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 centerpieces 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.

Superb Condition Burbank Golf Ball

This is the rare Burbank golf ball. This exact ball is pictured on page 187 of The Story of the Golf Ball (2003) by Kevin McGimpsey. A surperb condition ball with brilliant white paint. According to McGimpsey, "[i]n 1935, Stowe Woodward released a ball called the Burbank that had similar [to the famous Henry Rifle ball] SWIRLING GROOVES. Mint condition Burbank balls are extremely rare."