Collecting Golf Sports Cards:
College Golf Silks & More

Discovered by chance as a useful substance for golf balls, gutta percha balls in their early years are highly desired by collectors. The early balls were smooth and flew erratically. Golfers then discovered that the scratches, dents and injuries delivered to these balls actually straightened their flight. Thus began decades of exploration in surface manipulation with grooves, dimples, pimples (called brambles), mesh, and any number of other patterns. Collectors of gutta percha balls rate them according to patterns, age, and, of course, condition. As with featheries, auction prices can be in the many thousands of dollars with prized samples going for quite breathtaking sums. Here, too, is the realm of the expert collector. The casual collector would do well to find second or third rate balls in less desirable condition to at least display for their historical value in the evolution of the ball.