Golf Equipment- Now and Then

What has changed since the beginning of golf? Everything has changed, from the courses to the players, but most of all, it’s the equipment used. Every player wants to improve his or her game so the industry makes better equipment for players to use. Golf equipment has changed a great deal since the start of the game.

Golf is known to have started sometime in the 14th century in Britain. The only people who played where kings and queens. 1729, inventor William Burnet made ten golf clubs, one iron, and seven dozen balls. A golfer played with a group of clubs, mostly woods, and perhaps an iron or two. The shape and style of clubs has changed very little from earliest times until the mid-nineteenth century. (Early Golf Clubs and Balls, 2)

Specialist joiners who also made other sporting equipment made the original woods, or clubs used for long distances in the present game. (Early Golf, 4) As stated from the document “Early Golf Clubs and Balls” by Robert Gowland, one historian has calculated that wooden clubs lasted only about twelve rounds of golf. Wooden clubs required two properties: a head sufficiently hard to withstand successive hits on the ball and a spring or whippy shaft. (5) As one can tell, golf clubs did not l

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A good drive went about 160 to 180 yards, about half of a good drive today. ” (3)

Since the beginning of golf balls with stuffed rawhide, the ball has gone through many technological developments. A serious match required the golfer’s caddy to carry about half a dozen balls, their cost alone being sufficient explanation for why golf was a game for royalty. Steve Aoyama adds that Titleist expands its iron models. All players use a driver to drive the ball off the tee, and woods made for long fairway shots. The bumps then evolved into dimples, which is the modern dimple pattern in all balls. The new designed face provides confidence and added stability for straighter ball flight. Golf is a very difficult game and the equipment is the key to winning. (“Technology Takes Over” 24)

Today’s woods are not much different than those 300 years ago. The next era of ball made was called a “guttie”. ” Aoyama declared “it also provided for more dynamic loft to ensure a proper and higher launch angle, important in achieving long drives. The club is “faster” through the turf and is excellent for trajectory control. The gap was stitched and hammered to make it as spherical as possible. They where very expensive, thus royalty were the only people who took part in golf.

Approximate Word count = 861
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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