The feathery golf balls were manufactured while the leather and feathers were still wet, and as the leather shrunk while drying, the feathers expanded to create a hardened, compact ball. The Feathery was then painted and sold, often for more than the price of a golf club.
Full Answer
What was the first golf ball made of?
The first golf balls of leather were made with a bird feather stuffing. They were known as “featheries”. Surely they were burly and not very consistently made. Since they were made from leather they absorbed moisture during play and changed characteristics throughout the round.
What are hairy golf balls and where did they come from?
The origins of golf reference pebbles being used as golf balls in Scotland, hairy golf balls however were the first real golf balls that were manufactured and used by golfers for centuries. Hairy golf balls were originally manufactured in the Netherlands in the 1400s. Hairy golf balls featured hand-sewn leather outers with cow hair or straw inners.
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 is the history of the ball cover?
In the mid-1960s, a new synthetic resin, an ionomer of ethylene acid named Surlyn was introduced DuPont as were new urethane blends for golf ball covers, and these new materials soon displaced balatá as they proved more durable and more resistant to cutting.
What was the first golf ball made out of?
Guttie/Gutta Golf Balls 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.
What were old fashioned golf balls made of?
The first "real" golf ball was known as a "feathery"golf ball. Basically, the feathery was a leather sack filled with boiled goose feathers, then stitched up and painted. Feathery golf balls were expensive to make easily damaged and only the privileged few could afford to use them.
What was the first golf ball made of wood?
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 was the golf ball made out of?
These days, a golf ball is typically made of a butadiene rubber center surrounded by one or more rubber mantles and topped off with a tough skin.
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.
What was the liquid in old golf balls?
For decades, the wound rubber ball consisted of a liquid-filled or solid round core that was wound with a layer of rubber thread into a larger round inner core and then covered with a thin outer shell made of balatá sap.
What were the golf balls made of in the 1800's?
Until the mid-19th century, the featherie was the standard golf ball. It was made of cow or horsehide which was stuffed with feathers; most often goose feather.
What is the oldest golf ball?
Lying in a 'dusty' corner of a museum in Stirling is one of the most important artefacts in sporting history. It is an old ball with the identical construction to later feathery golf balls. It has been dated to 1514-1570 making it the oldest of its type in the world.
Who invented the first golf ball in 1400?
1400 First golf ball was invented by yina funez.
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 inside of golf balls?
Typically, a golf ball's core is made from synthetic rubber, which can be mixed with other materials such as metals (tungsten or titanium) while other brands might mix their cores with acrylate. The layers of a golf ball are used to add certain aspects, such as distance, speed and feel.
How far did old golf balls go?
While the leather shrank, the feathers expanded, which made the ball very hard and compact21. Interestingly, the featherie also had excellent flight characteristics as it could reach a distance of up to 175 yards22; although the longest recorded distance is more than 361 yards.
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.
When was Gutta Percha used in golf balls?
1848Initially, golf balls had consisted of leather pouches stuffed with boiled feathers. In 1848, a new golf ball -- the gutta-percha -- began to replace the "feathery," as the original golf ball was known. The gutta-percha consisted of hardened juice from trees located in South America and the Pacific Islands.
What are Pro V1 golf balls made of?
According to a Titleist executive, polybutadiene, a synthetic rubber, is the Pro V1 core's essential element because it produces a "high-energy return." The Titleist Pro V1 also features the Next Generation 2.0 ZG Process Core Technology, a process that took the manufacturer more than five years to perfect.
What were the first golf balls made of?
The first golf balls of leather were made with a bird feather stuffing. They were known as “featheries”. Surely they were burly and not very consistently made. Since they were made from leather they absorbed moisture during play and changed characteristics throughout the round.
Who invented the golf ball?
The American Robert Adams Paterson invented the so-called “guttie” golf ball in 1848. He took some rubber material called gutta-percha, which was extracted from a special kind of Malaysian rubber tree. Nowadays this rubber compound is used widely in dentistry and for insulation on electrical cables.
What is a surlyn golf ball?
Surlyn is a specific type of ionomer resin, developed by the American company DuPont in the 1960s. Ionomer golf ball covers bring something different to the table than urethane. It is the preferred material for distance balls because spin rates are lower and durability is higher. Usually, manufacturing costs are lower than urethane, ...
What are the two most common covers for golf balls?
The two most common ones are urethane and ionomer/Surlyn.
What is the mantle layer in golf balls?
The mantle layer will have the possibility to increase spin and greenside control on approach shots, or it can reduce side spin on longer shots.
What is the last thing on a golf ball?
Numbers. The last thing on the surface of the golf ball is the writing . It usually consists of the brand name and model, along with a number. You will be able to identify your ball from the numbering, and that is mostly what that is used for.
When did golf balls start to have dimples?
But around the 1910-1920 mark some began experimenting with dimples indented in the surface. This discovery led to even more consistent ball flights and even enabled the very best players to put backspin on the ball and stop it easier. The next major discovery is mostly how we see the golf balls today.
How were feathery golf balls made?
The feathery golf balls were manufactured while the leather and feathers were still wet, and as the leather shrunk while drying, the feathers expanded to create a hardened, compact ball. The Feathery was then painted and sold, often for more than the price of a golf club.
What was the most popular design of the Gutta Percha era golf ball?
