The Evolution of Golf Equipment
By Connie Capanegra, Keiser University College of Golf Instructor and LPGA Member
Golf equipment has changed tremendously over the years, and modern analytical tools like launch monitors, home simulators, high-speed cameras, and their respective phone apps have made the connection between equipment, technique, and coaching more seamless and comprehensive than ever.
Balls
Much of the equipment in the sport’s early days was tied to the ball used for play. Early games resembling golf used a wooden ball made from hardwoods such as beech and boxwood. The era of ball and club makers began as early as the 1600s when golf balls were made of goose or chicken feathers. Known as featheries, these balls were made from leather and stuffed through a small hole with feathers that filled a “gentleman’s top hat full”. These were hand-sewn and very expensive, though the performance was very inconsistent. Skilled ball makers could only make a few balls in a day.
There was considerable change to equipment in the mid-1800s. In 1848 the “gutta-percha” ball tremendously enhanced the game of golf as well as its affordability. The ‘guttie’ was made from the dried sap of the Sapodilla tree. It could be heated and molded, cheaper than the feathery, and could be pressed using a metal mold. It was soon discovered by golfers that a “nicked” ball had truer flight than a smooth guttie and soon the ball makers were hand-scoring their newly made balls.
While the guttie was quick to replace the temperamental feathery, the ball continued to evolve and influence how the game was played. In the late 1800s, Coburn Haskel discovered that tightly winding a thin rubber band created a much bouncier ball than the brittle guttie. In 1903, Spalding put a cover on it, and the Bounding Billie or Haskel ball was born. Interestingly, the balls were initially produced with pimples rather than dimples, and for a number of years, nearly every pattern of dimple from star to circle to riffle pattern was tried. A drawback to the Haskell ball is its cover, which is made from a thin layer of latex from a tree called gutta-balatá and is very similar to the gutta-percha tree. Balata balls allowed players to create a lot of spin but could be cut quite easily.
New materials for golf balls were developed in the 1960s. The surlyn cover resisted damage to the ball and made it attractive to many golfers. The modern ball of today uses urethane covers, as well as solid core development, improved dimple patterns, and swing speed profiles.
These developments continue as a better understanding of the physics of club and ball interaction evolves.
Clubs
During the 18th and 19th centuries, golf clubs were made from wood, and the clubheads were made from a single piece of wood. The golf clubs used with the feathery ball were long-nosed wooden clubs designed to sweep the ball from the turf, almost like a hockey stick. The shafts were made from ash or hazel with a lot of torque; the head could be twisted almost 90 degrees, which also influenced how the club was swung. Early clubs were expensive to make and easy to break. Iron heads were not popular while the feathery was being used because they could break the ball.
In 1848, when the guttie was introduced, new golf clubs followed that complimented the harder, heavier, more durable ball. Long-nosed clubs became more compact. Face inserts were created with different materials, and metal plates were added to the bottom for better wear resistance. Hickory shafts with better stiffness and less torque became the norm until the 1930s when steel shafts were introduced. Interestingly, steel shafts were not adopted as quickly as other improvements, and it was common to paint the metal to look more like wood to maintain a traditional look. Wooden heads continued to be used well into the 1980s, with persimmon wood being the choice of tour pros for its density and unique feel.
In the early 1990s, there was a realization that changed the game forever. Testing showed that tour-level golfers were benefiting more from the improvements in equipment than average golfers. Tour players were hitting the ball longer – a lot longer. Erroneously, the USGA attributed this to improvements in technology. Titanium drivers with larger sweet spots were being heavily promoted. Based on driving distance alone, the USGA realized that golf courses would need to be made longer to remain competition-worthy. Lengthening courses wasn’t practical or often possible. This realization led to the 0.83 COR limit at the dawn of the 21st century. Simply stated, this ruling effectively put a limit on how far the ball could be hit. Consider the early 2000s, when improvements in golf equipment hit a wall.
Conclusion
One of the few things that hasn’t changed in hundreds of years is that golf is a game dedicated to bettering oneself. Golf is best enjoyed amongst friends who equally laugh at your successes and failures because they share the same struggles you do. Golf has been an addiction for those playing a feathery golf ball or the Titleist Pro V1. Technology will continue to evolve, and golf will always be a sport about self-improvement and camaraderie with connection to others.
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