The Story
Made by hand the same way they originally were, circa 1600-1850.
A lost art brought back to life.
Well known Golfer Circa, 1750
The first golf balls
Whilst the records are scant on when the very first games of golf were played, we do know that the story of our sport came in to being on the west coast of Scotland some time in the early 1600s. Originally, wooden balls were used.
A new type of ball arrives
There is also conjecture as to when the “featherie” ball arrived, but the historians at St Andrews believe that it first appeared in 1618. This new ball was formed from cowhide and stuffed tightly with goose feathers. The technique involved both parts being wet at the time of forming and stitching so that the leather would shrink whilst the goose down and feather stuffing would expand. This would then form a hard durable ball with favourable flight characteristics.
Expensive & Painstaking
Although golf was very much a sport for the wealthy & royalty in the 1600s and early 1700s, even the wealthy found the feathery golf ball expensive. In fact, the balls were often more expensive than the clubs in use at the time! The high price of feathery balls was due to the cost of the raw materials required (the leather and goose down) and the painstakingly hard work that went in to create each one, up two four per day. This meant that only a very limited number of balls could be produced in any one year. The cost and very limited lifespan of the feathery golf ball is what is believed to have led to the disappearance of it in the 1850s in favour of the new, harder and cheaper golf balls made from Gutta Percha, a dried sap from the Sapodilla tree.
The return of an old friend
Whilst the feathery will never return to widespread use, it has piqued the interest of the resurgent hickory golf community and
is starting to be seen more often in North America and around the world.
Hand Crafted in Australia
Richard carefully hand crafts each feathery golf ball using the technique that is now 100’s of years old. From his workshop in Palmerston, Northern Territory he emulates this age old process including soaking geese feathers in a special solution, packing the feathers into the leather casing, stitching, applying several layers of specialty paint and finally branding and packaging the golf balls ready to ship across the globe.
Q: What are the balls made of?
- A: A sewn leather pouch softened in water then stuffed with goose feathers which have also been soaked in our special solution.
Q: How long does it take to make each ball?
- A: The filling process takes about 2 hours, then final stitching and preparation for painting another 30 minutes. The actual painting process includes 3 coats with some sanding required, normally about 30 minutes. All up about 3 hours.
Q: How far do they go?
- A: Remember that Authentic Feathery Golf Balls are made using 300 year old technology, they are designed to be played with all wooden clubs, of that era or replicas and wooden clubs up to the 1890’s are the ideal type.
Using modern clubs or even clubs of the Hickory Era, 1900’s to 1930, including replicas or iron bladed clubs may cause damage of the feathery ball seams or the clubhead speed can cause a flattening of the balls due to compression.Playing with the preferred clubs, such as a long spoon or play club, balls should travel about 160 yards( 130 m).
Q: What is the size and weight?
- A: Most of the balls we hand craft vary between 40–45mm in circumference and 32-43 grams in weight, although we also make larger balls which are also heavier if requested.
Q: How long were the balls made for?
- A: The history of golf and the purchase of clubs and balls is documented as early as the late 1500’s. Feathery balls were made until the 1850’s when they were replaced by a hard ball known as the Guttie, made from the sap of a Sapodilla tree found in South East Asia, which permitted the balls be made quicker with less expertise, therefore less cost, although there were a number of curing issues with the ball which appeared to be sorted out after 12 months. The advent of this cheaper ball made it possible for many more working class people to play the game and led to an explosion of club and ball manufacturers during the late 1800’s and the spread of golf worldwide.
Q: What are oldest clubs in the world?
- A: There were 6 clubs found, wrapped, in the wall of a house which had burned down in 1741, they are known as the Troon Clubs or the Woods Collection.
Prominent people of the days indicated that they could be from the mid/ late 1600’s given the elaborate marking on the wooden heads.
Q: How can I tell if a ball is a feathery?
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Apart from checking the provenance of historical Featherys kept in museums and private collections worldwide there are some things to look for. When assessing the manufacturing process of modern Featherys one should look for variations in size and roundness, type of stitching, how high a ball will bounce, generally a true feathery requires some throwing force to bounce waist high, another test is, does it float? There are a number of fake Featherys that have a solid acrylic core no feathers, and have a coating applied or a thin layer of leather to present as a feathery as seen in photos on the net. Fake Featherys bounce like a normal golf ball and also do not float.
Message Us
Have you got questions? Get In touch with us by completing the form below or give us a call.
0417 073 061
featherygolfballs@gmail.com
Palmerston, Northern Territory, Australia