Few changes in any sport compare with the changes in golf brought about by the rubber ball. It was invented in 1898 by a Cleveland, Ohio golfer, Coburn Haskell, in association with Bertram Work of B. F. Goodrich Company. The ball featured rubber thread wound around a solid rubber core. The initial gutta-percha casing gave way to the Balata cover developed in the early 1900s. 

The popular bramble, mesh, reverse mesh, and many other patterns eventually gave way to the aerodynamically superior dimple pattern first used in 1908. Because of a lack of governing standards, there were many deviations in ball size and weight.