In the physical world of air pressure, turbulence, and aerodynamics, surface structurestructure of the surface is a critical design element. There are several historical events that have contributed the design and make-up of the golf ball. Over a period of hundreds of years, the ultimate design and make up of the golf ball has been achieved, based on scientific research . The humble golf ball is a good example of the evolution of the history of aeronautical engineering.
When the game of golf started on the eastern coast of Scotland, most players used hand-made golf clubs and balls in order to play the game of golf which was a more chaotic game than it is today. At that time, the first golf clubs and golf balls are made of wood.
It was in 1618 that the feather golf ball was first introduced and made popular. This form of the golf ball gained the nickname of 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 the out skin would shrink and the feathers expanded to form a hardened golf ball.
Because these types of golf balls were hand made, they usually cost more than the golf clubs. It is not surprising that, only a few privileged people had the money to play the game of golf at this time.
The next version , to gain in popularity was the Guttie golf ball. This prehistoric form of golf ball was made from the rubber like sap from the Gutta Percha tree which comes from the tropics. These Guttie balls could be readily moulded into a sphere when hot. as they became cooler, they kept their shape and could then be used as a golf ball. With its rubber nature, Guttie balls could be produced cheaply and could be simplyquickly repaired by reheating and re-moulding.
In a comparison between the two earliest forms of golf balls, the feather golf ball was known to go further than the rubber Guttie. The reason for the different distances 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 cover more distance.
With this new scientific analysis, the manufacturers of golf balls finally produced with balls with the "dimples" that are associated with modern golf balls in use today.
Dimples are crafted onto golf balls so as to minimise the aerodynamic drag, which acts on the ball and is higher if the surface were totally smooth. The cause of this is because smooth balls, when sailing through the air, leave a large pocket of low-pressure air in its wake so producing drag. The drag performs as a brake 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 around the golf ball. This, in turn, makes the air flow around the golf ball more closely. consequently, the air flows in to the wake created by the ball instead of travelling past it. The result is a smaller wake and less drag. So the ball travels further.
Dimples also help players to put backspin on a shot so 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 coating. It was during this time that players bacame aware of how their shots became more and more predictable the more they played with the same ball. They noticed that the more the balls became scuffed 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 current shape. So the dimples came into being. 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.
Nowadays, there is a big choice of golf balls to fit 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 thing in common and that is the dimple. Golf balls are not just items of golf equipment; they are a paradigm of a physics concept!
