Allan Robertson Used and Signed
Personal Feather Golf Ball 

In the annals of golf history, one names stands even before that of Tom Morris; in mid-19th century St Andrews, Allan Robertson reigned supreme. How good of a golfer was Allan Robertson? When the very first organized professional golf tournaments were formed, Allan Robertson seldom competed. Why? Because if Allan played, no one else would bother entering the tournament – especially if it meant lengthy travel that would no doubt result in nothing better than 2^nd place. In fact, it was widely touted during Robertson’s day that he never lost a single head to head golf match, though this has been proven factually inaccurate.

Offered here is without question one of the finest pieces of Allan Robertson memorabilia in existence – the only-known golf ball that was (1) made by Allan, (2) used by Allan, and (3) autographed by Allan. 

For rather obvious reasons, actual used memorabilia from the mid 1800s simply do not exist – at least with any reasonable provenance. Amazingly, the offered ball can be traced back 162 years! The July 14, 1853 The Fifeshire Journal tells the story of this exact ball, which was found during renovations to the Union Building Clubhouse, St Andrews upon the building of the now-iconic Royal & Ancient Clubhouse. The construction for the R&A Clubhouse commenced on July 13, 1853 – the exact same day this ball was found in a time capsule in a cavity within the wall alongside 1849 copies of The Times, The Fifeshire Journal and The Fife Herald, as well as other non-golf keepsakes of Masonic nature.

The ball has a handwritten “Allan” instead of Robertson’s trademark stamp – thus resulting in one of the only-known autographs of the legendary golfer. Allan has also written the ball’s weight, “27”.  The ball also contains the following handwritten inscription – inscribed prior to being placed in the time capsule in 1849:

“This kind of golf ball made of leather and stuffed with feathers used for the last 200 years. This ball was made and used by Allan Robertson, golf ball maker, St Andrews 1849.”

To say that this golf ball is museum worthy would be, well, completely accurate. This ball was previously part of the historic Jaime Ortiz-Patino collection and displayed at the golf museum at Valderrama Golf Club in Spain.