EXPLOSIVE GOLF BALL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1278, 30 July 1914, Page 4

EXPLOSIVE GOLF BALL.

CURIOUS ACCIDENT TO PLAYER.

A painful accident resulting from cutting open a liquid core golf ball, has occurred to Mr George B. Brand, a well-known player. Mr Brand had some friends at his house in Augustus Road. Wimbledon Park, London. One of them picked up dn old golf ball, of English make, and began pulling it to pieces, saying as he unwound the rubber strings. “Let’s see how much there is of it.’’ Mr Brand stood looking on. Mr Brand’s friend reached the core, a bag about the size of a marble, and pierced it with a knife. Instantly the liquid inside t'ae core squirted out with astonishing force. Mr Brand was struck in the eye, suffered agonising pain, and became unconscious. Dr George Scott was called in, but it was some time before. Mr Brand returned to consciousness. The object of the liquid core is to give greater resilience to the ball. The core consists of a small rubber bag filled with an incompressible fluid. This fluid in some cases consists mainly of soft soap, with as much alkali as is to be found in a rather alkaline soap. One ball, known as the “water core” ball, has in the centre a quarter of an ounce of plain water. About a year ago the case was widely reported of an American boy who lost the sight of an eye owing to the contents of a golf core spurting into his eye. The core in this case contained soap, caustic soda and barium sulphate. A scientific examination of a number of English golf balls of well-known make showed that none of the balls contained any acid or fine chloride, but when the bag containing the paste was opened the paste spqrted out with force, and it was clear that the liquid might cause inflammation if it entered the eye.