What were the first golf balls made of?
Although the era of the feathery golf ball may have started in the early 1400's and run until the late 1840's, it is believed that it was in 1618 that a new type of golf ball was created by handcrafting a cowhide sphere stuffed with goose feathers.
Who hit the first golf ball in space?
· 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.
What is the best golf ball in the world?
· 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. Andrews succeeded to get a 21-year monopoly from King James VI and I (r.1567-1625), granting him an exclusive right to make golf balls .
What is the longest golf ball ever made?
A golf-like game is, apocryphally, recorded as taking place on February 26, 1297, in Loenen aan de Vecht, where the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. The winner was whoever hit the ball with the fewest strokes into a target several hundred yards away. Some scholars argue that this game of putting a small ball in a hole in the ground using golf clubs was also played in …
Who invented the first golf ball in 1400?
1400 First golf ball was invented by yina funez.
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.
Where was the first golf ball invented?
In the mid-1800s, a guy named Robert Adams Paterson made the first molded ball. He discovered that the sap from a sapodilla tree, native to Malaysia, could be heated up, placed into a round mold and would then dry hard.
Who invented the Featherie golf ball?
With Tom Morris as his apprentice, Allan Robertson made 1,021 featherie golf balls in 1840, 1,392 in 1841 and 2,456 in 1844. The work was hard, as shown recently by a review of autopsy reports of golf ball makers. Allan Robertson died at 44. Many of the Gourlay golf ball-makers at Bruntsfield also died young.
Who invented golf?
Charles Blair MacDonald, who attended St. Andrews University and learned the game at the St. Andrews Golf Links, is considered the father of American golf course architects. In 1893, MacDonald built the Chicago Golf Club, which was the country's first 18-hole course.
What country invented golf?
ScotlandGolf originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland, in an area close to the royal capital of Edinburgh. In those early days players would attempt to hit a pebble over sand dunes and around tracks using a bent stick or club.
Who invented the golf tee?
In 1899, Boston dentist Dr. George Grant, frustrated with this tedious and messy process, invented a wooden golf tee. Dr. Grant was born to escaped slaves in 1846, eventually finding work as an assistant at a dentist's office.
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. You'll also notice that illegal balls are slightly heavier.
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 was the first golf ball originally made from?
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.
Do golf balls explode?
By the 1920s, golf ball manufacturers had stopped using caustic liquids, but into the 1970s and 1980s golf balls were still at times exploding when dissected and were causing injuries due to the presence of crushed crystalline material present in the liquid cores.
Why is there dimples on a golf ball?
Dimples on a golf ball create a thin turbulent boundary layer of air that clings to the ball's surface. This allows the smoothly flowing air to follow the ball's surface a little farther around the back side of the ball, thereby decreasing the size of the wake.
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.
Who made featherie golf balls?
With Tom Morris as his apprentice, Allan Robertson made 1,021 featherie golf balls in 1840, 1,392 in 1841 and 2,456 in 1844. The work was hard, as shown recently by a review of autopsy reports of golf ball makers. Allan Robertson died at 44. Many of the Gourlay golf ball-makers at Bruntsfield also died young.
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.
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, ...
When was the feathery first mentioned?
No written reference to the feathery per se has been found in Scotland before 1724, when Alan Ramsay refers to it in an unpublished draft of a poem, cited in The Chronicles of Golf. The most famous mention at this time of the feathery is in 'The Goff' by Thomas Mathison in 1743 - “the feathers harden and the leather swells".
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.
Who was the first golfer?
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.
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.
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.”.
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.
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.
When was the first golf ball invented?
Even though the Haskell’s rubber-wound core ball is traditionally regarded as the first modern golf ball, the origins of the ball that is used by today’s pros and amateurs alike dates from the 1960s. At that time, an American chemical engineer named James R. Bartsch (1933-1991) entered the golf ballmaking business only to find out that he was not going to succeed unless he finds a way to reduce the cost of the materials and labour. He started to experiment with various synthetic materials and refused to give up until he found the perfect formula. Bartsch’s ball, however, wasn’t only more than twice less expensive to produce 63 but it also re-introduced the concept of a solid-moulded ball.
What is the history of golf balls?
