It is commonly believed that hard wooden, round balls were the first
balls used for golf between the 14th through the 17th centuries. Though
they were undoubtedly used for other similar contemporary stick and ball
games, made from hardwoods such as beech and box trees, there is no
definite evidence that they were used in golf in Scotland. It is
equally, if not more likely, that leather balls filled with cows' hair
were used, imported from The Netherlands from at least 1486 onwards. [1] Then or later, the featherie ball was developed and introduced. A featherie, or feathery, is a hand-sewn round leather pouch stuffed with chicken or goose feathers
and coated with paint, usually white in color. The volume measurement
for the feathers was a gentleman's top hat full of feathers. The
feathers were boiled and softened before they were stuffed into the
leather pouch.[2]
Making a featherie was a tedious and time-consuming process. An
experienced ball maker could only make a few balls in one day, and so
they were expensive. A single ball would cost between 2 shillings and 5 shillings, which is the equivalent of 10 to 20 US dollars today.[3]
There were a few drawbacks to the featherie. First, it was hard to
make a perfectly round, spherical ball, and because of this, the
featherie often flew irregularly. Also, when the featherie became too
wet, its distance would be reduced, and there was a possibility of its
splitting open upon impact when hit or when hitting the ground or other
hard surface. Despite these, the featherie was still a dramatic
improvement over the wooden ball, and remained the standard golf ball
well into the 19th century.
