Ball Shape at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

About the middle of the 19th century the use of the coagulated juice of the gutta-percha tree produced a nearly indestructible ball, nicknamed the "guttie," that held its shape during play. Its smooth surface, however, caused the ball to drop quickly in flight. The makers soon learned that introducing indentations on the surface permitted the ball to fly properly. Golfers using the guttie could get longer drives and truer putts than with the feathery, which soon went out of existence. The guttie was used until a ball wound with rubber, invented in the United States in 1898, replaced it.

A golfer is penalized one or more strokes for a variety of misplays. He is charged with a stroke if he swings at the ball with the intention of hitting it and misses. If he tops the ball, and it rolls off the tee, this counts as a stroke, and the ball must be played where it lies. If, in addressing the ball, the player moves it a fraction, it counts as a stroke, and the ball must be played as it lies. If a player cannot find his ball, he must play a new ball from the place where he made the last shot, adding a penalty stroke shoulders, and flexes his knees. He keeps the left side of his body at right angles to the target (the green or the fairway) and keeps his weight distributed equally between both feet.

A vessel at anchor in daytime must show a single ball shape where it can best be seen. A vessel being propelled by sails and machinery must show a cone shape, point down, indicating that she does not have the right-of-way preference of a sailing vessel. Vessels aground should show three balls in a vertical line. (Vessels less than 12 meters in length need not comply with the above three requirements.) There are also various shape requirements for fishing vessels; pilot vessels; vessels restricted in ability to maneuver, such as dredges; and others.