Golf Balls
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Golf balls were not always made with dimples. The first golf balls were made from leather. They were stuffed with goose feathers. Some people called them featheries. All balls were made by hand and very expensive to buy.
In the 1840s, the guttie ball was introduced. It was made of rubber. In the 1880s, the gutties began to be made with patterns on the balls. The most popular pattern was called Bramble. It was a series of bumps in circles on the balls. The bumps became popular because golfers realized that scratches and bumps on the surface helped the ball travel further.
In the early 1900s, the golf balls golfers use today were first developed. They were made of two halves fused together so they had air in the middle. This made them lighter and helped them travel further. Companies then added the dimples to make the balls able to travel even further and much faster.
Why do dimples make the balls travel faster and further? They create multiple layers of air around the ball. One layer moves faster than the other, which helps increase the ball's speed. Most golf balls today have between 300 and 500 dimples.
Companies are constantly testing the number, depth, and position of the dimples to try to make sure they have the best golf ball available for every golfer. Some golfers may want a ball with more dimples. Some may want a ball with fewer dimples. It all depends on how they play the game.
A.
How is this passage organized?
- sequential order
- chronological order
- compare and contrast
- problem and solution
B.
Why were the first golf balls most likely called featheries?
- They were leather.
- They were made by hand.
- They were expensive.
- They were stuffed with feathers.
C.
What type of ball came after featheries?
- A guttie ball
- A patterned guttie ball
- A hollow ball fused together
- A leather ball stuffed with feathers
D.
What can you infer about featheries and the first gutties?
- They traveled very far.
- They did not travel very fast.
- They were cheap to make.
- They worked really well as golf balls.
E.
What feature of today's golf ball helps them travel farther?
- the material they are made of
- their light weight
- their hollow core
- their white outside
F.
Why do different golfers want different numbers of dimples?
- The way they hit the ball helps change how fast and far the ball goes too.
- They don't want the ball to work as well as other balls.
- The dimples change the look and feel of the ball.
- Different numbers of dimples are allowed in different tournaments.
G.
What is the main focus of this passage?
- The history of golf balls
- The dimples on golf balls
- The different types of modern golf balls
- The popularity of different golf balls today