Collectible Golf Balls

Collection of golf equipments, such as clubs and balls, started in a big way about 30 years ago. Flea markets and garage sales are still hotbeds for collectors of these items, but most of the collectible pieces have nowadays, become very hard to come by as avid collectors have most of them in their personal collections. The oldest golf balls, known as feather balls, were used for several hundred years throughout the 1850s. These balls featured leather outer skins actually stuffed with feathers, according to the Collector's Encyclopedia of Golf Collectibles by John M. Olman. One normally thinks of feathers as soft, however, when the ball is filled with enough feathers to fill a top hat, it becomes quite hard, explains Olman in the text. The "Featheries", as they were also called, with a manufacturer's mark are most valuable and desirable ones. They can be worth hundreds or even thousands to the right collector. Even those without a maker's mark will easily fetch you more than $500.

A new type of golf ball known as a "gutty" by collectors was developed around 1848. These balls were made of gutta percha, a hard rubbery substance made from milky juice obtained from a tree very common in Malaysia. Although they were widely used from the late 1800s till about 1910, not many of these true antiques are extant in the market today. When collectors do come across a gutty ball for sale, they'll pay at least $100 to own it in most cases. From about 1898 to 1930, rubber core golf balls came to be favored by golfers. These are also collectibles but do not have a high price tag as that of the older balls. Generally selling in the $25 to $50 price range, which is still an exorbitant sum for a little golf ball, people just beginning to focus on building their golf collections often buy these examples. Modern balls (made after 1930) don't hold much value as of now barring the exceptions of a few novelty and celebrity balls. Hence, as the saying goes- the older the better, is quite right.

This article courtesy of  http://www.leather-4u.com.
You may freely reprint this article on your website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author
name and URL remain intact.