What would the game of golf be without the ball? Not much of a game at all! But how much time have you spent thinking about the history of that little white sphere that always seems to avoid the hole?

Golf balls have gone through many changes in their evolution. History shows four stages of the golf ball’s life — they started out wooden, then were leather stuffed with feathers, next became something called a ‘Gutty’ ball, and now, in its modern state, the golf ball is rubber-cored.

The first golf balls, used in Scotland during the 16th century, were made of wood. You can only imagine how difficult it was to tee off with a wooden ball, but for over 100 years, that’s just what was done. To top it off, they also used wooden clubs!

In the early 1600’s a new type of golf ball was created. It was called the ‘Featherie’ ball. Made of leather and stuffed with wet feathers, it was believed that these balls would be much more efficient than their wooden predecessors. These balls became quite popular, and were very expensive for the times. This may have been when golf began to become a sport that was out of the price range for many would-be players!

The next evolution of the ball was the invention of the ‘Gutty’ Ball in 1848 by the Reverend Dr. Robert Adams. The ball was made from the dried sap of the Sapodilla tree. The sap felt like rubber, and a ball was shaped by heating it up and forming the sphere while it was hot. While it was faster than the wooden or leather balls, they still left a bit to be desired when trying to play a quick game.

Today, we play with a rubber ball. This design was invented by Coburn Haskell, with the B.F. Goodrich Company in the late 1800’s. The balls have a solid rubber core and have very tight rubber threads wrapped around it (similar to a baseball). This was also the first golf ball that was dimpled. At the time, however, there was no standard size or weight for the golf ball. As golf became more popular and seriously played, the USGA established standards for the golf ball that we play with today!