FDRE!. ... better make that eight!
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Did someone actually make a slot machine that paid off in golf balls instead of coins? Where would a crazy idea like that
come from? Slot machines had been disguised as innocent vending machines for years. Long ago gum and candy vendors
were added to slot machines to avoid the long arm of the law. The premise was that players were gambling for merchandise
and not money. During the 1930's slot machine producers soon recognized the golf shops at the country clubs as a potential
new market place for their products. By placing golf ball slot machines in pro shops, a gambling machine would now be
seen as a harmless golf ball vendor. They could even be operated right under the noses of judges, police commissioners and
other public officials that were members of the local country club. Soon they would be found in pro shops at local munici-
pal golf courses. Today they are hard to find, expensive antiques, with certain individual machines selling for up to tens of
thousands of dollars.
One collector, Ed Rymer, has managed to assemble a museum quality example of each of the golf ball slot machines still
known to exist. It is believed to be the only complete collection of the eight different styles that were ever produced. Ed
and his wife Paulette enjoy playing golf and their collection of golf ball slot machines at their home in Sarasota, Florida.
The machines were all built in the 1930's and 1940's. An interesting aspect of this collection is that all of the golf balls on
display in these machines are new old stock vintage balls from that era. These rare golf balls are quite collectable on their
own. Each machine offers a bit of history about the slot machine manufacturing industry and how competition between
different vendors helped drive innovation . Here is a brief history of the beginnings of golf in America, and the golf ball slot
machine.
Golf's popularity today is drastically different when compared to the early l 930's when the first golf ball slot machine
was invented. Today, golf is considered a popular go-to leisure activity. From the late 1800's, through the mid 1920's, play-
ing golf was considered a true privilege. The peasants never got on the greens unless they carried someone 's bag. The radio,
newspapers, magazines and the Movietone News, reported stories about great golf legends like Bobby Jones and Walter
Hagen. The increase in publicity soon spawned country clubs in the areas that could afford them.
People everywhere said "Hey, that looks like fun." Fun it was, but there weren't enough places to play. American needed
more golf courses. After the stock market crash in 1929 the game grew. More rounds were played, just not at the same
exclusive places. The devastated economy forced countless private-club members to resign. In order to keep playing, they
became public golfers (sound familiar?). Land was relatively inexpensive and municipal golf suddenly looked like a good
investment to local governments applying for federal grants ( civil work projects). Hard times soon made public golf avail-
able to the masses.
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