| The dynamics behind the flight of the golf ball offers a | | | | The dimples on the golf balls help reduce the |
| fascinating insight into the physical interworkings of air | | | | aerodynamic drag. Aerodynamic drag normally affects |
| pressure, turbulence, and aerodynamics. | | | | smooth golf balls and slows them down, because |
| When golf was first played in Scotland, most players | | | | when they sail through the air, they leave a pocket of |
| played using clumsy golf apparatus, with the first golf | | | | low-pressure air in its stir thus creating a drag. |
| clubs and golf balls made of wood. | | | | By applying dimples to the golf ball surface, the |
| In 1618 the "Featherie" was introduced. It was a golf ball | | | | pressure differential goes down and the drag force is |
| made of feather. This feather golf ball was | | | | reduced. These dimples create turbulence in the air |
| handcrafted from goose feathers tightly pressed into a | | | | surrounding the golf ball, which, in turn, forces the air to |
| horse or cowhide sphere while still wet. After drying, | | | | clasp the golf ball more closely. By doing so, the air |
| the leather shrank and the feathers expanded, creating | | | | trails the warp created by the golf ball towards the |
| a hardened golf ball. | | | | back instead of flowing past it. This results in a smaller |
| As this type of golf ball was specially handcrafted, it | | | | wake and lesser drag. |
| was usually more expensive than golf clubs, so that | | | | Dimples were first added onto golf ball surfaces back |
| only a few privileged people could afford to play golf | | | | during the gutta percha phase. Coburn Haskell |
| back then. | | | | introduced the one-piece rubber cored golf ball |
| After the Featherie golf ball came the Guttie golf ball. | | | | encased in a gutta percha sphere. Then in 1905 William |
| This type of golf ball was made from the rubber-like | | | | Taylor applied the dimple pattern to a Haskell golf ball, |
| sap of the Gutta tree found in the tropics, and was | | | | thus giving rise to the modern golf ball as we know it |
| shaped into a sphere when hot and eventually into a | | | | today. |
| golf ball. As it was made of rubber, the Guttie golf ball | | | | After its beginning, dimpled golf balls were officially |
| could be cheaply produced and easily repaired by | | | | used in every golf tournament. In 1921, the golf ball took |
| reheating and reshaping. | | | | its current form with standard size and weight. |
| Comparing the two types of golf balls, the Featherie | | | | Nowadays there is a wide range of golf balls to fit |
| golf ball was said to travel farther than the Guttie golf | | | | every style, game and condition, with some golf balls |
| ball because the Guttie golf ball's smooth surface | | | | offering control, and other golf balls offering distance. |
| prevented it from covering more distance. | | | | Though a common sight nowadays, the dimpled golf |
| With this discovery, the developers of golf balls came | | | | ball is not just a mere element of the sports arena; it is |
| up with the "dimpled" golf balls that are so predominant | | | | a showcase of physics at work. |
| in modern golf nowadays. | | | | |