Why do golf balls have dimples?

In the early days of golf, golf balls had smooth surfaces. But golfers soon noticed that golf balls that were roughed up during play with nicks, cuts and bumps on the cover seemed to fly farther. People then started putting all kinds patterns on the golf balls. It didn’t take long before some smart guy figure out the dimple design to maximize the distance.

Golf balls with dimples traveled further because the dimples reduce the aerodynamic drag. The drag is stronger if the golf ball is entirely smooth.

When a golf ball sails through the air, it leaves a pocket of low-pressure air in its wake. This creates drag that will slow down the golf ball. For a smooth ball, the separation of the flow behind the ball is larger and hence the pressure drag is greater.

The dimples on the surface of the golf ball create turbulence in the air around the ball. This forces the air to hug the ball more closely. So instead of flowing past it, the air follows the curvature of the ball around to the back resulting in a smaller wake and lesser drag.

Golf balls typically have 330 to 500 dimples. Golf balls with dimples will travel twice as far as a smooth ball. But the downside of dimples is that they tend make the ball slice or hook more.

Filed under golf balls, golf.
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