1. Activity 1.9 Design Innovation
The Golf ball
By: Taylor Collier
IED 6th hour

2. Gutta Percha “Guttie”: 1848 “Gutties” with patterns: 1880
Wooden Ball: 1550
“Featherie”: 1618
Gutta Percha “Guttie”: 1848
“Gutties” with patterns: 1880
Made in molds: 1890
Rubber Ball: 1898
Intro Pneumatic ball: 1906
Standardized size and weight: 1921
Two piece ball: 1972
Works Cited

3. Wooden Ball: 1550 Eastern coast of Scotland
The first clubs and balls specifically made for golf were made of wood
John Daly played with a wooden ball in 1550 
Timeline

4. “Featherie”: 1618
In 1618 the feather golf ball or 'Featherie' was introduced
Handcrafted ball made with goose feathers tightly packed into a horse or cow hide sphere
Since the balls were handcrafted they were priced very high, sometimes more expensive than a club
Timeline

5. Gutta Percha “Guttie”:1848
Introduced by Rev Adam Paterson of St. Andrews
The Guttie ball was made from the rubber like sap of the Gutta tree found in the tropics
Repaired by re-heating and then re-shaping
Timeline

6. “Gutties with Patterns”: 1880
Initially Gutties had a smooth surface which meant that they didn't travel as far as the Featheries
After 1880, gutties were produced with patterns on their surface in an attempt to reproduce the distance characteristics of a scored
Timeline

7. Made in Molds: 1890
Using molds further increased the golf balls affordability, consistency and quality.
Many of the rubber companies including Dunlop began mass-producing, which killed off the handcrafted ball business.
Timeline

8. Rubber Ball: 1898 Coburn Haskell
One-piece rubber cored ball which was universally adopted by 1901
These balls looked just like Gutties but gave the average golfer an extra 20 yards from the tee
Constructed from a solid rubber core wrapped in rubber thread covered in a gutta percha sphere
Timeline

9. Pneumatic Ball: 1906 Goodrich introduced the pneumatic ball in 1906
The patent was held by T. Saunders and filed in 1901
This was a Haskell ball with a compressed air core
Others tried mercury, cork and metal cores
Timeline

10. Standardized Size and Weight: 1921
In 1921, the R&A and USGA standardized the size and weight of the ball.
Between 1931 and 1990, both organizations differed on the dimensions of the golf ball which meant that the game played on either side of the Atlantic was similar but different.
Timeline

11. Two Piece Ball: 1972
Spalding introduced the first two piece ball, the Executive, was the basic Haskell design improved upon.
Timeline

12. Works Cited www.golfhistorian.co.uk/golftimeline.html