About Golf Balls

Ian Schnelt asked:


The Wooden Ball

When golf first came about, the balls used were made from hardwoods such as beech and crudely rounded with tools. This period lasted from the 14th Century to the 17th Century.

In the late 16th Century it is recorded that one William Mayne was producing clubs for the nobility in Scotland. In 1603 Mayne, a bowmaker by trade was appointed, among other things, clubmaker to King James VI of Scotland, shortly before his accession to the throne of England.

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 warfare weapons of their time! Worried this would leave his country defenceless; he banned golf (although it was still played, just 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 lasted from as early as the 14th Century to 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.

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.

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 and could travel in excess of 250yds.

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 and were perfectly suited to the crude greens of the day.

The Gutty Ball

This is where the modern era started, with the feathery being replaced by the gutty.

The industrial revolution was booming in the UK and factories started to manufacture many more products using rubber…it was only a matter of time before someone would substitute the feathery with a more durable material.

In the end Reverend James Patterson, a keen golfer discovered the gutty-percha whilst on missionary work in Malaysia. Gutty-percha is a similar material to rubber that is made from the dried sap of a tree and James discovered almost by mistake that this material could be used to make golf balls with.

Two-piece metal mouldings were made to produce perfectly round spheres. At first only smooth balls were manufactured but golfers soon began to realise that the more the ball nicked and marked, the easier it was to predict their shots. This eventually led to manufacturers producing gutty balls with surface markings to enhance their aerodynamic qualities.

Quickly these balls were being made at a fraction of the cost of the feathery and eventually the game of golf became affordable to the general public.

The Bramble

The balls were known as brambles as the balls resembled the fruit found on brambles with a raised dimple pattern on the golf ball. Originally bramble balls were entirely made of gutty-percha and covered with a bramble pattern cover. This ball soon overtook the gutty as the preferred choice of the then pro golfers and heralded the beginning of the dimpled ball as we know it today.

The Mesh

During the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a boom in golf ball manufacturers around the country, each experimenting with rubber core mesh balls. It was this period that the modern day golf ball as we now 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 - 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 everywhere.

There were raised banana shapes, donut dimples, Stars, Circles, and Hexagons you name it they tried it!

One by one these balls eventually were superseded by another new pattern, and so on, 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 the 40’s the market was dominated by the same leading golf manufacturers as today’s market, with the exception of a Scottish firm called St Mungo who in 1935 dominated the UK market, along with Spalding.

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 from 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.

Gabriel

Tim Heeter asked:


Would you rather play all day in the rough or in the fairway?

Believe it or not, your golf ball selection can determine just that. Play your best golf by matching your ball to your ability, style of play, and equipment.

Perhaps you have more interest in buying a $300 driver or even a full set of clubs. However, keep in mind that a change as simple as buying a different ball (often a cheaper ball!) can dramatically improve your game. Follow these steps to evaluate golf ball comparisons and find the best ball for your game.

Ignore Marketing Ploys and Keeping Up With the Joneses

Do not buy a golf ball based on marketing information, price, or package labeling alone. Do not sell your game short by playing the XYZ ball because ABC does. Instead, use golf ball comparisons to locate a handful of balls that match your playing characteristics.

Understand The Basic Ball Types

You can easily rule out half of the golf ball choices by choosing whether you need a two piece or three piece ball (sometimes 4 piece). Each type has their own characteristics. Keep in mind that golf ball manufacturers can also vary the performance within each of these categories.

Two Piece Golf Balls

Two piece golf balls are made of a solid rubber core and a plastic covering. These balls are usually labeled distance balls. They can help higher handicapped players because they produce less spin. This results in less of a hook or slice from miss hits.

Three Piece Golf Balls

Three piece golf balls have a large solid core that is surrounded by various plastic-type materials. The outer cover is a soft rubber material. These golf balls produce more spin and have a softer feel. They are the ball of choice for most low handicapped players with consistent swings.

Dimple Patterns, Compression, and Spin Rate

There are more characteristics that determine the performance of a golf ball. Along with varying the thickness and hardness of the layers of a ball, engineers can work with many other variables to fine tune the performance. Skip the details, however, just match the characteristics to your swing and equipment.

Find a Few Good Matches and Test Them All

Once you have taken the time to find a few golf ball models that fit your playing style test them out. Try a few round with one type of ball, then switch to another. Just make sure to play enough to hit in several different situations.

Finally, the think again about how you determine which ball has the best feel. Ironically the concept has feel has a lot to do with sound. Today’s equipment sounds different, and it seems all clubs are unique; this is especially true with drivers. This is why it is vital to play a couple of rounds using all of your clubs before accepting or rejecting any new ball.

Ultimately, matching golf ball characteristics to your specific swing characteristics will result in better performance, lower scores, and more enjoyment of the game.

Martin

chrishughes4383 asked:


I know if you hit a golf ball with a tennis racquet it will go really far, but does it go farther than you can hit it with a club?
I realize the golf club will be longer and make the swing faster probably, but I don’t think you lose any transfer of energy with raquet strings. I would guess you can hit a tennis ball farther with a racquet than a golf club.

Kurt

jbizzle asked:


whats the stance and the technique behind driving a golf ball as far as i can.
Any tips?
Thank you

Gloria

Dave Pipitone asked:


Why should you spend good money on used golf balls? Golfers spend millions of dollars every year on buying new golf balls. There are dozens of brands and varieties out there. And there is only one thing that separates a brand new ball from a used one. Do you know what that is?

The first shot. That is right, as soon as you tee up a brand new golf ball, take your backswing and follow through after hit the ball with your driver, it becomes used. Every golf ball becomes a used golf ball after the first shot. So when a neighborhood kid comes along and wants to sell you an egg carton full of pre-owned balls for your golf game, why should you buy from him?

Let’s face it. There many different grades and conditions of used golf balls. Some have cuts, others scuffs, club marks, dings, discoloration or even water marks. Some are so dirty you can read the brand name. Never buy a dirty golf ball. You don’t know what blemishes the dirt is hiding.

Here are the top five reasons people to buy high quality used golf balls:

1. If you are like most people, used balls offer you a good bargain. You can get name brand balls for less. For example, instead of paying $40 for a dozen Titleist, you can buy 12 high grade used Titleists for under $15. Bridgestone golf balls can cost up to $5.00 a ball when brand new. You can get nearly perfect used Bridgestone ones for as little as $2 each.

2. Used golf balls give you the chance to play a second ball, to try a shot over, without playing an expensive, brand new ball. So, when you know that you could have hit that first shot better, try another one — as long as you keep the pace of play.

3. Used golf balls give you peace of mind when you are playing a water hole. It’s a lot easier on your wallet if you hit a bad shot and lose a ball in the water, than if you hit a brand new one.

4. The same things goes for out-of-bound holes or ones with deep rough, thick trees or lots of gorse. If you tend to slice or hook your tee shot, playing a used golf ball saves you money instead of losing a new ball.

5. Used golf balls are excellent for practice rounds or even practicing in your back yard. Plastic practice balls do only so much. If you are chipping or using a wedge, you get a better feeling when you use a real ball. And if you practice with used balls, you don’t have to worry about scuffing them up in practice.

You can buy used golf balls online to get the best deal, selection and value for your money. Just make sure that you can tell that you are getting excellent quality from a reputable seller.

Lester

I.Seeker asked:


When golf balls are flying I have seen some of them suddenly change direction or lightly deflect from the original trajectory. Is this becuase of the bumped surface? if the surface was smooth then the ball will fly smoothly and go in the right direction. I

Amber