Golf Ball Dimples: More Than Just for Looks
Have you ever wondered why your golf balls feature a dimpled pattern?
It’s like asking why a football is oval-shaped instead of spherical, or why a basketball’s surface has bumps and lines. Dimpling golf balls is a design choice that’s become so recognizable that we no longer question its existence — that is until it’s brought to our attention.
The best golf balls will improve your game, of course, whether or not you know the reason behind their specific design. But it sure would make for good small talk to know this interesting bit of sports trivia.
Would it surprise you to know that the best golf balls haven’t always featured dimples? Let’s look into the science behind dimpling golf balls, as well as the origins of the design.
How Many Dimples Does a Golf Ball Have?
Here’s the truth: there’s no universal answer to this because the number of dimples solely depends on the golf ball’s manufacturer and model. The average range is somewhere between 300 and 500 dimples, although there are startling outliers. For example, the record for the highest number of dimples on a golf ball is 1,070.
How can it be possible for the number of dimples to vary so much when golf ball sizes and weights are tightly regulated by the rules of the sport? The minimum diameter allowed is 1.68 inches, while the maximum weight is 1.62 ounces.
However, golf ball dimples are allowed a certain range of depth and radius. The average depth is about a hundredth of an inch. And although the dimples are required to be symmetrical, they’re not required to be circular. Some of the best golf balls have hexagonal dimples.
Why Did Manufacturers Start Putting Dimples on Golf Balls?
Quick history lesson: golf balls were originally smooth. Back in the 1800s, some of the most popular golf balls were created using molded tree sap and called gutties.
These balls would get banged around and dinged up, but as human nature is naturally curious, golfers kept using the damaged gutties anyway to see how it would perform. Imagine their surprise when they realized that these non-smooth balls flew through the air more consistently.
Following this discovery, some manufacturers came out with golf balls with raised protrusions, mimicking the old and scuffed-up gutties of the past. In the early 1900s, inventors found that making indentations on a sphere’s surface was easier—and made for better-performing golf balls.
Finally, English manufacturer William Taylor registered a patent for a dimpled golf ball design in 1905.
What Is the Purpose of Golf Ball Dimples?
We know the general idea: golf balls with dimples just work better.
What’s the science behind this, though? It’s all about lift and drag. The dimples create mixed airflow—also called turbulence—and reduce drag.
This may be confusing at first. Even a cursory knowledge of airflow concepts will confirm that it's laminar air movement that leads to less drag. Turbulent airflow actually creates drag. However, in the case of golf balls, you want that initial drag provided by the dimples. It helps the air layer clinging to a flying golf ball stay there as long as it can, improving the ball’s performance and overall lift.
When you hit a golf ball, it flies through the air in a spinning motion. As it spins backward, the ball keeps rising due to the air pressure underneath being greater than the pressure above. Dimples can magnify this effect through becoming a system of turbulators that may contribute as much as half of the total lift of a golf ball in the air. This is called Bernoulli’s principle, the same concept that explains airplane wing lift.
These days, dimple depth and placement in golf balls are painstakingly tested using high-tech processes and equipment. Even a depth change of a thousandth of an inch can result in a radical change in a golf ball model’s performance in terms of trajectory and covered distance.
If you use a smooth golf ball, it would probably travel about half as far as a typical ball with dimples.
How Do You Know Which Golf Ball Is Right for Your Game?
In the end, the best golf balls that you can use can’t be determined by the amount or pattern of dimples.
We mentioned earlier that golf ball designs go through whole batteries of tests to guarantee their aerodynamic performance on the green. Let the manufacturers worry about the particular advantages of each design. Unless you’re a professional, the minute differences between golf balls may not even be noticeable.
Instead, focus on the performance of the golf balls you do pick. Does it provide a lot of spin, or not so much? How does it launch into the air? Adjust your form accordingly and your game may improve. It is much easier to pay attention to how golf balls perform with your own eyes than it is to worry about how computer-engineered dimple patterns work.
Resources— HowStuffWorks, Live Science, Scientific American
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