So Now You Know

In 1618 the feather golf ball or 'Featherie' was introduced (an "improvement" from its wooden predecessor). The Featherie was a handcrafted ball made with goose feathers tightly packed into a horsefeatherie golf ball or cow hide sphere. The feathers and leather were fashioned into a ball while wet. As the assembly dried out the leather shrank and the feathers expanded to create a hardened ball. The ball was then finished off by painting it and punched with the ball-makers mark. Quality varied according to the skill of the craftsman. Unfortunately, the handcrafted nature of the balls meant that they were priced beyond the pockets of the masses, sometimes more expensive than a club. Notable ball-makers of the 1600s were Andrew Dickson, Leith and Henry Mills, St Andrews.