySports entertainmentFounded2000 Watford, England, U.K.FoundersSteve Jolliffe Dave Jolliffe Mark Murray Barry CumbieHeadquartersDallas, Texas , U.S.10 more rows
What was the first ball used in golf?
There are theories that wooden balls may have been used in a target version of golf in Scotland, but this is not golf proper and it is more likely than not that the ‘hairy’ colf ball was the first ball used for golf on the links in Scotland.
What is the most famous golf ball?
The feathery or featherie is the most famous of all golf balls, though it is not definitively known when or where it was developed. There is a reference in the Edinburgh Testaments (vol xlvii 123b) to 'fyve scoir twell flok goiff ballis' (112 flok golf balls) in a will in 1612.
Why are gutties painted red?
Gutties were painted white or red for winter play, for the same reason as featheries, as protection and to be able to find them. The cost of gutties was 1/- one shilling, much cheaper than featheries, and a main factor in bringing golf to the masses. The gutty lasted until 1900.
When were gutties invented?
However, by 1860, gutties were good enough and popular enough to replace the feathery and a new era of golf was born. In 1871, Willie Dunn at Musselburgh created a mould to make gutties, which was a quicker and more consistent method of production.
How many metres can a hairy colf ball hit?
It is estimated that the ball could be hit 135-150 metres and it was more controllable than wooden colf balls, although it was prone to water damage.
What are the four types of golf balls?
In the first four hundred years of golf there were only four types of golf ball - the Hairy, the Feathery, the Gutty and the Haskell. Everyone refers to golf as a ‘stick and ball’ game, and this has over-emphasized the role of the clubs, ...
Where did feathery ball originate?
The first reference to a feathery is in the Netherlands in a poem in 1657, as a pennebal, in connection with a Scottish 'cleek', so it is possible that the ball was developed in Scotland and the concept re-exported to the Netherlands.
Where did the hairy golf ball come from?
Hairy Golf Balls. From 1486 through 1618, the Scottish received and used the hairy golf ball imported from the Netherlands. The hairy golf ball was a hand-sewn round leather ball filled with cows’ hair or straw. In 1554 the hairy golf ball was being produced in Scotland by the “cordiners and gouff ball makers of North Leith.”.
When was golf invented?
By many accounts it is presumed that the earliest games of golf were played with a wooden ball in the 14th century. It’s been refuted that wooden balls were never used in links golf in Scotland, but instead they were used in early games that were similar to golf.
What sap is used to make Haskel golf balls?
Thus bringing the modern look of the golf ball that we’ve become accustom to. The balata sap initially used to make Haskel golf balls had a tendency to get indents on it as it was relatively soft.
Why is a featherie golf ball harder to fly?
Since the featherie golf ball was filled with feathers it was able to be stuffed more full than the hairy, making it harder thus able to fly farther. To make a featherie, the feathers and leather would be shaped while wet. Upon drying the leather shrank and feathers expanded creating the desired hardness for the ball.
How many stages of evolution are there in golf?
The modern golf ball has undergone a few transformations to get to where it is today. The origins of the golf ball can be traced to five distinct stages of evolution. From a wooden ball in the 14th century to the modern rubber core balls, discover the history behind the golf ball.
When was the rubber core discovered?
Rubber Core Golf Balls – Haskel. In 1898 Coburn Haskell made a discovery while awaiting Bertram Work, of the B.F. Goodrich Company, when he wound a rubber thread into a ball and bounced it. Haskell discovered it had a lot of bounce and upon Bertram Work’s suggestion to put a cover over it, the rubber Haskell golf ball was born.
Who invented the Gutta Percha ball?
In 1848 Dr. Robert Adams Paterson invented the Gutta-Percha ball, or Guttie. The guttie was made by using dried sap from the Malaysian Sapodilla tree. The sap had a rubber-like quality to it and upon heating could be formed into a sphere.
Modern Golf Balls
To this day golf ball designs still follow a similar formula to Haskell’s rubber golf ball design. Modern golf balls feature a variety of different designs in terms of construction, core, cover, and dimples.
Conforming Golf Balls
When it comes to golf ball designs manufacturers have free rain in terms of design features, the Rules of Golf do however have set standards that all legal golf balls need to conform to. These standards include that a golf ball cannot be smaller than 1.680 inches in diameter and the weight of the golf ball can’t exceed 1.620 ounces.
Final Thoughts
There is no doubt that the history of the golf ball is fascinating and it is hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to play with a feathered stuffed leather golf ball.
The early history of golf balls (from 1905)
The first golf balls were made of leather of untanned bull’s hide, two round pieces forming the ends, and a piece for the middle.
DUNLOP SCIENCE has again achieved the unbelievable (1927)
ANNOUNCING the finest golf-ball ever produced by the world’s largest maker of fine golf-balls
The history of golf balls: Where millions of golf balls go (1927)
United States, which furnished the modern rubber-core ball and newest type clubs, leads world in playing golf
DynaFlite golf ball (1967)
Take strokes off your score with the world’s first lifetime golf ball — the patented Space Age ball that CAN’T cut, CAN’T chip, CAN’T go out of round, CAN’T lose its distance … yet still meets every U.S.G.A. specification.
What was the first golf ball?
The 17th century saw the invention of the “featherie,” which could be said to be the first ‘proper’ golf ball. The idea was to make a spherical cowhide casing, then stitch it shut but with a slight gap. This would be filled with feathers – usually goose feathers. The feathers and casing would be made wet and the casing would be stitched up. As they dried, the feathers expanded and the leather casing shrank. The result was a tight ball.
What was the name of the gummy resin that was used to make golf balls?
In 1843, a student at St Andrew’s named Robert Adams Paterson received a package from Singapore. The package was made from “gutta-percha” a type of dried gummy resin from a tree native to Malaysia called the Sapodilla. A keen golfer and amateur inventor, Paterson decided to try and make a golf ball by heating the resin and placing it in a mold to dry.
Where did golf originate?
Golf originated from a game played on the coast of Scotland during the 15th century. Golfers would hit a pebble instead of a ball around the sand dunes using a stick or club. After 1750, golf evolved into the sport as we recognize it today. In 1774, Edinburgh golfers wrote the first standardized rules for the game of golf.
When was the golf bag invented?
During the 1880s, golf bags first came into use. "The beast of burden" is an old nickname for the caddie who carried golfers' equipment for them. The first powered golf car appeared around 1962 and was invented by Merlin L. Halvorson.
What is a perfectum tee made of?
In 1892, a British patent was granted to Percy Ellis for his "Perfectum" tee that did pierce the ground. It was a rubber tee with a metal spike.
When was the first golf tee invented?
Invention of Golf Tees. The word "tee" as it relates to the game of golf originated as the name for the area where a golfer played. In 1889, the first documented portable golf tee was patented by Scottish golfers William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas. This golf tee was made from rubber and had three vertical rubber prongs that held the ball in place.
How have golf clubs evolved?
The evolution of clubs went hand-in-hand with the evolution of golf balls that were able to withstand harder whacks.
What happens if you draw your club in order to strike?
If you draw your club in order to strike and proceed so far in the stroke as to be bringing down your club; if then your club shall break in any way, it is to be accounted a stroke.
When were the rules of golf invented?
Rules of the Game. In 1774, the first standardized rules of golf were written and used for the first golf championship, which was won by Doctor John Rattray on 2nd April 1744 in Edinburgh, Scotland. You must tee your ball within one club's length of the hole. Your tee must be on the ground.
