In the early years of golf on the Eastern coast of Scotland the golf players used rather primitive equipment. At first clubs and balls specially designed for playing golf were made of wood. We know this because of the statement that in 1550 John Daly played with a wooden ball. Perhaps, golf pioneers would have a rather skeptical attitude towards the modern golf ball with its dimplets. But nothing stays the same. The game has changed, the grass became better, more comfortable clubs appeared and finally, the rules were slightly changed too. Golf balls have also greatly changed and this difference would be obvious if you compared them with those played many years ago.

As golf was changing there were three main types of balls: made of feather, made of gutta-percha and the common for us rubber balls. The first balls appeared in 1618. And remained unmodified for a rather long time, not because of any special features but because there were no alternative back then. Those balls were hand made of goose feathers, packed in a spherical envelope made of cow- or horse-skin. There was about two litres of feather needed for a single ball. The process of making golf balls was very long and expensive, as even the most experienced ball-maker could not make more than three of four balls per day. That way, the price of a ball culd easily exceed the price of a club, though they had several disadvantages. The ball was not precisely spherical, that’s why its flight was unstable and unpredictable. In the rainy weather the ball absorbed water and it’s mass became inconstant. But the quality of a ball also depended on the skills of a maker. The most famous makers were Andrew Dickson and Henry Mills.

Later golf players came to the idea that a feather ball was not good enough to play golf. That’s why, when in 1850 gutta-percha appeared, the golfists were happy thange feather balls for those made of gutta-percha. It was easy to work with gutta-percha, because it became soft in warm water and hardened in lower temperatures, so it was rather easy to make a ball of the perfect spheric form. These balls were cheap and fast-made (comparing to feather balls). The first gutta-percha golf ball was made in 1848 by Rev Adam Paterson. But such lank balls were not comfortable to hit with golf club and the hits were not as distant as the players would like them to be. And in a short period of time golf players got back to using feather balls.

Finally someone has noticed that if during the game process a ball got dents it would fly much better. So the golf players started making dimplets on their balls. That’s how a prototype of the modern ball appeared. In 1898 Coburn Haskell made a ball with the rubber core. This ball was in use till 1901. First the ball was not welcome among the players and was about to be banned, but after British and US Open tournaments it was completely accepted. Later there were several more experiments with the balls’ core, but only in 1972 the two-component ball, and it became a real discovery in the golf balls manufacturing industry.

In 1921 the USGA set the standard golf ball parameters, but they still could slightly vary, so, in 1968 there was made a decision to worldwide use the american-standard balls only (4,27 cm). There is a big variety of balls present nowadays. They are picked up individually and the pick depends on the weather wind and other things. Some balls let you control the light, others make the flight longer and other ones are specially designed for training.

Today you can not only chose from the big variety of balls and clubs, but also have your company logos printed on them. That would not only make the game more personalized but appears to be a great idea for a present. Perhaps, the logoed golf clubs and balls are the next step in the development of the golf equipment manufacturing. And if you want some life examples for this – you may see the logoed golf accessories on any golf tournament being used by professionals.