J Gourlay Feather Golf Ball
J Gourlay Feather Golf Ball
8433
Antique Feather Golf Ball, Gourlay.
A feather golf ball by J Gourlay with a faint name stamp, attractive patination and colour. Feather golf balls were in use until the 1850's when the gutta percha ball took over. They were made of a stitched leather cover, filled with a top hat full of boiled goose feathers. As the feathers dried out they would expand and therefore the ball would become solid. These balls would work best in dry weather and that is why most golf, at this time, was played on links as the ground would dry out much faster then inland.
J. Gourlay (1815 - 1869) was a well known maker of good quality golf balls in Musseleburgh. The Gourlay family had a great name as ball makers, working at the Bruntsfield Links and later at the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. Their name was known throughout the British Isles and a 'Gourlay' became an accepted synonym for the best set of balls, to the extent of the name's use in poetry and song. C.1840.
Dimensions:
1840
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 was a well known maker of good quality golf balls in Musseleburgh. The Gourlay family had a great name as ball makers, working at the Bruntsfield Links and later at the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. Their name was known throughout the British Isles and a 'Gourlay' became an accepted synonym for the best set of balls, to the extent of the name's use in poetry and song. C.1840.){kind=link}