Antique Golf Balls

The Wooden Ball
There is very little known about this period other than the balls used were made from hardwoods such as beech and boxroot, and then crudely rounded with tools. This period lasted between the 14th Century and the 17th Century. There are no known surviving artifacts from this period so the facts are from written information. There was for example documented evidence to show that there were several club makers in existence during this time.

In the late 16th Century it is recorded that one William Mayne was producing clubs for the nobility in Scotland. A bowmaker by trade, in 1603 Mayne was appointed, among other things, clubmaker to King James VI of Scotland, shortly before his accession to the throne of England. Even earlier it is recorded that James IV of Scotland had purchased some golf clubbes in Perth. These were also bought from a bower or bowmaker, then a flourishing trade and one which possessed all the necessary tools, required to produce a rudimentary golf club.

Record books also show that in 1447 King James II issued his now famous edict in Parliament that golf was to be outlawed. His concern was that his subjects were more interested in golf than training how to use the war fare weapons of their time.

Worried that this would leave his country unprotected banned golf. Although the game was outlawed it was continually played over the next 300 years but not by the masses. 
 

The Feather Ball
The feather ball period was the longest period of stability in the history of the golf ball. The feathery ball period latest from as early as the 14th Century or as late as the 16th Century and was produced until the early 1850’s. In its beginnings the leather golf balls were likely to have been filled with wool or hair. These balls quickly lost their resilience and ultimately it was discovered that the use of feathers produced a livelier and longer lasting ball.
 
The method of manufacturing feathery golf balls was fairly uniform, although some variations did exist.  Come the middle of the 19th Century there were hundreds of craftsmen and their apprentices toiling to produce such balls. Large numbers of which were to be reduced to destitution with the advent of the gutta percha.

Producing a feathery was a time consuming process that required considerable expertise. The craftsmen themselves vied with each other for the contracts from the richest patrons of the game and were often scathing about the results their competitors achieved. To produce a feathery, a piece of leather had to be cut in three pieces, softened with alum and water, and then sewn together leaving a small hole into which feathers were pressed until the ball was hard.
 
Enough feathers went into each ball to fill a Top Hat and contrary to the name of this ball it was as hard as a stone andcould travel in excess of 250yds.The hole was then stitched up and the ball was given three coats of paint before being sold.

Each craftsmen could only produce a maximum of three or four featheries a day, with the result that each cost as much as 4 shillings (a considerable amount of money in the 19th Century). Nor was the featherie a durable ball and in wet weather a golfer would be required to carry about 6-8 feathery balls with him.

Feather golf balls were not round and were more often than not oblong in shape. There were a variety of sizes and weights and the ball would be marked with its weight in drams clearly visible along with the maker’s name. Despite not being round feathery golf balls did fly and roll with remarkable trueness. They were perfectly suited to the crude greens of the day. 
Scottish feather balls were shipped to the US as early as 1743 and according to an advert in the New York Royal Gazette dated 1779

“To the golf players. The season for this pleasant and healthy exercise is now advancing. Gentleman may be furnished with excellent clubs and the venerable Caledonian (Scotland) Balls by inquiring at the printers”

With the introduction of the gutty golf balls many feather ball makers such as David Gourlay, realizing their livelihood was under threat dispatched large quantities of stock to their major clients. Others were less pragmatic, and Allan Robertson derided the new ball and was vehement in his support of the featherie. It is also reported that Allan Robertson purchased as many gutty golf balls as he could and then set about burning them in a bid to stop the balls reaching his customers.

The history of the golf ball was entering the most turbulent period in its history – the feathery was finished and the Gutty was set to become the new choice of the golfers of their day. 
 
The following abstract was taken from Reminiscences of Golf and Golfers, published in 1890, and was written by a H.Thomas

Peters and was an accurate description of how feather balls were made.
 
The leather was of untanned bull’s hide, two round pieces for the ends and a piece for the middle, being cut to suit the weight wanted. These were properly shaped, after being sufficiently softened, and then were firmly sewn together. A small hole was left through which the feathers would be afterwards inserted. But before stuffing, it was through this little hole that the leather itself had to be turned outside in. This was a very difficult operation that resulted in only smooth seams showing on the exterior of the ball. The skin was then placed in a cup shaped stand and the worker placed the appropriate amount of feathers in the pocket of his apron. The actual stuffing was done with a crutch-handled steel rod, which the maker placed under his arm. And very hard work, I may add, it was. After the ball was tightly packed, the aperture was closed and firmly sewed up. The resultant ball was smooth and only the outside seam was visible. When I say this, I of course refer only to the new balls.

