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Why Collect Golf Balls?
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Articles on Golf Ball Collecting from Our Publications
Here are a few relevant articles on ball collecting from our archives (in The Golf and The GHS Bulletin).
Having a Ball Collecting Golf Balls
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A Short History of Golf Ball Dimples and Patterns
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Why/How to Collect Golf Balls
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Eras of Golf Ball Collecting
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Featheries Pre-1848 Era
Gutta Percha 1848-1902 Era
Early Rubber Core – 1900-1920 Era
Rubber Core 1920-1940 Era
1940s-Current Era
Golf Ball collecting Resources
Video Resources
Collecting Playlist
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FEATURED GOLF BALL COLLECTIBLE
Johnny Bulla
Autographed Ball
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Golf Ball collecting Resources
From Our Blog
Our blog has a constant stream of valuable articles on golf’s rich heritage.
The Houston Open: A Tournament That Grew Up With Houston
The Houston Open: A Tournament That Grew Up With Houston Some tournaments feel frozen in time. Their history is tied to one course, one identity, one familiar rhythm. The Houston Open has never really been that kind of event. Its story is broader than a single clubhouse or stretch of fairway. It is a story of a city, a region and a game growing together. The Houston Open has moved, evolved, paused, restarted and reinvented itself over the decades, yet it has always remained distinctly Texan and unmistakably Houston. That is part of what makes its history so compelling. The tournament has endured not because it stayed the same, but because it kept
Why This Ben Hogan Collectible Still Hits Hard
A Texas Legend, an Unfinished Headline, and Why This Ben Hogan Collectible Still Hits Hard With the PGA TOUR heading into Texas for the next two weeks before the Masters, it feels natural to start thinking about the state’s biggest golfing figures. The first name that comes to mind for me is Ben Hogan. Born in Stephenville and shaped in Fort Worth, Hogan remains one of the towering figures in Texas golf history, and officially, he still stands as a four-time U.S. Open champion and nine-time major winner. That is why this week, while digging through GHS President George Petro’s collection, I kept coming back to a terrific Hogan grouping that says a lot
When Jerry Pate Gave TPC Sawgrass Its First Great Memory
This Day in Golf History: March 21, 1982 — When Jerry Pate Gave TPC Sawgrass Its First Great Memory Some moments in golf are about more than just deciding who wins. They help define a place. March 21, 1982, was one of those days. Jerry Pate won THE PLAYERS Championship, the first ever held at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, and in doing so, gave this bold new venue its first iconic moment. It’s easy to forget now, but TPC Sawgrass didn’t always feel so permanent. The island green, the drama, and the excitement are all part of golf today, but back then, the course was new, controversial, and still earning
The Founders Cup and the Women Who Built the LPGA
The Founders Cup and the Women Who Built the LPGA There are some tournaments that matter because of the leaderboard, others because of the golf course, and still others because of the names they attract. The Founders Cup matters for a deeper reason. This week’s Fortinet Founders Cup, being played at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club in Menlo Park, California, is an event that exists to celebrate the 13 women who founded the LPGA in 1950. In a sport that can sometimes move too quickly past its own origins, that makes this tournament one of the most meaningful weeks on the calendar. That origin story is worth lingering over. The LPGA was not
Babe Zaharias Amateur Victory Photo
A Founder Before the Founding: Why a Babe Zaharias Amateur Victory Photo Is the Kind of Golf Collectible That Truly Matters There are golf collectibles, and then there are pieces that feel like they carry the game’s DNA. The photo I keep coming back to this week, from GHS President George Petro’s collection, falls squarely into that second category: a period Associated Press image of Babe Didrikson Zaharias after her 1946 U.S. Women’s Amateur victory, smiling with flowers and trophy in hand. On the back, there is the old AP captioning, identification in handwriting, and the sort of newsroom wear that collectors love because it reminds you this item was not made
Louise Suggs Wins in Augusta
This Day in Golf History – March 14: Louise Suggs Wins in Augusta and Reminds Us Women Were Writing Major History There, Too You know what? March 14 deserves way more love in the golf world than it gets. On this date back in 1954, Louise Suggs absolutely dominated the Titleholders Championship at Augusta Country Club-we’re talking a record 293 for 72 holes and a seven-shot beatdown of Patty Berg. And this wasn’t some small-time event, either. This was one of THE biggest championships in women’s golf, and Suggs did it against a field that included Berg, Babe Zaharias, and Betsy Rawls. I mean, come on. Here’s why that matters: The Titleholders wasn’t
Golf Ball collecting Resources
Recommended Reading Resources
- 500 Years of Golf Balls, by John F. Hotchkiss, 1997, Antique Trader Books
- The Essential Guide to Collecting Golf Balls, by Colin Palmer, 2010, Riley Dunn & Wilson Ltd.
- Antique Golf Collectibles, 3rd Edition, by Chuck Furjanic, 2004, Krause Publications
- Golf in the Making, by Ian Henderson and David Stirk, 1979, Henderson & Stirk Ltd.
- The Encyclopedia of Golf Collectibles, by John Ohlman and Morton Ohlman, 1985, Books Americanna
- Antique Golf Collectibles, Identification and Value Guide, by Pete Georgiady, 2006, Collector Books
- The Story of the Golf Ball, by Kevin W McGimpsey, 2003, Philip Wilson, London (winner of the 2004 Murdock Medal presented by the British Golf Collectors Society)
- The Collectible Golf Ball Directory, Folio I, ‘Gutta-Percha’ golf balls 1845-1903, by Kevin W McGimpsey, 2021
- The Collectible Golf Ball Directory, Folio II, ‘Rubber-Cored’ golf balls 1901-1919, by Kevin W McGimpsey, 2022
- The Collectible Golf Ball Directory, Folio III, ‘Rubber-Cored’ golf balls, A-K 1920-1945, by Kevin W McGimpsey, 2023 [November]