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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.
5 Little-Known Masters and Augusta National Facts
5 Little-Known Masters and Augusta National Facts From the Archives Augusta National and the Masters have been written about so often that it can feel like every good story has already been told. Yet that is never really true. The deeper you dig into official histories and old tournament notes, the more this place reveals itself as something beyond the polished spring postcard. Before it became golf’s most mythologized stage, the property was Fruitland Nurseries, one of the most prominent gardens in the United States. That botanical past still lingers all over the club, right down to the hole names. It Wasn’t Officially “The Masters” At First This one still catches people off
Craig Wood’s Masters Story
Craig Wood’s Masters Story, In Silver, Gold and Paper Some collectibles impress you at first glance. Others take hold because the longer you study them, the more deeply they pull you into the story. This Craig Wood grouping does both. In the hands of Golf Heritage Society President George Petro are a 1941 Masters winner’s gold medal, a 1935 runner-up silver medal, a period photo of Wood and his wife admiring his winning scorecard, the Associated Press caption mounted on the back of that image and another vintage photo that appears to show Wood alongside Gene Sarazen in one of Augusta’s earliest and most famous moments. Put together, the grouping does more than
NICKLAUS’ 1986 MASTERS WIN
CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF NICKLAUS’ 1986 MASTERS WIN The 90th playing of the Masters will take place from April 9–12, 2026 at Augusta National Golf Club. First held in 1934 as the Augusta National Invitation Tournament, this “tradition unlike any other” has offered countless memorable moments and unforgettable finishes. For many golf historians and journalists, one stands out. Forty years on, for many the 1986 Masters — and the Golden Bear’s golden Sunday remains “the greatest golf story ever told.” Herbert Warren Wind, widely considered the “godfather of American golf literature” for his elegant, authoritative style, wrote in The New Yorker that Nicklaus’ Masters win in 1986 was “nothing less than the most important accomplishment in golf since
This Day in Golf History – March 4th
This Day in Golf History: March 4 and Five Moments Worth Remembering Some dates in golf history announce themselves with a roar. March 4 is not really one of them, at least not at first glance. It does not come with the built-in shorthand of a Masters Sunday or a U.S. Open collapse that lives forever on highlight tapes. But that is part of what makes it so enjoyable to dig through. When you spend a little time with March 4, you find a date that touches several different corners of the game. There is early Augusta and Bobby Jones. There is Sam Snead in full winter-circuit stride. There is a big
Before the Oaks, There Was Brackenridge
Before the Oaks, There Was Brackenridge As the PGA TOUR returns to San Antonio this week for the Valero Texas Open, it feels like the right time to look backward instead of forward. The modern tournament now lives at TPC San Antonio, but the soul of this event was built long before that. The Texas Open was first played in 1922; it remains one of the oldest tournaments on the PGA TOUR schedule, and it is the oldest professional golf tournament to have stayed in the same city for its entire run. That kind of continuity matters. In a sport that loves its traditions, San Antonio has one of the strongest claims
Texas Boys, Augusta Ghosts, and a Drawing
Texas Boys, Augusta Ghosts, and a Drawing That Arrived at Just the Right Time With the PGA TOUR back in Texas this week for the Valero Texas Open, and the Masters waiting just ahead on April 9-12, this feels like exactly the right moment to spend some time with a collectible tied to two of the greatest Texans the game has ever produced: Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson. The Valero is the TOUR’s stop this week in San Antonio, and the Masters is next on the schedule, which makes this particular piece feel especially timely. The item is a framed drawing from GHS President George Petro’s collection: “Hogan v Nelson playoff, 1942
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]