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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.
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
The Quiet Day That Helped Shape the Game
This Day in Golf History: March 28 and the Quiet Day That Helped Shape the Game After the USGA adopted the Royal & Ancient’s 1891 code of rules on March 28, 1895, a Rules of Golf book was introduced in 1896. Photo: USGA You know what? March 28 deserves a little more respect than it gets. It is not a date most golf fans circle on the calendar. There is no single major championship finish attached to it, no one towering moment that immediately leaps to mind. But the deeper you dig, the more March 28 starts to feel like one of those wonderfully sneaky dates in golf history, the kind
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
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]