What happened to the rubber bands inside the golf ball?

The center of a golf ball is a dangerous thing - or so cautioned the rumors in the 1950s and 1960s. However, instead of poisonous gas or compressed air, anyone who dared cut open a golf ball found a ball of rubber thread.

Since the center is rubber, it's not surprising that Bridgestone is a major innovator in golf balls - and has been since 1935.

So what happened to the rubber-band ball? Bridgestone dropped the rubber bands when engineers discovered that solid-rubber-core balls travel a greater distance.

And Bridgestone uses more "pure natural rubber" than other brands so players get a more energetic hit.

The Bridgestone Tour B330® golf balls feature high-tech three-piece construction. The third component - the rubber inner cover - provides greater spin when hit with an iron, which gives skilled players more control when aiming for the pin.

When designing the layers, Bridgestone engineers use different rubber materials to find the right balance of distance, speed and control. It's not unlike finding the right balance between fuel economy and longer mileage.

Which is something engineers just can't do with a mess of rubber bands.