A golf ball used by Harry Vardon to win the 1900 U.S. Open sold last night at @Golf_Auction for $194,259.20.

It’s the most expensive golf ball ever sold. pic.twitter.com/2IpglpVjqH

— cllct (@cllctMedia) June 16, 2025

Starting with a minimum bid of $15,000, the U.S. Open-winning ball received 21 bids, culminating in a final six-figure price point at auction’s end at 10 p.m. on Sunday. The piece of memorabilia was part of Vardon’s only U.S. Open title, in which he won by two strokes. It also comes with a vintage mistake, as spelled out by The Golf Auction, the site that hosted the sale.

“Engraved on the ball’s silver presentation plate is: American Championship – Wheaton 1900 – Won by H. Vardon – Score 323. The ‘2’ in the winning cumulative score of 323 was meant to be engraved as a ‘1.’ Errors such as this one, along with misspellings of names, were common at that time and often the work of either a rushed individual or an amateur engraver working on the award shortly after the event’s finish.”

The ball has changed hands over the years, starting with Vardon (of course), making its way to Harpenden Common Golf Club pro Bob Peters and eventually to PGA Tour winner and five-time Ryder Cup player Ken Brown. There’s a signed letter of provenance from Brown, which accompanies the ball to ensure its authenticity.

A piece of major history, the Vardon Flyer had a short shelf life with the Goodrich Rubber Company coming up with its own newfangled design, making the Spalding ball obsolete. Vardon frequently claimed that it “flew longer and farther than its contemporaries,” and it certainly worked out for the World Golf Hall of Famer as he won seven majors over the years.

The Vardon Flyer was the stand-out of the June 2025 auction catalog, which also included a 1934 Masters program, a 1987 Muirfield Village Ryder Cup crystal trophy, a signed Tiger Woods Nike golf ball and a few pieces of memorabilia from Rory McIlroy’s 2025 Masters victory.

The Golf Auction is an auction house of some controversy as of late, as it was implicated in the private sales of stolen Masters collectibles, including green jackets, that led to the imprisonment of a former Augusta National Warehouse worker. The company has been dealing in prestigious golf goods for years now, from a $470,000 Masters badge to Babe Zaharias’ U.S. Women’s Open-winning clubs to Hale Irwin’s gold medals. The site makes sure to note that “ALL SALES ARE FINAL.”

Instagram

X

Facebook

YouTube

Main Image: Sarah Fabian-Baddiel/Heritage Images/Getty Images

The post Why this golf ball just became the most expensive one EVER sold appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Well, it seems like Arnold Palmer did exactly that with this West Coast retreat. Built in 1999, the home sits on the second fairway of the Palmer-designed course, just 167 steps from the clubhouse’s locker rooms. Palmer’s daughters sold the Coachella Valley resort home in 2022 to Louise Bellisimo, and now she’s planning to sell it again after some modern renovations.

Sitting on less than half an acre, the four-bedroom and 3.5-bath centred around a spacious living room with 16-foot beamed ceilings is hitting the market for $5 million after some impressive updates, including opening up the back of the house to see more of the top-ranked course and the Santa Rosa Mountains in the distance.

“I saved the style of the home,” Bellisimo said. “I left all the arches, and I left it so that he could walk in and like it … I didn’t ever buy it thinking I was going to sell it. It’s just that things change with the family, and I can’t get them out here as much as I’d like. So I have to go to them.”

Along with the short walk to the clubhouse, the front door is just 15 to 20 steps from the tee box. That’ll surely cut down on your golf commute time! There’ll be an in-person open house at 52123 Dunlevie Court in La Quinta on Jan. 12 and you can even look through the home’s virtual tour.

The $5M price tag also includes some remarkable golf memorabilia from two leather armchairs once used by Palmer to some of the golf great’s old photographs—most notably one of him with caddie Michael “Fluff” Cowan, signed, “To Arnold, It’s been a gas. — Fluff.”

If you’re in the market, you’re not going to do much better than this. $5M to own a piece of golf history, a pretty swanky California hideaway and the shortest golf commute possible? Actually … can we expense this?

Images: courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty

The post Arnold Palmer’s former California home, located on one of his finest course designs, hits the market for $5 million appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.