No piece of golf equipment has shaped the game more than the ball. Each new ball has changed how far golfers hit, how courses were designed and how clubs were made. From hand-stitched leather balls stuffed with feathers to today's precision-engineered multilayer balls, here is the story of the golf ball.
Early balls: wood
The earliest forms of golf may have used wooden balls, made from hardwoods such as beech or box. Historians debate how widely they were used for golf itself, but they were common in related stick-and-ball games.
The featherie
From around the 1600s until the mid-1800s, the standard golf ball was the featherie: a leather pouch, stitched together, turned inside out and stuffed with boiled goose or chicken feathers. As the feathers dried, they expanded and the leather shrank, creating a hard ball.
- Handmade and slow to produce: a skilled maker could make only a few each day.
- Expensive: often costing more than a club, which limited golf to the wealthy.
- Fragile: they could split when wet or when struck by iron clubs.
The gutty
In the late 1840s, the gutta-percha ball, or "gutty", appeared. Gutta-percha is the dried sap of a tropical tree that becomes soft when heated and can be moulded.
- Cheap and durable: gutties could be remoulded when damaged.
- More golfers: lower costs helped golf spread.
- Iron clubs: the tougher ball made iron-headed clubs practical. Read the evolution of golf clubs.
The discovery of dimples
Golfers noticed that smooth new gutties ducked and dived, while older, scuffed balls flew straighter and further. Makers began marking the surface with hammers and moulds, creating patterns such as the "bramble". This was the forerunner of the modern dimple. Read golf ball spin explained.
The rubber-core ball
Around 1900, the rubber-core ball was introduced: a solid core wound tightly with rubber thread and covered with a hard shell. It flew much further and felt livelier than the gutty, and within a few years it had replaced it. Courses were lengthened, bunkers moved and club designs changed to suit the new ball.
Dimples take shape
In the early 20th century, manufacturers experimented with cover patterns before settling on round, indented dimples, which proved most effective. Today's balls typically have around 300 to 400 dimples in carefully designed patterns that control lift and drag.
Size and weight standards
For much of the 20th century, golf had two ball sizes:
- The "small ball", with a smaller diameter, used under one set of rules.
- The larger ball, of at least 1.68 inches (42.67 mm) in diameter, used under the other.
Eventually the larger ball became the single standard. Today the rules set a minimum diameter of 1.68 inches and a maximum weight of 1.62 ounces (45.93 g), along with limits on velocity and overall distance.
Wound and balata balls
For decades, top golfers used wound balls with soft balata covers, prized for spin and feel but easily cut. Many club golfers used tougher, cheaper balls.
Solid-core and two-piece balls
From the late 1960s and 1970s, solid-core balls with a single solid core and a durable cover became widespread. Two-piece balls were cheaper, more durable and went further for many golfers.
The multilayer era
Around the start of the 21st century, solid-core multilayer balls with soft urethane covers combined the distance of solid-core balls with the spin and feel once offered by wound balata balls. They quickly became the choice of top players, and multilayer designs remain the standard for premium balls today. Read choosing the right golf ball and golf ball compression explained.
Distance and the rules
As balls and clubs have improved, hitting distances have increased, and the governing bodies have introduced testing standards to limit how far a ball can travel under set conditions. A change to these testing standards has been announced for the coming years, aimed at limiting further distance gains, particularly for the fastest swingers. Read conforming golf equipment.
Collecting old golf balls
Featheries, gutties and early rubber-core balls are prized by collectors, with rare examples fetching high prices. Read golf collectibles and antique clubs.
Timeline
| Era | Ball | Key change |
|---|---|---|
| Before 1600s | Wooden balls (debated) | Early stick-and-ball games |
| c. 1600s to 1840s | Featherie | Handmade, expensive |
| Late 1840s to c. 1900 | Gutty | Cheap, durable, iron clubs |
| c. 1900 onwards | Rubber-core | Much greater distance |
| 20th century | Wound and balata balls | Spin and feel for better players |
| 1960s and 1970s onwards | Solid-core two-piece balls | Durable, affordable distance |
| c. 2000 onwards | Multilayer urethane balls | Distance plus spin |
Frequently asked questions
What were the first golf balls made of?
Possibly wood, followed by the featherie, a leather ball stuffed with feathers.
Why do golf balls have dimples?
Dimples reduce drag and help create lift, so the ball flies much further and more consistently.
When did the modern golf ball size become standard?
The larger 1.68-inch ball gradually became the single worldwide standard in the late 20th century.
Are old golf balls valuable?
Featheries, early gutties and some early rubber-core balls can be valuable to collectors.
The bottom line
From feathers and leather to gutta-percha, rubber thread and multilayer cores, the golf ball's evolution has shaped how golf is played, how courses are designed and how clubs are made. The next time you tee one up, remember the centuries of innovation inside it. For more golf history, read the history of golf.