Golf Ball Facts - Reasons Golf Balls Have Dimples

When you picture the golf ball in your mind, you imagine a small white solid ball with lot s of indented marks on them. This is unique to golf balls and these indented areas are what help a player control a golf ball in flight, in other words they give better control to the player. These indentations are also called golf ball dimples.

Dimples were first used on the golf balls around a century ago. This is after many players reported that damaged balls seemed to travel so much further than brand new ones. After they reported this, companies started making the balls in odd shapes to help them get this effect. One William Taylor spent a lot of time studying golf ball shapes and their paths in flight, and he is who perfected the dimples that are common on every golf ball that you will see today.

The lift and the drag are the two forces of aerodynamics that affect the course of a golf ball in flight. The indentations or dimples allow air flow to be smooth over the golf ball so that the fraction is at minimum. The dimples help decrease the drag effect and also increase the lift effect. As a result, the ball travels faster and further, thanks to these dimples.

The normal number of indentation on a golf ball in America is around three hundred and thirty six, but it is between three hundred and five hundred all around the world. Whatever the manufacturer, golf balls tend to have an even number of dimples on them with the exception of only one variety that has three hundred and thirty three. We often hear of pros ordering a set of balls with a specific number of dimples. The number of dimples as well as their depths is what affects the ball in flight, and so much has been written and researched on the topic.

Golf rules allow that the upper limit of area of the ball that can be made up of dimples as eighty percent, regardless of the number of them, which can even be a thousand. The largest number of dimples that has been put on record is one thousand and seventy. Research shows us that a perfect golf ball with the right number of dimples (around three hundred) can and does travel about twice the distance as a smooth ball without any indentations on the surface. Keeping that in mind, it is no wonder that pros ask for a specific number of dimples on their balls.

The wooden ball of yesteryear has metamorphosed into what we today commonly see as the solid golf ball with all these dimples on it. This is thanks only to study and research.