How Golf Balls Were Made

When the game of Golf originated in Scotland back in the 1600's golfers played with balls made of wood. As with most sports, equipment evolved and improved with time and so did the Golf Ball. After wood came the Featherie ball. The Featherie golf ball was called that for a good reason: it was made with compacted goose feathers stuffed into a leather pouch. Even though the Featherie golf ball had better flight characteristics compared to wood its sphere was less than perfect. Although a bit unpredictable the Featherie was popular and remained the ball of choice for over two centuries.

Around the mid-1800's a new generation of golf ball was invented from the dried sap of a Sapodilla Tree. The rubbery sap was heated and molded into a round shape. It was discovered by accident that certain indentations caused the ball to have a more consistent flight. After that discovery golf balls were intentionally designed with textured surfaces and known as Gutties. Before long Gutties became the golf ball of choice and the Featherie lost popularity.

In 1908, dimples were first patented and had a better flight pattern compared to others types of patterns being tried at the time. Modern golf balls have approximately 250 - 450 dimples but some have been designed with over 500 dimples. Most golf balls have an even number of dimples.

At the turn of the 20th century multi-layer balls were developed by accident. While Coburn Haskell of Cleveland Ohio was waiting to go play a round of golf with Bertram Work, the superintendent of B.F. Goodrich, he played with a long strip of rubber, winding it into a ball. After he bounced it on the ground and saw it quickly rebound toward the ceiling he had an idea. He suggested placing a cover over the rubber and another popular golf ball was invented.

New technology, materials and better understanding of aerodynamics have resulted in different types of golf balls designed for: distance and durability; control and maneuverability; distance and control and slow club head speed. Modern day golfers have many models of golf balls to choose from, but thankfully, wood isn't one of them. One can only wonder what it must have been like to play with a wood golf ball but thanks to modern innovation no one has to.

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