The invention provides a solid golf ball having a solid core and a cover layer that encases the core and has an outermost layer on an outside surface of which are formed a plurality of dimples. A conveyor moves the bottles through a fitting station below the axis and a downwardly open magazine holding a stack of the caps in a pick-off station above the axis is vertically displaceable between a lower position with the stack engageable with the seat in the pick-off station and an upper position with the stack clear of the seat in the pick-off station. The engine control system smoothes the transition between activated and inactivated modes by increasing throttle area and manifold pressure when transitioning between activated and deactivated modes.