“Placing the ball in the right position for the next shot is eighty percent of winning golf.” – Ben Hogan
Post written by Ian Hardie
In the post ‘How have golf balls changed’ I covered the early development of the golf ball
From the very first ones used back in the early 1400’s
Which you will remember were made of solid wood
The first big development in production which gave golfers the ‘Feathery’ ball
Through to the first big leap in golf ball technology
Courtesy of the ‘Gutta Percha’ ball in 1848
Which as revolutionary as it was didn’t have a very long run on the market
Before it was superseded by the forerunner of the golf balls we use today
Which came with the development of the Rubber Core Golf Ball by Coburn Haskell of Cleveland, Ohio in 1898
And just like the idea of purposely putting dimples on the golf ball was discovered by accident
It turns out – so was the development of the rubber core golf ball
According to history
Haskell had driven to nearby Akron to have a game of golf with a guy called Bertram Work
Mr Work was a superintendent at the B.F. Goodrich Company
A company that manufactured rubber tyres and other products
While he waited for Mr Work at the plant, Haskell idly wound a long rubber thread into a ball
When he bounced the ball, it flew almost to the ceiling
After realising what and why it had happened
Work suggested Haskell put a cover on the creation
Once he did it became the birth of the Rubber core golf ball
A ball which dramatically changed the face of the game of golf.
This new and unique golf ball construction was what we would call these days ‘a hybrid’
It featured a solid rubber core that then had rubber thread ‘hand wound’ around the core at tension
Then it was covered by a Gutta Percha cover
These balls looked just like ‘Gutties’ but gave the average golfer an extra 20 yards from the tee
So I expect they were extremely popular at the time
As the early balls had the rubber wound around the core manually
There was some massive variation in ball performance as you would expect
However somewhere along the line a bloke called W. Millison developed an automated thread winding machine
Which allowed Haskell balls to be mass-produced
The quality of the balls became more consistent as a result
And the balls themselves became more affordable
Manufacturers continued to use the same basic wound construction method for the next 100 years or so
With the odd bit of improvement of course
The early years of the ‘Haskell’s development also provided the impetus for golf ball companies to start developing a much larger variety of cover designs
Which were used in attempts to improve the golf balls performance through the air
One of the best ever produced was this ball
The Dunlop 65
Which I wrote about in the post ‘How long should you use a golf ball for?’
As the years went on but manufacturers also spent a lot of time experimenting with different cores and cover materials
To fine-tune the length, spin and ‘feel’ characteristics of the golf balls they made
The pinnacle of this golf ball design and development over nearly a century
Was in my humble opinion this ball
The Titleist Balata
The Titleist Balata consisted of a liquid-filled centre wound with a layer of rubber thread that was 35 yards in length before it started
But ended up being stretched to nearly 300 yards in length as it was wound around the core under tension
It was then covered with a thin outer shell made predominantly from the sap of the Manilkara bidentata which is apparently commonly known as a ‘cow tree’
When I was a young professional
This golf ball was the best and most expensive ball available
(I’ll tell you a funny story about that another time)
In the right hands it produced amazing backspin compared to its competitors
In the wrong hands or after a mishit shot
It generally required a new ball
As the balata cover was incredibly easy to damage
I have to admit at the time I was using them
I never ever considered how the ball was made with a pure liquid centre
Think about it – how do you wrap a rubber thread around a liquid and then cover it without the liquid escaping?
The answer was incredibly simple
The manufacturer froze the liquid centre
Once it was frozen solid – they quickly built the rest of the golf ball around it
How cool was that?
Look out for ‘How have golf balls changed – part three’ when I will take a look at the ball that would be considered the basis of what you will be using today
The first two piece ball which was the Spalding Executive
Until then
Play well
