The Story
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 & rorality 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.
The Authentic Feathery Golf Ball Shop
