Archive: A Powerhouse of Sport ; Chris Upton Talks Balls, and Other Sporting Equipment, Emanating From a Premier League Name in the Industry

Summary

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What is the furthest anyone has ever driven a golf ball? The answer, you might imagine, would involve someone like Seve or Tiger or perhaps John Daly. In fact, none of these was responsible. The record holder was Alan Shepard, who in 1971 took aim on the surface of the Moon and hit his ball an estimated 1,600 yards. It's only an estimate because he never went to collect it.

The ball concerned was a Dunlop 65, created by the appropriately named Birmingham-born physicist, Sammy Ball. It's clearly a record that will stand for the forseeable future, and chimes well with Dun- lop's early claims about the distances achieved by its golf balls. They were making similar claims as far back as 1909.

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Extract

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Archive: A Powerhouse of Sport ; Chris Upton Talks Balls, and Other Sporting Equipment, Emanating From a Premier League Name in the Industry

The name Dunlop is one which echoes through Birmingham's industrial history, and not only Birmingham, but Coventry too. As such the West Midlands is featured prominently in a recent book by Brian Simpson. Winners in Action, published by JJG Publishing at pounds...

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