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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. Evolving over a period covering hundreds of years, the ultimate design and composition 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.

In the beginning of the game of golf on the eastern coast of Scotland, nearly all of the players used antiquated equipment in order to play the game of golf which was a more varied game than it is today. Then, the first golf clubs and golf balls are made of wood.

feather golf ball was first introduced and gained popularity. This version 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 sphere. This was done while the ball was still wet. As the ball dried out, the leather shrank and the feathers expanded to form a hardened golf ball.

Because these types of golf balls were hand made, they could easily cost more than the golf clubs. As a result, only a few privileged people had the money to play the game of golf during this early period.

After the ‘Featherie’ the next version , to become popular was the Guttie golf ball. This prehistoric type of golf ball was made from the rubber like sap from the Gutta Percha tree that can be found in the tropics. These Guttie balls could be simply shaped into a sphere when hot. as they cooled, they kept their shape and could then be used as a golf ball. With its rubber nature, Guttie balls could be cheaply reproduced and could be easily repaired by reheating and re-moulding.

In a comparison between the two earliest forms of golf balls, the feather golf ball was known to travel 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 reduces the capacity of the golf ball to travel over greater distance.

With this new scientific analysis, the developers of golf balls eventually produced with balls with the “dimples” that are found on modern golf balls in use today.

Dimples are put onto golf balls so as to minimise the aerodynamic drag, which acts on the ball and is higher if it were totally smooth. This is because smooth balls, when flying through the air, leave a large pocket of low-pressure air in its wake so producing drag. The drag acts as an anchor and the ball slows down.

But in contrast, by placing dimples on golf balls, the pressure differential gets lowered and the drag is made less. These dimples create turbulence in the air surrounding the golf ball. This, in turn, makes the air flow around the golf ball more closely. By doing so, 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 help players to put backspin on a shot thereby making the golf ball break off on the putting green.

The concept of putting 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 first noticed how their shots became more and more predictable the longer that they played with the same ball. They noticed that the rougher the balls became the more precisely 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 shape. So the dimples came into being. From that time on, dimpled golf balls were officially used in every golf competition. In 1921, the dimpled golf balls took on a standard size and weight.

Nowadays, there is a big choice of golf balls suitable for different golf games and conditions. Some golf balls offer greater control, while some others offer greater distance. However else these golf balls vary, they all have one fearure in common and that is the dimple. Golf balls are not just items of golf equipment; they are a paradigm of a physics concept!

Roger Titley is a successful webmaster who manages http://www.newgolfputter.com which is dedicated to all aspects of golf

- Roger Titley