Materials and design are so advanced today that even modest cost balls are typically superior for most golfers.

The golf ball has evolved considerably over several hundred years from its early use in Holland and Scotland.

Centuries ago the 'featherie' was designed, a leather pouch stuffed with wet goose feathers. As it dried, the feathers expanded and the leather shrunk, forming a very hard semi-elastic ball that could go quite a distance by historical standards. Around the turn of the 20th century, the gutta percha came into widespread use. Dimpled and made of Malayan rubber, it was the first major advance in golf ball construction and revolutionized the game.

Today, materials science and golf physics has brought the golf ball to new heights, figuratively and literally.

Covered with Surlyn (a special DuPont rubbery plastic) the ball comes in various forms. A 1-piece is essentially just a uniform hard plastic ball. They're cheap balls used only for practice by beginners. The 2-piece is a solid plastic resin core wrapped with Surlyn. The 3-piece uses a core wrapped with elastic windings that are then covered. A 4-piece adds another layer but is the same basic design.

All these changes in material and geometry helped improve flight and distance characteristics. The dimples break up airflow around the surface, reducing drag and providing longer flight times. That maximizes distance. A smaller proportion than you might think results from the compressive feature of the golf ball.

Weights today are not to be greater than 1.620 oz (45 g) and the size no more than 1.680 inches (38 mm) and the ball must be spherical. Even the maximum initial velocity is determined by professional golfing regulations, as is the maximum permissible distance it can travel on a drive.

When choosing a golf ball, golfers will examine the size and construction to meet their own goals, though. Some prefer the greater control afforded by a 3-piece, others will want the durability and lower cost of a 2-piece.

Knowledgeable golfers will also look to the compression value, a number that ranges from 0-200. All 3-piece balls and some 2-piece ones carry this number. A ball that has zero compression is rated 200 (not zero - go figure). A ball that will compress under load by 2/10th inches or more is rated zero. For every 1/1000th inch of compression under load they receive one lower point, starting from 200.

Golfers shouldn't put too much emphasis on the compression number. Surface geometry and material play a much larger role than elasticity in flight character, including distance traveled after impact.

Whichever you choose, it's hard to go wrong these days. Materials and design are so advanced today that even modest cost balls are typically superior to the average golfer. How they're struck has a much bigger effect than the exact size, weight, or construction.

Choose a golf ball based on your budget and whether you enjoy the way it feels and flies and you'll soon discover that's the one for you.

The Old Course is located in St Andrews in Fife, on the East Coast of Scotland. The exact date when golf was first played on the grounds of the Old Course is unknown but it is certainly one of the oldest golf courses in the world, and may be the oldest golf course in Scotland. The earliest evidence of golf being played there is a licence granted to the community by Archbishop John Hamilton in 1552, which allowed for golf and other recreational pastimes to take place. However, it was not until 1574 that the first written record of golf actually being played there was recorded. Documents do exist showing that King James IV bought golf clubs at St Andrews in 1506, which suggests the Old Course was used for golf much earlier than written records would have us believe.

The club house of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club Of St Andrews (R&A) is adjacent to the first tee. Many wrongly believe they own the course but they are only one of many clubs allowed to play on the Old Course along with the general public. The Old Course is, in fact, run by The St Andrews Links Trust; a charitable organisation established in 1974 by an Act of Parliament. The St Andrews Links Trust is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of the other five golf courses at St Andrews.

The Old Course is basically naturally formed, although some adjustments were made by Tom Morris who became custodian of the links in 1875. Originally the course consisted of 22 holes but in 1764 this number was reduced to 18. This created what has become the standard round of golf throughout the world. Golf was also originally played in a clockwise direction and for many years clockwise and anti-clockwise play took place on alternate weeks. The anti-clockwise (right hand circuit) is now the accepted direction, although it is apparent that some of the 112 bunkers are designed to catch golfers playing in the clockwise direction.

One of the many unique features of the Old Course is the double greens. Only the 1st, 9th, 17th and 18th holes have their own greens. Until the 19 century, due to the natural layout, golfers played the same holes coming out as they did going in, which led to congestion as the game increased in popularity. To alleviate the problem two holes were cut in each green, the first 9 with a white flag and the second 9 with a red flag. The course can be quite easy to play when the weather is not windy although it also contains one of the most celebrated and feared holes in golf, the par 4 17th “Road Hole”.

The Open Championship was first played on the Old Course in 1873 and it has since staged this event more than any other venue in the world. St Andrews played host to the Open for the 27th time in 2005 when Tiger Woods joined the elite list of double winners. Many other famous tournaments are also held at St Andrews including The Dunhill Cup and later the Dunhill Links Championship, The Walker Cup and The Amateur Championship.

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