ll called the “feathery” was developed and quickly put to use. The feathery consisted of a leather casing, usually bull’s hide, soaked in alum and crammed with goose feathers, which have been softened. The ball was then knocked into shape and painted white so it would be visible. (Hist. Coarse, 7) The feathery ball had two differences from the balls preceding it. First, wooden balls would not go over 100 yards and the feathery would almost always clear that by double. And the second difference of the two was that the feathery costs twelve times the price of the wooden ball. This is when golf got the image that it was only for rich because nobody could even afford the balls for play. In 1848 a new ball came out called the gutta percha ball. This ball was made out of a gum, which is tapped from a tree that is only found in Malaya. The sap from the tree was malleable when boiled in water and it becomes hard when cooled. The distance of this new ball was not much different from the feathery ball but the price of this new ball was cheaper. The gutty ball was not all good though, it was prone to break up in mid-air, which forced a rule that the golfer could play a new or fresh ball from the point that the largest fragment had come to rest. Throughout the rest of the 19th century the gutty ball was modified and improved to make it more durable. Its outer shell was cut up or hammered because it was observed that the ball flew better when it has been scuffed.In 1901 a new ball made it to the golf scene and as quickly as the gutty ball came, it also left. (Hist. Of Coarse,8) The new rubber ball was developed and made in the United States. It consisted of elastic tread that was wound around a rubber core under extreme tension and then a cover of gutta percha was put around it. The ball was more durable and better reacting than any other ball out at the time. This ball called the attention of the United States Golf ...
