How has the golf ball affected the game, club development and the rule of golf? Ball makers have long sought to make the ball travel further, fly straighter and to provide protection to the ball from poorly executed shots. This book shows how manufacturing techniques have evolved from stuffing feathers into a leather sack in the seventeenth century to hydraulic presses and spraying booths in the early twentieth century. The balls cover patterns were designed to improve their flight characteristics and these ranged from stars, diamonds and pimples to the round dimple (today's standard) that was patented in the early twentieth century. In this highly original book the author has made extensive use of the data recorded at the many golf memorabilia sales since the early 1980s. He also records many of the prices paid at auction for golf balls.