Golf truly became the sport for the masses. "The Bramble" design, with its minute bulges resembling a Brambleberry, became the most popular design of the Gutta Percha era golf ball.
What is a feathery golf ball?
Basically, the feathery was a leather sack filled with boiled goose feathers, then stitched up and painted.
What is the evolution of the golf ball?
The evolution of the golf ball highlights the major changes in the game of golf and depicts important golf landmarks during the long evolution of the game. The development of the golf club, the golf course, and the rules of the game were affected by the evolution of the golf ball itself. The balance (and debate) between technology ...
When did rubber core golf balls replace gutty golf balls?
The more modern rubber core golf ball replaced the gutty in 1899. However, the rubber core golf ball of the day did not meet with immediate success. Golfers complained that while the rubber cored golf balls were longer off of the tee they were far too lively on and around the greens.
When was the Brambleberry golf ball invented?
The advent of the rubber core golf ball changed the face of the game of golf as we knew it. This new design was invented in 1898 by Coburn Haskell in association with the BF Goodrich Company.
What was the first game of golf?
There is no question that the first games of golf, as we know it today, were played using wooden golf balls. Wooden golf balls were the first man made golf balls, and although information is scant, it would be a pretty safe bet to assume that a wooden golf ball had some rather interesting playing characteristics.
How big is a golf ball?
The Rules of Golf, jointly governed by the R&A and the USGA, state in Appendix III that the diameter of a "conforming" golf ball cannot be any smaller than 1.680 inches (42.67 mm), and the weight of the ball may not exceed 1.620 ounces (45.93 g). The ball must also have the basic properties of a spherically symmetrical ball, generally meaning that the ball itself must be spherical and must have a symmetrical arrangement of dimples on its surface. Additional rules direct players and manufacturers to other technical documents published by the R&A and USGA with additional restrictions, such as radius and depth of dimples, maximum launch speed from test apparatus (generally defining the coefficient of restitution) and maximum total distance when launched from the test equipment.
Who broke the world record for the fastest golf ball?
Canadian long drive champion Jason Zuback broke the world ball speed record on an episode of Sport Science with a golf ball speed of 328 km/h (204 mph). The previous record of 302 km/h (188 mph) was held by José Ramón Areitio, a Jai Alai player.
How does impact affect golf ball?
When a golf ball is hit, the impact, which lasts less than a millisecond, determines the ball's velocity, launch angle and spin rate, all of which influence its trajectory and its behavior when it hits the ground.
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.
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.
Where were leather golf balls made?
It came into its own on the Scottish Links. Leather stitched golf balls were been being made in Scotland from at least 1554, when there was a recorded dispute between the cordiners (leather workers) of the Cannongate in Edinburgh and the 'cordiners and gouff ball makers of North Leith' .
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, ...
Overview
History
It is commonly believed that hard wooden, round balls were the first balls used for golf between the 14th through the 17th centuries. Though they were no doubt used for other similar contemporary stick and ball games, made from hardwoods such as beech and box trees, there is no definite evidence that they were used in golf in Scotland. It is equally, if not more likely, that leather balls filled with cows' hair were used, imported from the Netherlands from at least 1486 o…
Regulations
The Rules of Golf, jointly governed by the R&A and the USGA, state in Appendix III that the diameter of a "conforming" golf ball cannot be any smaller than 1.680 inches (42.67 mm), and the weight of the ball may not exceed 1.620 ounces (45.93 g). The ball must also have the basic properties of a spherically symmetrical ball, generally meaning that the ball itself must be spherical and must have a symmetrical arrangement of dimples on its surface. While the ball's dimples must be sy…
Aerodynamics
When a golf ball is hit, the impact, which lasts less than a millisecond, determines the ball's velocity, launch angle and spin rate, all of which influence its trajectory and its behavior when it hits the ground.
A ball moving through air experiences two major aerodynamic forces, lift and drag. Dimpled balls fly farther than non-dimpled balls due to the combination of these two effects.
Design
Dimples first became a feature of golf balls when English engineer and manufacturer William Taylor, co-founder of the Taylor-Hobson company, registered a patent for a dimple design in 1905. William Taylor had realized that golf players were trying to make irregularities on their balls, noticing that used balls were going further than new ones. Hence he decided to make systematic tests to determine what surface formation would give the best flight. He then developed a patter…
Behavior
Today, golf balls are manufactured using a variety of different materials, offering a range of playing characteristics to suit the player's abilities and desired flight and landing behaviours.
A key consideration is "compression", typically determined by the hardness of the ball's core layers. A harder "high-compression" ball will fly further because of the more efficient transfer of energy into the ball, but will also transmit more of a shock through the club to the player's hands …
Selection
There are many types of golf balls on the market, and customers often face a difficult decision. Golf balls are divided into two categories: recreational and advanced balls. Recreational balls are oriented toward the ordinary golfer, who generally have low swing speeds (80 miles per hour (130 km/h) or lower) and lose golf balls on the course easily. These balls are made of two layers, with the cover firmer than the core. Their low compression and side spin reduction characteristics su…
Marking and personalization
Golfers need to distinguish their ball from other players' to ensure that they do not play the wrong ball. This is often done by making a mark on the ball using a permanent marker pen such as a Sharpie. A wide number of markings are used; a majority of players either simply write their initial in a particular color, or color in a particular arrangement of the dimples on the ball. Many players make multiple markings so that at least one can be seen without having to lift the ball. Marking t…