Early golf ball on course for thousands

An early leather-bound feather golf ball consigned for sale from a house move in Old Woking in Surrey has presented a conundrum to the county’s John Nicholson’s auctioneers who will sell it on May 14.

The family heirloom is inscribed stamped King James VI Club. Perth to one side, and 1807 Martins?? 1807 to the other – the inscriptions appearing under much wear and tear to the ball.

King James VI Golf Club is a private club on the River Tay in Perth and is the only entirely self-contained course on a river island.

Intriguingly the club was found in North Inch, Perth in 1858, just over 50 years later than the date shown on the ball offered here, before being moved to Moncreiffe Island in 1897 to a course designed by ‘Old’ Tom Morris, winner of numerous British Open Championships.

The tradition of playing golf in Perth dates back beyond King James VI himself – in fact, as far back as 1502, when a bowmaker made a set of clubs for King James IV for thirteen shillings.

Featherie golf balls date back to the early 17th century and were used for around 200 years before modern designs took over. They were made by sewing hide together and stuffing it with chicken or goose feathers. As the Future Museum in Scotland notes, the measure to fill a ball was usually a top hat full of feathers.

The estimate for the rare ball is £5,000-10,000.