For as long as anyone can remember, golf balls have been white. That is beginning to change. Many experts feel that before too long, the white ball will be a museum piece.
Golfers have often complained that it is difficult to follow the flight of a white golf ball as it soars through the air on a long drive. Often it gets lost against the white clouds in the sky. It can also be difficult to locate a white ball that lands in the rough.
A few professional golfers have already switched. They use orange or yellow balls, even in tournaments. Jack Nicklaus, who is color-blind where red and green are concerned, has asked one company to develop a fluorescent golf ball that will be a golden yellow.
From The Giant Book of More Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.
https://www.reachthegreen.com/professional-golfers-balls/
According to the linked article, white golf balls are still very much in fashion.
The artwork certainly looks like John Daly, but the book was published before his time, right?
Yeah, I thought the same thing, too. The book was published in 1981. Daly didn’t turn pro until 1987.
Why are they white though? Assumption that it’s easier to find them if they roll off into the rough?
Probably because it cost less to make them that way. That’s my guess.