Antique Golf Clubs from Scotland: Clubmakers

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Clubmakers

Penfold (Albert Edward)

Born in 1888, he played a major role in the company which bears his name but also Silvertown, Dunlop and the North British.

In 1914 he developed a process for refining gutta percha in such a way that it became bright white and tougher than previously, allowing it to be wound more thinly and tightly around the core. He received a patent for a mesh design ball in 1912 and for a lattice cover where the ridges running lengthways were slightly curved. 1922 saw Dunlop introduce their first MaxFli ball, developed by Penfold, who joined them in 1919, based on his 1912 patent for lattice design.

He left Dunlop in 1927 to set up Golf Ball Developments Ltd and in 1928 redesigned and refurbished the North British Rubber Company's factory in Edinburgh. The first ball to bear his own name appeared in 1930 and was an instant success even during the Depression where it sold well despite costing more than other balls. He also changed the marketing strategy: this was the first ball to be sold solely to, and through, golf professionals.

Albert Penfold was killed in 1941, returning from the US, when the Siamese Prince was torpoedoed off the Irish Coast.

The business was continued and expanded by his son, the Penfold Heart ball making an important appearance as 007’s ball in Goldfinger (1964). Collectors’ sets of the ball were released in 2008.

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