A History of the Golf Ball

When looking for golf balls today, most players will find an almost endless supply of titanium induced cores with extra spin control, tour distance, and a balanced center of mass for the perfect roll on the green. There is a ball out there for every player: man, woman, child and senior in existence. Players were not always so lucky, though. This month we will highlight renovations in design of the all mighty golf ball through its checkered and eventually dimpled past.

1550- In the earliest days of golf on the eastern coast of Scotland, players used primitive equipment to play the game in a rather haphazard and casual manner. The first clubs and balls specifically made for golf were fashioned from wood. One documented reference is that of a John Daly playing with a wooden ball in 1550.

1618- Invention of the feathery ball.
This was a handcrafted ball made with goose feathers tightly packed into a horse or cowhide sphere. The feathers and leather were fashioned into a ball while wet. As the assembly dried out the leather shrank and the feathers expanded to create a hardened ball. The ball was then finished off by painting it and punched with the ball-makers mark.The fact that these balls were hand crafted meant that they were very expensive. In some instances they were more expensive than the golf clubs themselves.

1848- Invention of the "guttie," the gutta-percha ball by Rev Adam of St. Andrews. It flies farther than the feathery and is much less expensive. The Guttie ball was made from the rubber like sap of the Gutta tree found in the tropics. In addition to being relatively cheap to produce, it could also be easily repaired by re-heating and then re-shaping. It contributes greatly to the expansion of the game.

1880 -The use of molds is instituted to dimple the gutta-percha ball. Golfers had long noticed that the guttie worked in the air much better after it had been hit several times and scuffed up. Many of the rubber companies around the close of the century began mass-producing balls, which basically killed off the handcrafted ball market.

1898 - The Haskell ball is designed and patented by Coburn Haskell. It is the first rubber-cored ball. It was universally adopted by 1901 after proven success in the British and US Opens. It looked much like the Gutties and gave the golfers an extra 20 yards off the tee on average. .

1905 - William Taylor first applied the dimple pattern to a Haskell ball. The dimple pattern maximizes lift while minimizing. Mr. Taylor actually patents this technology in 1901. Spalding USA immediately purchased the rights for this patent and began to manufacturer dimple balls as early as 1909. Until the patent expired in the 1920’s every company attempted to obtain an advantage over their competitors by designing unique mesh type patterns on golf balls. This was known as the Mesh period.

1906- Pneumatic ball is designed. It was basically a Haskell ball with a compressed air core, which unfortunately was prone to expansion with heat and therefore causing the ball to explode. Others tried mercury, cork and metal cores.

1921 - The R & A limits the size and weight of the ball to 1.62 inches diameter and 1.62 ounces.

1931 - The USGA changes its golf ball standards by increasing the minimum size of the golf ball from 1.62 inches to 1.68 inches, and decreasing the maximum weight from 1.62 ounces to 1.55. The R&A of St. Andrews does not conform thus widening the difference between the two ruling bodies. The lighter, larger "balloon ball" and its users are ridiculed and eventually the USGA raises the weight back to 1.62 ounces.

1972 - Spalding introduces the first two-piece ball, the Top-Flite executive. This is the first real technological advancement since the Haskell design in 1921.

1980 - The USGA introduces the Symmetry Standard, banning balls such as the
Polaris, which correct themselves in flight. They seem to ruin any good innovation that comes along.

1990 - The R & A, after 38 years, adopts the 1.68 inch diameter ball, and for the First time since 1910 The Rules of Golf are standardized throughout the world. Hooray!

2001 - The Precept MC Lady becomes the first women’s ball to cross over to the male market. Word of the MC Ladies exceptional distance spread from golfer to golfer. Proshops across the country couldn’t keep them on the shelves. Apparently the 21st century golfer has no shame or has at least embraced his feminine side.

Over the last decade golf products have advanced greatly. This is due in large part to the increased funding that manufacturers began to devote to research and development. The other contributing factor could be the strength of the US economy over the last decade. The consumer mentality of the general populace fed the manufacturer believes that, "if we build it, they will buy it." Still today, many golfers still need to have the latest advancement in ball technology. I’m quite certain in the near future golf balls will have tracking chips that allow the golfer to follow his balls flight on his PDA complete with course layout and distances to the pin. Much of this technology is readily available. Of course, balls will cost $200 a sleeve, but for many of us that is a small price to pay to have that reassurance that if need be, you can track your ball down to the very bottom of pond you just shanked your drive into.