The History of the Golf Ball

It’s May and the long awaited springtime weather we wait all winter for is upon us. If Master’s Week signifies the unofficial beginning of spring, the PGA Tour’s unofficial fifth major, the Player’s Championship, which tees off on Thursday reminds us that the golf 2008 season is already a month old.

This year Tiger Woods, the world’s #1 player will be watching on TV like the rest of us, as he rehabs his knee. Of course, I’m sure his high definition TV is more like the size of a movie theatre screen, much larger than my 46″ set (that I’ll be paying for until the end 2009, thanks to our friends at Sears).

With or without him, this tournament is always entertaining regardless of who wins. Each year the course takes big bites out of the players during the four days, especially the 17th hole par 3 on the island green. This year in particular the TV commercials have hyped the tournament even more than the Masters, beginning in March. Golf is great theatre, so I love watching as much as I can.

Who’s your favorite to win this? Submit the winning player and win a copy of Thumbs Down, Golf Instruction Made Simple, Pro Edition.

Turning to the LPGA, on March 27 I published a newsletter story called The LPGA, shaping up for an exciting year. In the story, I wrote that so far in 2008 there’s a good old fashioned cat fight going on at the top, as Annika Sorenstam, Paula Creamer and Lorena Ochoa the current #1 player are forming a Big Three on the LPGA.

In the five weeks since it’s only becoming more of a reality, as Sorenstam and Creamer have each won for the second time. Ochoa began and ended a four tournament winning streak that’s distanced her from the other two and the rest of women’s golf. Let’s not forget, it’s still only the beginning of May and there’s a long way to go.

Along the way Ochoa qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame. I don’t know about you, but at 27 years old I think it’s too early for anyone who’s still playing to qualify for the Hall of Fame, in any sport. In my opinion the LPGA needs to re-think their policy for qualifying and at least wait until a player’s career has ended. What do you think? 

Recently I saw an interesting story about the history of the golf ball I wanted to share and hope you enjoy.

The golf ball has come a long way since King James IV of Scotland would sneak out on Saturday afternoon and play a game they called golfe.

The king and his courtiers used a small round ball made of leather stuffed with feathers. The feather ball remained the same for nearly four centuries.  All equipment for golf was originally made by hand, an expensive and time consuming process.

The best ball makers could only produce about 4 balls a day, and they were quite expensive, a dozen balls was the equivalent to a weeks wages for the working man. Each ball required a bucket of boiled goose feathers and a master craftsman prepare the leather, stitch and stuff these balls. After the ball was stuffed to the point it could hold no more feathers, it was stitched shut hammered round and coated with three coats of paint.

A perfectly round ball (”featherie”) was a rarity, and even the few that were perfectly round were soon knocked out of shape and torn by the impact of the clubs. Wet weather would cause the balls to become soggy and fly apart and at best a ball was good for two rounds.

During the reign of James VI, Scots balls were purchased from Holland; this caused the king to invoke an exorbitant tariff. In 1618 he gave James Melvill exclusive rights to make golfe balls at 4 shillings each.

In 1845 the first gutta percha ball was introduced, it was made of a concrete juice from various trees. It become malleable at the boiling point of water and held its shape when cooled. These balls were much easier to produce and a great deal less expensive. Dimples were introduced when it was found that smooth balls ducked in flight, the dimples have never been abandoned.

In 1932 the United States decided the perfect ratio for a golf ball was no more than 1.62 ounces and 1.68 inches in diameter. This created a problem as the English ball was smaller by 6/100s of an inch. One bizarre twist was that as rules were written the English ball was illegal in America, but the American ball was acceptable in all countries.

Trivia question: Recently I celebrated my 54th birthday. In 1954 another great moment occurred as Arnold Palmer made his professional debut in the PGA Tour Miami Open. Who won that tournament? Bob Rosburg, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, or Ken Venturi?

Father’s Day is coming soon. I’m pleased to be a distributor for the Bobby Jones DVD Collection. These are the original Warner Bros golf instructional series: How I Play Golf and How To Break 90, staring the greatest golfer of the all - Bobby Jones. It makes a great gift for golfers.

In this cherished series, Bobby Jones explains his secrets of the game from tee to green. You’ll see Bobby play coach to some of the top celebrities of all time including W.C. Fields, Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Loretta Young and many more! It’s Bobby Jones at his matinee idol best…a must-have for golfers of all ages and abilities! All 12 episodes of the original series of are included on 2 DVD’s. All the material has been re-mastered for the first time on DVD. The sound and picture quality is digitally enhanced.

This collector’s series is not only great instruction from THE MASTER, but it’s also very entertaining. It’s a must for any serious golfer, plus makes a great gift for family, friends and especially customers and business associates. As an added bonus, your order includes the Thumbs Down method Front Nine eBook with video, a priceless combination for improving your golf game.

For details go to http://www.golfinstructionmadesimple.com/OnlineStore/BobbyJones.htm.