Center of Attention

FOR NEARLY A CENTURY, WE PLAYED GOLF BALLS COMPOSED OF MATERIALS NOT OUT OF PLACE AT OFFICE DEPOT-OR AT CINNABON. THANKFULLY, A MORE SOLID IDEA EMERGED.

- Evan Rothman

BY THE MID-1990S, many top-shelf golf balls featured urethane covers not dissimilar to what's used today. Inside that was a middle layer of rubber bands-hence the name "wound" balls. And inside that was a sac of corn syrup or saltwater in the core with yeast or bacteria injected to pressurize it. Weird? Well, it worked.