Older balls showed the effects of service with their open seams and feathers outlooking. On a wet day, the water could be seen driven off in showers from a circle of protruding feathers as if from a spray producer. A ball perhaps started as a “twenty-eight” and when wet, ended up as a pounder. Consequently a new one had to put down at every hole if the match was an important one.
 
Not many feathery golf balls are in existent today and if you are lucky enough to have one in your attic – it could be worth in excess of £20,000. 
 

 
The Gutty Ball
The modern era can be said to have began during this period, when the featherie golf ball was replaced by the gutta-percha golf ball. As the industrial revolution gathered pace in the UK and companies began to produce more and more products with rubber...it was inevitable that someone would attempt to replace the feathery with a more resilient material. 
 
In the end it was a golf mad Reverend called Rev. James Patterson of Dundee who whilst on missionary work in Malaysia discovered the gutty percha which is a rubber like material that comes from the dried sap of sapodilla trees of East Asia.

James sent a statue back to Scotland, which he used the gutta percha as protective packaging for. On his return home he was idly fiddling with this elastic substance which in turn gave him the idea to attempt to create a golf ball from this substance.

Shortly there were many companies producing golf balls from gutty percha and very quickly the gutty ball became the standard equipment of play. Now that there was wide spread demand for this product, two piece metal molds were produced to fashion perfectly round spheres. At first only smooth balls were produced but golfers soon realized that the more the ball nicked and marked so it was easier to predict their shots. This in turn led to companies producing guttys with surface markings to enhance its aerodynamic qualities.

Robert Forgan the St Andrews club and ball maker was attributed to have sold the first guttys with surface patterns in the 1860’s. Robert used to simply place the ball in amount and indented the surface of the ball with the claw end of the hammer. This was known as the hand hammered gutty and this period lasted 20 years until markings where then applied in the molds.

Constant improvement were made to the gutty ball until the turn of the Century, with companies adding material’s such as ground up cork, leather and other materials to the pure gutta-percha.
 
The cost effectiveness of the gutty material was soon recognized and a skilled worker could roll a gutty in a matter of minutes. Soon these balls were being produced at a quarter of the cost of featheries and slowly the game of golf became affordable to the masses. Perhaps one of the finest qualities of the gutty was its ability to be remolded when it had become heavily scarred. Several manufacturers offered a trade in service where the old guttys were taken in part exchange against new. The old gutty’s were then remolded and resold. Alternatively golfers could remold the balls themselves.

With the golfing public switching to the gutty, golf club manufacturers had to rethink the design of golf clubs. The featherie golf ball used to be lifted of the ground with an ash club. It soon became apparent a stronger club would be required for the gutty ball and the hickory shafted clubs were introduced.
 
The Bramble
Lovingly called the bramble period, as the balls resembled the fruit found on brambles in the countryside, with a raised dimple pattern on the golf ball. In the beginning bramble balls were entirely made of gutty-percha and then covered with a bramble pattern cover. The bramble soon overtook the gutty as the preferred choice of the then pro golfers. This was thebeggining of the dimpled ball as we know it today. Brambles are a scarce find and in very good condition they will fetch inexcess of £100 at auction.

The Mesh
During the latter part of the first decade in the twentieth century, golf ball manufacturers were springing up all over the country, and each company was experimenting with rubber core mesh balls. It was at the beginning of this period that the modern day golf ball as we know it know came about. Early dimple balls created during the early 1900’s were proving to offer players greater spin and feel and an Englishman called William Taylor patented the dimple method in 1905.
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. There was the Rifled Ball - a ball designed like the barrel of a gun – which according to adverts would fly like a bullet. It did, but only if you hit it 100% straight – otherwise it was off – spinning here there and everywhere. Shortly after this products launch, these balls were withdrawn from the market making it a highly sought after ball with a value in excess of £10,000.

There were raised banana shapes, donut dimples, Stars, Circles, and Hexagons you name it they tried it! All manufactured in an attempt to create the winning formula.
 
One by one these balls eventually were superceded by another new pattern, and then another, until eventually the square mesh ball became standard. More and more of the small golf ball manufacturers were squeezed out of the market by the larger corporations such as Spalding, Dunlop, Slazenger, Wilson etc, and by the end of 1940’s the market was dominated by the same leading golf manufacturers of today’s market. With the exception of a Scottish firm called St Mungo manufacturing who in 1935 dominated the UK market, along with Spalding, and at their peak produced some 900 dozen balls per day.

