c.1830 William Gourlay (Senior) High-Grade Feather Ball w/ '25' Pennyweights Handwritten on Ball
Feather balls are the cornerstone to all great golf ball collections, and this feathery is one of the finest conditioned specimens known. This William Gourlay (Senior, 1778 - d.1836) ball is a near perfect example and displays exceptionally well, transporting its admirers to the early times of golf's storied history. This prized high grade exemplar made by Wm. Gourlay, a master ball maker, displays his name nicely across the ball as well as the notation '25' to represent its weight. The time-consuming processes involved in creating a feather ball ensured that the price was out of reach of the masses. Though expensive, this type of ball had great flight characteristics and made the wooden ball obsolete almost immediately. The leather was cut in two, three or four lobes then fanned out like a flower, three of the sides would be then be sewn together by hand on the inside edge, then boiled goose or chicken feathers would be pushed into the open end and finally sewn together. This great example of a named feathery would be the crown jewel of any vintage golf ball collection. Wm. Gourlay (Senior) was a second generation feather ball maker which began with his father, Douglas Gourlay (Senior). William started making balls with his stamp in 1806 until his death in 1836. This ball is stamped “Wm. Gourlay.” The weight of “25” is clearly handwritten on the ball. The weight numbering system usually went from 24 to 31 pennyweights. “25” pennyweights is the equivalent of nearly 39 grams. The ball marked “25” is exceedingly rare. Heavier balls were more common and preferred as they flew through the wind farther and straighter than lighter balls. This is a high grade investment opportunity as you may never see another Wm. Gourlay, Sr. feathery ball of this quality in the future. The Gourlay family of three generations made feathery balls up to about 1850, when the gutty replaced the feathery, and they were undoubtedly the most dominant force in feather ball making history.
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