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Wooden Golf Balls
The game of golf started with simple wooden balls which were, in all likelihood, incredibly difficult to hit well or control. -
Feathery Golf Balls
The first upgrade to the golf ball came with the feathery ball. It was created by stuffing a small sack of cowhide full of goose feathers. By making one of these while both the leather and feathers were wet, the leather would shrink as it dries and the feathers would expand to create a hardened ball. These balls often sold for more than golf clubs themselves. -
Gutty Golf Balls
The invention of the gutty ball revolutionized golf. It was made from dried sap from a Sapodilla tree by heating the sap up and working it into a round shape. Almost by accident, players began to realize that scuffing the surface made the ball go farther so they began to nick the entire surface of the ball with a hammer to roughen it up. This was the first example of dimples on a golf ball. -
Rubber Core Golf Balls
The rubber core ball was created by Coburn Haskell of the BF Goodrich Company. This advancement is still present in golf balls today, albeit with many upgrades through the years. The rubber continually was studied and improved, as well as the cover changing from Gutta Percha originally to its current polyeurathane model. In addition to materials, the dimples and dimple patterns have been tweaked and improved countless times to improve ball flight and reduce drag.