Coburn Haskell FORE! Inventor of the modern day golf ball

A Walk Through History at Lake View Cemetery

Several years ago, while walking through Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, I came across the grave of a man whose name every golfer should know: Coburn Haskell.

On April 11, 1899, Haskell, an avid golfer, along with Bertram G. Work of the B.F. Goodrich Company in Akron, Ohio, received a patent for what would become the modern-day golf ball.

Before their invention, golf balls were crude by today’s standards—leather pouches stuffed with boiled feathers, known as “featheries.” Haskell and Work revolutionized the sport with a new design: rubber thread wound tightly around a solid rubber core. This innovation dramatically improved distance, durability, and playability.

The impact was immediate. Golf’s popularity surged in both the United States and Europe, and Coburn Haskell became a wealthy man because of it.

Coburn Haskell passed away in Cleveland on April 14, 1922, at the age of 53. His final resting place lies quietly in Lake View Cemetery, but his legacy lives on every time a golf ball is struck.

Next time you tee up, take a moment to remember the name Coburn Haskell—the man who changed the game forever.

1868-1922