Why Dimples - The History of a Golf Ball

In the physical world of air pressure, turbulence, and aerodynamics, surface structurestructure of the surface is a critical design consideration. There are several historical events that have contributed the design and make-up of the golf ball (http//www.newgolfputter.com/#GolfBall). Eventually, after hundreds of years, the optimum design and make up of the golf ball has been achieved, based on scientific understanding . The humble golf ball is a good example of the development of the history of aeronautical engineering.

When the game of golf was first played on the eastern coast of Scotland, most players used ancient apparatus in order to play golf which was a more disorganized and less formal than it is today. Then, the first golf clubs and golf balls are made of wood.

In 1618 the feather golf ball was first introduced and made popular. This type of the golf ball was commonly known as the "Featherie". This feather golf ball was a handcraftedhand made golf ball that comprised of goose feathers securely pressed into a horse or cowhide outer casing. The whole process was carried out while the ball was still wet. As the ball dried out, the the out skin would shrink and the feathers expanded to form a hardened golf ball.

Because these types of golf balls (http//www.newgolfputter.com) were specially handcrafted, they could easily cost more than the golf clubs. It is not surprising that, only only people with money had the money to play the game of golf during this early period.

After the 'Featherie' the next version , to gain in popularity was the Guttie golf ball. This prehistoric type of golf ball was constructed from the rubber like sap from the Gutta Percha tree that can be found in the tropics. These Guttie balls could be simply moulded into a sphere when hot. When they became cooler, they kept their shape and could then be used as a golf ball. With its rubber nature, Guttie balls could be manufactured at a low cost and could be easily re-cycled by reheating and re-moulding.

In a comparison between the two earliest forms of golf balls, the feather golf ball was said to travel much further than the rubber Guttie. This apparent paradox was eventually identified as being due to the difference in surfaces. The smooth surface of the Guttie limits the ability of the golf ball to cover more distance.

With this new knowledge, the developers of golf balls eventually came up with balls with the "dimples" that are associated with modern golf balls in use today.

Dimples are crafted onto golf balls so as to get rid of the aerodynamic drag, which acts on the ball and is increased if the surface were totally smooth. The reason for this is because smooth balls, when flying through the air, leave a huge pocket of low-pressure air in its wake therefore creating drag. The drag performs as a brake and the ball reduces in speed.

But in contrast, by having dimples on golf balls (http//www.newgolfputter.com), the difference in pressure goes down and the drag is reduced. These dimples create turbulence in the air around the golf ball. This, in turn, forces the air to flow around the golf ball more closely. consequently, the air flows in to the wake created by the ball instead of flowing past it. This results in a smaller wake and less drag. Consequently the ball travels a longer distance.

Dimples also assist players to put backspin on a shot so making the golf ball break off on the putting green.

The idea of placing dimples on golf balls can be traced back to the Gutta Percha phase of development. It was Coburn Haskell who came up with the one-piece rubber cored ball encased in a Gutta Percha cover. It was during this time that players bacame aware of how their shots became more and more predictable the more they used the same ball. They noticed that the rougher the balls became the more accurate and further they could hit it.

When William Taylor applied the dimple pattern to a Haskell ball in 1905, golf balls finally took on their modern form. So the dimples were born. From that time on, dimpled golf balls were officially used in every golf tournament. In 1921, the dimpled golf balls took on a standard size and weight.

Today, there is a big choice of golf balls suitable for different golf games and conditions. Some golf balls offer greater control, while some others provide greater distance. However else these golf balls vary, they all have one attribute in common and that is the dimple. Golf balls are not just items of golf equipment (http://www.newgolfputter.com); they are a paradigm of a physics concept!

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