Basically, the feathery was a leather sack filled with boiled goose feathers, then stitched up and painted. The first "real" golf ball was known as a "feathery"golf ball. Wooden golf balls were used up until the seventeenth century, when the feathery ball was invented.įeathery Golf Balls (Feather Stuffed Leather Covered Golf Balls) Wooden clubs were the golf club of choice, which in conjunction with the wood balls would have made your friendly game of golf a rather jarring experience. Harboring their roots in the early 1400's on the Eastern Coast of Scotland, these original wooden golf balls were inefficient at best and likely made of hardwoods such as Beech or Boxroot. Wooden golf balls were the first man made golf balls, and although information is scant, it would be a pretty safe bet to assume that a wooden golf ball had some rather interesting playing characteristics. There is no question that the first games of golf, as we know it today, were played using wooden golf balls. Clearly, the game of golf has become incredibly popular, and the resulting industry is big business.įour Stages in the Evolution of the Golf BallĪlthough it is likely that the very first golf balls were nothing more than round rocks or pebbles, there are four distinctly recognizable stages in the evolution of the golf ball:
Today, 50 million golfers worldwide play 900 million rounds on some 25,000 golf courses each and every year. One can even argue that when it comes to golf, yesterday’s technologies are today’s traditions. The balance (and debate) between technology and tradition is as old as the game of golf itself. The development of the golf club, the golf course, and the rules of the game were affected by the evolution of the golf ball itself.
The evolution of the golf ball highlights the major changes in the game of golf and depicts important golf landmarks during the long evolution of the game. With the first recognizable form of the game of golf being played in Scotland in the early 1400's, the golf ball has had nearly 600 years to evolve. The common golf ball has undergone many upgrades and enhancements throughout its long life. Golf Ball Construction | Golf Ball Types | Golf Ball Compression | Golf Ball Dimples | Golf Ball Distance | Golf Ball Spin