But if we look back in the past, golf was not played as it is today. Though, the origin of Golf is still ambiguous but according to the widely accepted fact, golf originated in Scotland in 12th century where the shepherds knocked stones into rabbit holes. It is believed that this later evolved into the modern day golf. However, the first similar version of the modern day golf was assumed to be played in 15th century. Since then, several rules and methods have been added and removed from the game.

Where the Scottish golf did not require much attire to play, it was played simply with “stones” and “sticks”, the modern day golf is played using Golf Clubs, Golf balls and Ball Markers. The golf course is not specific in area but is specially designed and has 9 or 18 holes around the course. The golfer carries his paraphernalia on the course and plays the golf according to the rules defined by Professional Golfers Association (PGA), in some countries.

Major countries playing golf toady are Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada, Wales, United States, Sweden, and England. China is seen as a rapidly emerging golf playing country, which is planning to build 1400 public golf courses in next five years.

There are various tournaments and championships, called the majors, organized for the professional golfers. The earliest majors consisted of Open Championship, the Amateur Championship, the U.S. Open, and the U.S. Amateur. In 1974 masters tournaments were introduced. Currently there are four main tournaments, The Master’s Tournament, U.S. Open, The Open championship (oldest of the majors), and the PGA championship.
Some of the major players are Arnord Palmer, Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Nick Price, Mark O’Meara, Tiger Woods, Pádraig Harringto.

Although, Tiger Woods has recently stunned the golf lovers by putting his game on the back burner, (and is responsible for major drop down in the television ratings) he is till date the No.1 male golfer in the world. Latest news confirms that his friend star tennis player Roger Federer said that Tiger Woods will return as a “wonderful Golfer” soon.

Ending the male dominance in this game there are lots of women golfers emerging today. This has lead to the formation of separate Women’s major golf Championships.Ever since the 15th century this game has evolved and now it is increasingly attracting many young talents.

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Today’s golfers pay attention to every aspect of their game and balls are no exceptions.In many cases, the golf balls are even custom made to suit the individual characteristics of their technique.

The earliest golf balls were individually carved from wood and hence there was no uniformity of shape or weight among them. As the game started becoming more popular, Featheries were widely used in Scotland during the middle of 18th century. Featheries as the name suggests had an outer casing of leather stuffed with feathers.

In the middle of the 19th century golfers got their first proper round balls that were made from gutta-percha, a gum sourced from south-east Asia. Forty years later another advance in this embryonic technology came with the rubber cored Haskell ball.

Why do Golf Balls Today have a Dimpled Surface ?

While using the gutta-percha golf balls players noted that towards the later part of the game the ball would arc downwards to the ground contrary to the sudden drop off trajectory of the balls during the early stages. From this players concluded that this improved behaviour of the balls towards the later part of the game was caused due to the random and increasing pattern of dents on the balls created from the impact with the face of the club.

This was one of the key factors that was kept in mind while creating the Haskell balls and that is why you see the modern golf balls to be dented al over the surface. The Haskell balls are manufactured in three pieces, with an elastic wrap, a rubber core and an outer dimpled casing

The modern day golf balls are made from cores of titanium compounds, a softer shell and more pressurized core. Usually 2,3 or 4 layers of Surlyn or urethane blends are used. Playing characteristics are then added to suit the specific golfers needs.

These golf balls can be classified into two major groups based on the way they are made.

Recreational Golf Balls : These would have only 1 or 2 layers of surlyn or urethane blend and a firmer core. This makes the balls easier to control by amateur / recreational golfers. This is ideal for inexperienced players who want to get maximum value for money from a ball offering a relatively long lifespan.

Advanced Golf Balls : These are basically golf balls for professionals or more advanced golfers who have a lot of control on the balls. These would have 3 or 4 layers of surlyn or urethane and a much softer core. This balls are much more

Also, there are golf balls with the outer casing made of the two piece Balata. Balata is typically softer than Surlyn golf balls but offers more spin. These may not last as long but it offers more experienced practitioners the ability to maximise its more sophisticated performance in the air.

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