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.

Silvertown with Orange Paint from the Harry B. Wood Collection

This scarce Silvertown golf ball with Orange Paint was part of the famous Harry B. Wood collection. It bears the well-recognized small paper label bearing Wood's handwritten notation. These labels were created by Wood in order to display his grand collection of memorabilia in the late 1800s and very early 1900s. Harry B. Wood began his collection in 1868, just two years after the Royal & Ancient announced their own intentions to assemble a museum. Few golf antiques share the provenance and history of items from the Harry B. Wood Collection. 

This exact ball is pictured on plate XX in The Story of the Golf Ball (2003) by Kevin McGimpsey. The ball itself is in Good condition, though the retention of orange paint on the ball is remarkable. The Harry B. Wood sticker is in Good overall condition, partly legible.