A golf ball is central to the game of golf. In fact, golf is all about the ball. Well, getting it into the hole in the ground. All the fuss surrounding the correct posture, swinging technique, proper grip, etc. is actually all about hitting the ball at the right angle, ...
Why was the Gutta Percha Ball so popular?
There are several reasons why the gutta percha ball replaced the featherie which was the standard for more than 300 years. Cheaper production and consequently, lower cost (up to 80 per cent!) are definitely among the main reasons for the success of the guttie. 36 Equally important, its performance wasn’t in any way inferior to that of the featherie. In fact, it could fly even further than its costly counterpart, reaching distances of up to 246 yards. Also, it lasted longer and was less vulnerable to moisture , which was a huge advantage over the featherie, especially in the wet British climate. 37 For obvious reasons, the old ballmaking “dynasties” initially resisted the change but when they realised the effect it had on the game and that the decrease of profits due to the lower cost of the guttie can be compensated by increased production, they accepted the new reality. 38 Even the guttie’s fiercest opponent, Allan Robertson of St. Andrews (1815-1859) changed his viewpoint when he figured out that he could make as many gutties in an hour as he could make featheries in an entire day. 39
What was the name of the ball that was used to play golf?
Gutta Percha Ball (The Guttie) In the mid-19th century, most people could only dream of playing golf. There were at the time fewer than 20 golf clubs around the world, with just three being outside Scotland. But that was not the only thing that prevented most people from playing golf.
What was the ball of choice from the mid-19th to the early 20th century?
Likewise, it didn’t perform well in extremely high temperatures and when compared to the featherie, the guttie didn’t only felt harsh and rigid, it also sounded harsh when hit with a club. 46 Despite its “flaws”, the guttie was the ball of choice from the mid-19th to the early 20th century around the world.
What is the most likely precursor of golf?
A Dutch game known as kolven or kolf that was played with a stick and leather ball at least since the 13th century is by most authors seen as the most probable precursor of golf although there is also evidence of a similar game being played in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). 5 6 In addition, the claim to the “invention” of golf has also been laid by the French. This claim is largely based on a late 14th century illustration depicting two individuals playing a golf-like game. However, they could also be playing kolven or kolf. 7 And then there is also the British game known as cambuca, which was played in the 14th century with a small wooden ball and a mallet. 8 But as Hotchkiss notes, the game came to be called gowf, goff and eventually, golf only when the players started hitting the ball with an aim to get it into the hole in the ground. And by the time that happened, the game was very much established in Scotland. 9
How many times has the golf ball revolutionized the game?
According to John F. Hotchkiss (1997), the author of one of the most acclaimed books on the history of the golf ball, the latter revolutionised the game at least four times.
What is a golf ball?
A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf .
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 do dimples work in golf?
Lastly, the pattern of dimples plays a role. By regulation, the arrangement of the dimples on the ball must be as symmetrical as possible. However, the dimples don't all have to be the same size, nor be in a uniform distribution. This allows designers to arrange the dimple patterns in such a way that the resistance to spinning is lower along certain axes of rotation and higher along others. This causes the ball to "settle" into one of these low-resistance axes that (golfers hope) is close to parallel with the ground and perpendicular to the direction of travel, thereby eliminating "sidespin" induced by a slight mishit, which will cause the ball to curve off its intended flight path. A badly mishit ball will still curve, as the ball will settle into a spin axis that is not parallel with the ground which, much like an aircraft's wings, will cause the shot to bank either to the left or to the right.
What is a high spin golf ball?
Another consideration is "spin", affected by compression and by the cover material - a "high-spin" ball allows more of the ball's surface to contact the clubface at impact, allowing the grooves of the clubface to "grip" the ball and induce more backspin at launch. Backspin creates lift that can increase carry distance, and also provides "bite" which allows a ball to arrest its forward motion at the initial point of impact, bouncing straight up or even backwards, allowing for precision placement of the ball on the green with an approach shot. However, high-spin cover materials, typically being softer, are less durable which shortens the useful life of the ball, and backspin is not desirable on most long-distance shots, such as with the driver, as it causes the shot to "balloon" and then to bite on the fairway, when additional rolling distance is usually desired.
Why does a golf ball backspin?