With the development of golf balls progressing at an alarming rate the U.S.G.A, fearful of the skill level required to play golf being continually compromised by the golf ball manufacturers, decided to standardize the weight and size of golf balls.

In 1931 the U.S.G.A ruled that no ball played in their championships could weigh more than 1.55 oz, or was smaller than 1.68” in diameter. These new sizes were not popular with the British golfers, as the windswept links of yesteryear required different flight characteristics in a ball.

In January 1932 the Royal & Ancient Golf Association and the U.S.G.A reached a partial compromise on weight and size with the maximum weight being 1.62 oz and a minimum of 1.62” in diameter. The U.S.G.A accepted the new weight but maintained 1.68” as the diameter.
 
With technology constantly improving the driving distance of new balls, the U.S.G.A developed a machine to test the velocity of golf balls in 1941 and in 1942 set the velocity limit at 250 feet. Eventually by 1940 more or less all balls manufactured were the dimple style and the manufacturers turned their research to improving the golf ball within the rules of the game.

With the exception of the one-piece rubber balls, which were introduced in the 1960’s –this was the last major period of change in golf balls until today’s multi-layer golf balls were introduced.

Mesh golf ball values greatly depending on condition and the pattern on the balls. For example a standard Dunlop England square mesh golf ball would fetch approximately £15-£30.00 dependent on condition. Whilst the more unusual patterned balls such as the Star Challenger with a star mesh pattern can fetch in excess of £500.00 dependent on condition. The more unusual the pattern the more the ball is worth.
 
 
The Dimple
The Dimple Period actually began way back in the early 1900's with the introduction of inverted Dimple balls. These early dimple balls were manufactured at the same time as the bramble period and represent the closest link to todays golf balls. The Dimple Pattern was found to help with the control of ball trajectories with aerodynamic spin, it allowed players to put backspin on a shot, nearly stopping the ball dead on the green.
 
These early dimple balls are scarce even more so than brambles due to the fact at the time the raised dimples on the brambles was the professionals choice. And as today, whatever the professionals played with the golfing public wanted the same ball, hence less of these balls are recovered than brambles. Although scarcer than brambles they rarely fetch the same price at auction - this I believe is due to the normality of its looks in comparison to mesh balls and brambles.

A very good condition early dimple ball from the 1900's is likely to fetch about £20-£30 at auction.
 
Although the inverted dimple was to become the standard it was discarded at the end of 1910, as mesh and unusual patterned balls took over. The dimple was then revived in the 1940's as the patents expired on the early dimple designs and the ball began to look the same as we know it today.
The modern ball of today is held in check by the ruling bodies of the game: the R & A and the USGA.

If there were no rules or monitoring of ball characteristics, ball makers would undoubtedly develop even longer carrying balls.

If the skill level required to play golf was enhanced by the ball alone the game would lose much of its competitive equality.

Signature Golf Balls
This is a fast growing sector with Signature balls becoming highly sought after. Signature balls have been used since the early 1900's. The first balls found with signatures on them were bramble golf balls from the early 1900's - due to the scarceness of brambles alone, one found with a signature is likely to fetch £150.00 - £200.00 dependant on the name and condition.
During the mesh period, signature balls become more common as leading manufacturers sought high profile players such as Walter Hogan, Henry Cotton etc to endorse their range of golf balls. This is still common practice today. Billy Casper With the onset of the early dimple balls during the 1940's signature balls were being used quite frequently and many of the early mass produced golf balls by Spalding and Dunlop carried the name of a high profile golfer of the day.
(I wonder if they knew, that in the year 2000 Nike would pay some multi million sum for Tiger Woods Signature on their golf balls).

The use of top players endorsing certain golf balls is still common today and is used as a marketing tool by the leading manufacturers. Signature balls vary greatly in their worth dependant on the name of the golfer and the era it is from.  For example a Walter signature mesh ball in good condition will fetch as much as £50-£100, a Henry Cotton on a 1940's dimple ball would fetch £20-£30 dependant on condition.

Tiger Woods Signature balls buck the trend with a Titleist Professional with his printed signature, recently selling for£50.00 at auction.

Copywright Information From The Golf Ball Museum
http://www.golfballmuseum.co.uk/.  You can visit this site for much more including an amazing collection of antique golf ball images.
 

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