An Introduction to Dunlop Golf Balls.... by Kevin A Pears PhD

Scottish born Vet John Boyd Dunlop founded Dunlop in 1888. The company initially manufactured rubber tires. In 1907 they started to make golf balls, the first attempt being a bramble type ball called "The Dunlop Ball". Other balls such as The Dunlop, The Orange Spot, Junior, Manor and V all quickly followed as Dunlop tried to establish themselves in this new arena. Early production was at Manor Mills, Aston in Birmingham. However Fort Dunlop, once the worlds largest factory was built 1916 and ball and tire production was moved there. 

It was the introduction of the Dunlop lattice mesh ball in 1922, first patented by Dunlop employee Albert Penfold in 1912 which allowed Dunlop to take the golf ball world by storm. From the early 1920's until the 1990's Dunlop balls were regularly used by winners of the Open Golf Championship and in many overseas championships too. Cotton, Daly, Locke, Faulkner, Thomson, Charles, Di Vincenzo, Player, Jacklin, Lyle and Strange all used Dunlops. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus have used Dunlop balls at times in their careers too.