2021-25 Dents and Divots

Today being Father’s Day, the topic of this week’s Scouter’s Minute involves the game of Golf.

Nearly 600 years ago, the first recognizable form of the game of golf was played is Scotland. Over these years the golf ball has evolved.

There are four distinct recognizable stages in the evolution of the golf ball. There is some speculation that the very first golf balls were simply round rocks.

The first recorded stage involves wooden golf balls. One can imagine how inefficient these wooden balls had to of been. Especially when struck with a wooden golf club. Maybe this is about the time in the evolution of the game that yelling “Fore!” began as rouge wooden golf balls where flying in all directions.

The second stage was the feathery golf balls. These were basically leather sacks stuffed with goose feathers. The ball was used for a little over 400 years! The making of this ball was so time consuming that it was usually sold for more than the club itself. This ball was better than the wood golf ball… but still not very accurate.

The third stage was the Gutty. This golf ball was only around for about fifty years but changed the game. Rather than wood or stuffed leather, this ball was made from dried sap of the Sapodilla tree. Having more of a rubber-like feel, the sap was heated and formed into ball shapes. It was with this ball that players discovered that the ball was more accurate after it was played with for a while and received little dents and divots. Hammering handmade divot came into practice with this ball.

The final stage, rubber core golf balls. Replacing the gutty in 1899, this new design with the modern divots we are used to, improved airflow while soaring to the green.

It’s amazing over the past 600 years, that through trial and error, it was discovered that the little dents and divots in a golf ball make it play better.

When you think about it, Scouting is a lot like these golf balls. Each time we pass off a requirement for a rank advancement, earn a new merit badge, or even fail at a task during camp, we get a dent or divot. The more that we learn, and experience, adds more dimples and dents to our golf ball. This in turn makes us go farther and straighter down your scouting career. Eventually, you will soar so far and straight that you will eventually be flying with the Eagles.