The feather-ball era

For many years golf balls were created from wood, however in the early seventeenth century feather balls were introduced and were hailed as an advance. “Featheries” were manufactured by compressing boiled feathers into the pieces of stitched leather that composed the cover. For stuffing in the feathers a picket tool was first used, when which the stuffing iron had to complete the job. When the leather case was crammed beyond increase, the opening was stitched up and also the case left to dry; then the ball was hammered and created as round as attainable and painted white. The whole method was thus slow that the maker did well to end four balls in a very day, so that they value as a lot of as 5 shillings each. Although the feathery could be hit a long way, it became sodden and disabled in wet weather and was destroyed by hacks from iron clubs, and so the balls were short-lived with expensive.
 
The gutta-percha era

Gutta-percha, the evaporated milky juice or latex of various South Yank and South Pacific island trees (especially those of Malaysia), is soft and impressible at the temperature of boiling water however becomes exhausting and nonbrittle and retains its shape when cooled. It is not plagued by water except at boiling temperature. Within the mid-1840s it was discovered to be a substance ideal for the straightforward and economical manufacture of golf balls; the producing process consisted merely of boiling a strip of gutta-percha, molding it into a spherical shape, and allowing it to dry.

It took a few years, but, for the potential of the “gutty” to be realized. The primary prototypes were smooth as billiard balls; they were tough to induce airborne and tended to duck (drop) quickly in flight. It absolutely was soon discovered that ball flight improved tremendously once the ball acquired the nicks, cuts, and scuff marks that resulted from a spherical of play. Ball manufacturers learned to mold balls with raised or indented surface patterns, thus making certain proper flight.

The emergence of the gutta-percha in 1848 brought about a revolutionary amendment in the game. The professionals had divided views, however. At St. Andrews Allan Robertson, a number one manufacturer of feather balls, would have nothing to do with gutties at initial; however “Recent Tom” Morris, who was then his assistant, wisely foresaw the probabilities of the new ball, and on this issue the two actually parted company in 1852, Morris going into business on his own (he returned to St. Andrews in 1859, when the death of Robertson). The ball was heartily welcomed by the golf community, not least for its economy (cost: one shilling each), and its returning immediately swelled the golfing ranks.
 
The rubber ball

The beginning of the 20th century introduced a replacement ball and a brand new era. The U.S. patent of the three-piece rubber ball the invention of Coburn Haskell, a golfer from Cleveland, and Bertram G. Work of the B.F. Goodrich Company concerned a tension-wound rubber thread around a solid rubber core. The new style allowed for a ball that flew and rolled farther than a gutty; it was conjointly easier to hit and gave its striker a bigger sense of power. Older men found it easier to play, and hosts of girls and youngsters were drawn into the game. Early concerns as to the controllability of the rubber ball were quelled when the 1901 U.S. Amateur and the 1902 U.S. Open and British Open were won by players using the Haskell ball, defeating opponents playing gutties.

Early rubber balls were lined with a layer of gutta-percha molded into a pattern of bumps (called a “bramble pattern”) that coated the complete surface. The Spalding company introduced a ball lined with balata, a natural rubber, in 1903; it proved additional durable and easier to manage than gutta-percha. Experiments with ball style conjointly revealed that balls with indentations made better results than balls with bumps (in that they reduced the drag on a ball's surface by increasing turbulence in flight), and in 1905 the dimpled cowl was patented by England's William Taylor. A variety of ball varieties then appeared from manufacturers catering to the golfer's want to hit the ball farther. Length was the lure, and also the trade race upset the look of courses. Championship and alternative tees had to be sited farther back.

Another issue that greatly increased the popularity and playability of golf was the introduction of the golf tee, patented in 1899 by George F. Grant, one in every of the first African American golfers. Previously players forged a tee from a pinch of wet sand or used different early tees created from cardboard, rubber, or steel. Grant's invention increased the common player's probabilities of obtaining the ball airborne.
 
The 1.62 formula

Shortly after World War I the R&A enacted what's referred to as the “1.62 formula” that the ball ought to have a most weight of 1.sixty two ounces (45.ninety three grams) and a minimum diameter of 1.sixty two inches (4.eleven cm). For two years the USGA tried a ball which weighed 1.55 ounces (43.94 grams) and was 1.68 inches (4.twenty seven cm) in diameter, but in 1932 it reverted to a weight of 1.sixty two ounces while retaining a diameter of 1.68 inches. This larger-sized Yankee ball was ruled obligatory by the British Professional Golf Association in 1968 and replaced the smaller ball throughout the world by 1980.

By the flip of the twenty first century, golf balls still conformed to the above standards, though a host of recent designs were available. Traditional three-piece balata-covered balls were still standard, but golfers may also choose from two-piece balls (with a solid core and a onerous Surlyn cowl), two-piece “performance” balls (with thicker cores and thinner covers, permitting for the feel and management of a 3-piece ball), and three-piece double-cowl balls (consisting of an inner core covered by two layers of varying hardness). Experiments in the size, depth, and arrangement of dimples have also produced balls with longer flight and a better degree of backspin. Modern golf balls will have anywhere from 324 to 492 dimples organized in subtle patterns, like multiple triangular or pentagonal groups.

A major challenge for ball makers is to provide improved products that still conform to USGA standards. A ball that may travel 600 yards (550 metres) is more than possible, but such a ball wouldn't conform to the USGA's edict of 1942, that limited the velocity of a golf ball to 250 feet per second at impact. Nevertheless, ball manufacturers have great flexibility in terms of materials used, dimple patterns, and size and weight (providing this style conforms to the standards of size and weight) and are free to design any ball that takes advantage of such leeway.