Penfold Golf Ltd. is a British sporting goods manufacturer of

golf equipment Golf equipment encompasses the various items that are used to play the sport of golf. Types of equipment include the golf ball, golf clubs, and devices that aid in the sport. Equipment Balls Originally, golf balls were made of a hardwood, s ...

founded in 1929 by Albert Ernest Penfold (1884–1941). Golf equipment include balls, tees,

gloves A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless glov ...

, apart from fashion accessories such as

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

s and

wallet A wallet is a flat case or pouch often used to carry small personal items such as paper currency, credit cards; identification documents such as driver's license, identification card, club card; photographs, transit pass, business cards and oth ...

s. "Early recognition of Penfold's ability came when the solid guttie ball was standard. The gutta then used for balls was often dirty gray, full of foreign particles and none too easy to find on the imperfect fairways of that day. Then, when a leading authority made the statement in his presence that white

gutta-percha Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly from ' ...

would make a fortune for the inventor, Penfold spent an intensive period in the laboratory. A pure white

was his initial contribution to golf." The Royal and Ancient had a ball made which they believed would set a limit to the distance potentialities of all golf balls. Penfold and other ball manufacturers were called in and shown the specifications of the new ball which was supposed to be the perfect 'restrictor.' During the inspection Penfold startled the assembly making the quiet statement that he could build a ball to those very specifications that would out drive any ball then made.http://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/golfd/page/1941jul11-20.pdf 1930s-bromford-box-ball

"The first test of the Penfold production was held on a Sunday prior to a British Open Championship on a course near St. Andrews. When the selected Driver hit the first Penfold designed ball it carried far beyond the furthermost markers. Other Penfold balls gave identical results. Examination followed the demonstration, and the Penfold test ball was found to conform to the letter of the restricting specification." A.E. Penfold began his career with the Silvertown company where he was involved in golf ball development. In 1919 he joined Dunlop and designed the famous “Maxfli” ball. Penfold left Dunlop in 1927 to form his own company, Golf Ball Developments Ltd, based at Bromford Lane,

Ward End Ward End is an area of Birmingham, England. It covers the area between Saltley, Hodge Hill and Stechford and includes Ward End Park, a public park that has been open for over 100 years. Ward End territory Pelham in Ward End joins with Alum R ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. In the early 1930s, Penfold launched his "Latticed" ball which was an instant success at home and in export markets. Penfold devised a winding technique which permitted extreme tension of the rubber thread and unerring accuracy. The trick in winding was to prevent too many loops of the rubber thread crossing at exactly the same point. On 17 February 1941 A.E. Penfold was lost at sea aboard the Prince Line cargo ship ''Siamese Prince'', which was torpedoed by the off the coast of Ireland. The company continued manufacturing golf balls at Bromford Lane up until the late 1990s, and became an Iconic brand featuring in

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

's,

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

story and film '' Goldfinger''. The Penfold Heart

golf ball A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf. Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than , has a diameter not less than , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like g ...

used and identified by 007 became an iconic brand in the world of golf. Following the policies of A.E Penfold manufacturing to high standards, after which the production of golf balls was out sourced to Korea. Nothing remains of the Bromford Lane factory which was sold for redevelopment. Penfold Golf Ltd, continues to market and distribute Penfold branded golf balls, gloves and clothing from its head office in Dudley.

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* {{Sports equipment brands Sporting goods manufacturers of the United Kingdom Golf equipment manufacturers 1927 establishments in the United Kingdom British companies established in 1927 Manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom Companies established in 1927