Backspin is imparted in almost every shot due to the golf club's loft (i.e., angle between the clubface and a vertical plane). A backspinning ball experiences an upward lift force which makes it fly higher and longer than a ball without spin.
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.
What causes a golf ball to travel further?
The turbulent boundary layer is able to remain attached to the surface of the ball much longer than a laminar boundary with less eddies and so creates a narrower low-pressure wake and hence less pressure drag. The reduction in pressure drag causes the ball to travel further.
Where did golf originate?
The modern game of golf is generally considered to be a Scottish invention. A spokesman for The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, one of the oldest Scottish golf organisations, said "Stick and ball games have been around for many centuries, but golf as we know it today, played over 18 holes, clearly originated in Scotland." The word golf, or in Scots gowf [gʌuf], is usually thought to be a Scots alteration of Dutch " colf " or " colve " meaning " stick, " club ", " bat ", itself related to the Proto-Germanic language *kulth- as found in Old Norse kolfr meaning " bell clapper", and the German Kolben meaning " mace or club". The Dutch term Kolven refers to a related sport where the lowest number of strokes needed to hit a ball with a mallet into a hole determines the winner; according to the "Le grand dictionnaire françois-flamen" printed 1643 is stated the Dutch term to Flemish: "Kolf, zest Kolve; Kolfdrager, Sergeant; Kolf, Kolp, Goulfe."
When was golf invented in Scotland?
The first documented mention of golf in Scotland appears in a 1457 Act of the Scottish Parliament, an edict issued by King James II of Scotland prohibiting the playing of the games of gowf and futball as these were a distraction from archery practice for military purposes.
How fast can a golf ball go?
These standards were later followed by a USGA regulation stating that the initial velocity of any golf ball cannot exceed 250 feet per second.
How did golf evolve?
The evolution of golf can be explained by the development of the equipment used to play the game. Some of the most notable advancements in the game of golf have come from the development of the golf ball. The golf ball took on many different forms before the 1930s when the United States Golf Association (USGA) set standards for weight and size. These standards were later followed by a USGA regulation stating that the initial velocity of any golf ball cannot exceed 250 feet per second. Since this time, the golf ball has continued to develop and impact the way the game is played.
When was the first round of kolf played?
In December 1650, the settlers of Fort Orange (near present-day Albany, New York) played the first recorded round of kolf (golf) in America. The Dutch settlers played kolf year round. During the spring, summer and fall it was played in fields. In the winter it was played on ice with the same rules.
How many golf courses were built in Japan in 2009?
The 1987 Resort Law that reduced protection on agricultural land and forest preserves created a further boom in course construction and by 2009 there were over 2,400 courses. The popularity of golf in Japan also caused many golf resorts to be created across the Pacific Rim.
What is the scene in the Golf Book?
A scene from the Golf Book, circa 1540, shows a game with similarities to modern day golf e.g. knocking a ball down a hole with a crooked headed club.
Who made the first golf ball?
In the mid-1800s, a guy named Robert Adams Paterson made the first molded ball. He discovered that the sap from a sapodilla tree, native to Malaysia, could be heated up, placed into a round mold and would then dry hard. Called the guttie, these were the first golf balls with mass-manufacturability, and with the added bonus ...
Who invented the golf ball?
By the late 1890s, a new type of golf ball had been created, by accident, by a visitor to B.F. Goodrich's rubber goods manufactory. A guy named Coburn Haskell had a golf date with Bertram Work, a Goodrich superintendent, and while Haskell was waiting for his buddy in the factory, he idly wound a bunch of rubber bands into a ball shape—and by bouncing it, discovered it contained a high amount of potential energy. Work and Haskell subsequently skinned the invention with the sap from a Balata tree, and the guttie became obsolete.
What were the first golf balls made of?
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.
When did golf balls replace rubber?
By the 1960s Balata and rubber was done away with and replaced with urethane skins and synthetic resin cores. And while that sounds boring as heck compared to some of the earlier innovations, as we shall see in the next entry, there is something surprising about the modern-day golf ball.
Overview
A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf.
Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than 1.620 oz (45.9 g), has a diameter not less than 1.680 inches (42.7 mm), and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like golf clubs, golf balls are subject to testing and approval by The R&A (formerly part of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews) and the United States Golf Association, and those th…
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 leatherballs 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-Hobsoncompany, 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…