Golf balls are perhaps the hottest golf memorabilia in the world right now. To longtime collectors, this will not be a surprise, as golf balls were once the crème de la crème of the golf world. Finally, after years of being overlooked, golf balls seem poised for their rightful return to prominence. And rightful it is. Most historians agree – it was the ball, not the club, that most influenced the game of golf. Our last auction saw 2 individual balls sell for over $30,000 each, as well as other golf balls sell for $14,000 and $8,000, respectively. And there are reports that a scarce “Paterson’s Composite” golf ball recently traded hands privately for a whopping $200,000 – the highest price ever paid for a golf ball.

Offered in this auction is one of the finest groupings of rare golf balls ever assembled for a single sale. Many of these balls were the centerpiece of the most important golf ball book ever written, The Story of the Golf Ball (2003) by Kevin McGimpsey. McGimpsey’s book is the Bible for golf ball collectors, and rightfully so.

Rare and Important Smooth Gutta Golf Ball

Smooth gutties are among the mosrt desireable golf balls, as they were only produced for a very short period of time before golfers and golf ball makers quickly learned that "knicked" golf balls fly straighter. Smooth gutties are also notoriously difficult to authenticate, making known authentic examples sell for a large premium (a smooth gutty in our last auction sold for $33,715). 

Offered here is an exceptional authentic Smooth Gutty golf ball. Quite significantly, this exact ball appeared on the cover of The Story of the Golf Ball (2003) by Kevin McGimpsey. This ball is also shown on Plate X in the book. The ball contains approximately 60% of its original paint.