Today, people all around the world play the game of golf that some love and others just detest. In order to partake in this sport, some equipment is needed in order to play. The two most essential pieces of equipment a golfer must need to play golf are a golf club and a golf ball. When people look at golf equipment today, they see shiny golf clubs made of the finest metal and golf balls that can do whatever the golfer wants it to do out on the course. However, these items were nowhere near the same as they were back when the game was born. These two items have evolved a lot throughout time from the 15th century and now they will only get better as companies seek to find the perfect golf club and golf ball.
How the most popular golf ball today is made.
Back in the 15th century in Scotland, where the game was starting to develop, golf balls were first made of wood that would primarily come from hardwood trees like beech. (MIT) After creating the wooden golf ball, different types of golf balls were created throughout time that were made with a variety of different materials. The “featherie” was composed of a hard leather shell that was stuffed with feathers from chicken or geese. Unfortunately, the featherie was very expensive at the time and was easily damaged during play (Golf Digest). However, during the mid 19th century, the gutta percha ball was the newly designed golf ball that everyone wanted to play golf with as this ball was made of soften gutta strips (sap from a Sapodilla tree) which created an indestructible golf ball. (IGF) Soon afterwards, golf balls were further developed with a rubber core and a white and dimpled shell we all know today.
From CEPAmagz
What today’s golf balls are made of.
Like golf balls, golf clubs have evolved over time and have impacted the game dramatically. During the early age of golf, golf clubs were made entirely of wood, with the shaft being comprised of a stick, and the club head being made of a hard wood that the golfers created themselves. (Golf Smith) These clubs were used for a long period of time. The wood clubs were still the preferred choice over clubs with the heads made of iron in the late 18th century because the featherie golf ball would last longer when struck by wood than iron. (Golf Smith) Once golf balls were made with strong rubber material in the latter 19th century, golfers then converted to clubs with an iron head which created more control over the ball when struck. (Golf Smith) Since the 20th century, club manufacturers have added key improvements to the golf club such as adding groves to the club face to add more spin and making the head of the club a stronger metal to add distance and accuracy. (Golf Smith) Today, golf club companies such as Nike, Taylormade, Titleist, Callaway, and Cobra, are researching how to make a golf club provide more distance and more accuracy to a golf ball than the clubs used today while making it affordable to the average golfer.
From Sorenson Golf
Today, golf clubs are made with materials such as tungsten, graphite and titanium (IFG) while golf balls are made with a synthetic rubber material with an outer shell that contains uniformed dimples (the dimples are primarily used to create a soft landing). (Titleist) The technology advancements in the game of golf have come a long way since the 15th century and now the future we see in the game of golf will only get better.
From About Sports
What the future of golf technology can hold.
Works Cited
Gorss, Jason. “GOLF BALLS.” C&EN: WHAT’S THAT STUFF? GOLF BALLS, vol. 83, no. 29, 2005.
Hill, Brian. “What Is the History of the Golf Club?” Golf Tips, Golf Smith.
Team Titleist On April 11, 2012. “Getting to the Core of Titleist Golf Balls.” Team Titleist, Titleist, 11 Apr. 2012.
I like how you incorporate your interests into some sort of history lesson too. You manage to make the post both interesting and educational, which is difficult to do for a lot of writers. I also think it is cool how you showed how much the sport has evolved over time with pictures. They were helpful for me to visualize just how much the equipment has changed since its beginning. Great job!