subject: Golf Ball Prices - The Great Debate! [print this page] Starting way back in the middle ages golf ball prices were pricey. It was a game purely only for the wealthy. You can learn why and how here!
Wooden clubs and balls were first used to play golf, this was way back in the 1500's.Determining the "sweet spot" would have been difficult! The invention of the "featherie" brought a whole new meaning to the game, a cow hide outer suffed with feathers and stitched wet. Here we can begin to understand about high golf ball prices. As the hide dried it became rigid. The featherie golf ball was used for over 200 years.
The mid 1800's saw the invention of the "Gutta" ball made individually by hand from rubber. At this stage the featherie was longer than the gutta golf ball. The gutta got better when patterns (forerunner to dimples) were engraved on the ball. The industrial revolution, mechanization and the one piece golf ball all arrived at the turn of the century.
The arrival of a new century saw the last of the hand made ball and elite prices. The consequence of mass production was that everyone could now afford golf balls. Golf ball technology, experimentation, design and testing has created a billion dollar niche in the area of golf equipment. Finish of this history lesson.
Contemporary golf balls are now works of art. It blows your mind to think of the time, effort and finance poured into the evolution of the golf ball.
Guess who is expected to pay for the countless millions of dollars spent by golf ball manufacturers on the development of the golf ball!
A top end ball costs anything between $3 to $4 and some even more. You understand that practicing your drive on the golf driving range can genuinely save you a respectable amount of money by not losing golf balls.
Here I now want to suggest particular questions which need clarification;
1 Why would a club golfer buy a $4+ golf ball. You play off a fairly high handicap. Will you notice a difference with hitting a $1 ball or a $4 ball.
2 On this same note if someone had to swop a professional tour players ball, with one of more or less the same specifications, but cheaper, without his or her knowledge would they really recognize the difference?
3 Many club golfers will practise hitting cheap range balls then pull out a new, branded state of the art golf ball to play a game with. Is the big difference between the two balls crucial?
4 Manufacturers who have golf balls that win consistently will more than likely charge extra for their golf balls. This begs the question; is the ball better than the opposition or is it the successful marketing of the brand!
5 Are all these branded super high technologically advanced balls all made secretly and strictly in their own facilities under armed guard!?
6 Is the innovative marketing which surrounds every latest advanced ball which comes on the market with monotonous regularity obligatory for the club golfer.
I do not have the answers to the above questions but would encourage club golfers to mull over wisely before spending large amounts on golf balls. It is up to you!
Many golfers I play a round of golf with a real assortment of golf balls in their bag. Many bought from caddies, some as birthday presents. When last did you hear a golfer blame the golf ball for a shot that ended up in the rough.
The bottom line is will golf ball prices, buying a really expensive ball, improve your game?
