A Brief History of Golf Balls

Golf Balls have undergone a major transformation as the game of golf has evolved. The first golf balls were made of wood and were used from the 15^th century to the mid-17^th century. These wooden golf balls were replaced in 1618 by the “Featherie” golf ball. This featherie golf ball was a leather sack stuffed with goose feathers and boiled. The golf ball would shrink and compact in the boiling water. These balls, while an improvement over their wooden predecessors, were very expensive and inefficient. The balls were hard to make spherical and as a result flew irregularly. A single ball could cost more than a club and would sell for the equivalent of 10-20 US Dollars.

The gutta-percha ball or guttie ball was created in 1848 by Dr Robert Adams. This ball was created from the sap of the Sapodilla tree. This sap, which had a rubber like feel, could be shaped spherically while hot. The balls were first shaped by hammer then later through a press. They were much better and cheaper to produce than feathered balls and replaced the feathered balls within a couple of years.

The 20^th century saw the development of the modern multi-layered golf ball. First created by Coburn Haskell of the BF Goodrich company, Haskell wound a rubber thread around a solid rubber core then covered by a gutta-percha cover. Modern multi-layered balls come in 2,3 or 4 layers in a urethane blend cover.

The dimple patterned golf balls were designed in 1908. Dimpled balls fly further because they reduce drag and increase lift by producing more backspin.