The surprising history of the golf ball

The golf ball has undergone a surprising evolution over the centuries, with materials allowing it to go further each time. First, it was made of wood, then hair, and later feathers…

We'll explain everything!

Legend has it that the first man to play golf was a Scottish shepherd who, to pass the time, amused himself by hitting a stone with a twisted stick he found on the ground...

Shortly after, golf underwent its first evolution with a wooden club and ball . And as you can imagine, the ball strike was rather harsh!

Around the ^17th century, the " feathery " ball , also known as a " pluming " ball, appeared. It was a ball filled with cow hair, goose feathers, and dust, all wrapped in hide or leather ( bon appétit! ). This ball didn't last long because it was expensive, and since it was handmade, the stitches holding it together would come loose due to humidity, and it was difficult to make a perfectly spherical ball because of the irregularities.

Despite the aforementioned flaws, the ball still had very impressive flight characteristics ( no wonder with its feathers!! ) capable of reaching distances of up to 150 meters.

In the ^19th century, the " Gutta percha" ball came onto the scene. This somewhat risqué and rather tropical name is due to the origin of its composition, which is none other than the natural gum from the leaves of a tree that comes straight from Malaysia and India.

This bullet falls into the category of " fortunate " accidental discoveries, since repeated firing eventually resulted in a dimpled surface, leading to improved aerodynamic performance due to reduced air resistance. The more worn and battered it became, the farther it traveled! Without hesitation, manufacturers began hammering bullets to create craters on their surface, making them instantly more competitive.

At the end of the ^19th century, "machine-gutty" balls were produced using a metal mold that created structured and well-defined dimples. This new design allowed for greater control over the ball.

In the ^20th century, the "Haskell" ball was made with rubber thread wrapped around a core, allowing it to go very far.

In 1930, the modern ball came into play; it has a central core that allows it to influence the distance, between 1 and 3 layers inside, and a very resistant synthetic rubber surface also used to make tires.

Currently, there are global standards for weight, width, and aerodynamics in golf ball manufacturing, defined by a committee in St Andrews, Scotland. This helps determine whether a victory is truly determined by the golfer's skill or the ball's performance. Over the years, there has been much debate about ball flight length, and legend has it that some still debate it… Today's golf balls have better spin and fly farther and farther. Now that's a remarkable evolution!

There you have it, you know everything! Or maybe not... Do you know the origin of the expression "Mulligan"? Let us explain!

Grab your favorite balls and enjoy your golf!