In the physical world of air pressure, turbulence, and aerodynamics, surface structurestructure of the surface is a essential 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, a better design and composition of the golf ball has been achieved, based on scientific research . The humble golf ball is a good example of the development 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 which was a more disorganized and less formal 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 gained popularity. This type of the golf ball gained the nickname of the “Featherie”. This feather golf ball was a handcraftedhand made golf ball made with goose feathers securely pressed into a horse or cowhide skin. The whole process was carried out while the ball was still wet. As the ball dried out, the the out skin would shrink and the feathers expanded to create a hardened golf ball.
Because these types of golf balls were specially handcrafted, they could easily cost more than the golf clubs. As a result, only the wealthy people had the money to play the game of golf at this time.
After the ‘Featherie’ the next type of ball , to gain in popularity was the Guttie golf ball. This prehistoric form of golf ball was constructed from the rubber like sap from the Gutta Percha tree that can be found in the tropics. These Guttie balls could be easily moulded into a sphere when hot. When they became cooler, they kept their shape and could then be used as a golf ball. With its rubber nature, Guttie balls could be cheaply reproduced and could be simplyquickly re-cycled by reheating and reshaping.
In a comparison between the two earliest forms of golf balls, the feather golf ball was known to travel cover more ground than the rubber Guttie. The answer to this puzzle was eventually identified as being due to the difference in surfaces. The smooth surface of the Guttie limits the capacity of the golf ball to cover more distance.
With this scientific understanding, the makers of golf balls eventually came up with balls with the “dimples” that are associated with modern golf balls in use today.
Dimples are crafted onto golf balls so as to reduce the aerodynamic drag, which acts on the ball and is increased if it were totally smooth. The cause of this is because smooth balls, when travelling through the air, leave a large pocket of low-pressure air in its wake so producing drag. The drag performs as an anchor and the ball slows down.
Alternatively, by placing dimples on golf balls, the difference in pressure goes down and the drag is made less. These dimples create turbulence in the air surrounding 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 flowing past it. This results in 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 sphere. It was during this time that players first observed how their shots became more and more predictable the more they used the same ball. They noticed that the rougher the balls became the more precisely 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 were born. From then on, dimpled golf balls were officially part of every golf competition. In 1921, the dimpled golf balls took on a standard size and weight.
Today, there is a big choice of golf balls suitable for different golf games and conditions. Some golf balls offer greater control, while some others offer greater length. However else these golf balls vary, they all have one attribute in common and that is the dimple. Golf balls are not just items of golf equipment; they are a paradigm of a concept in physics!
Roger Titley is a successful webmaster who manages http://www.newgolfputter.com which is dedicated to all aspects of golf
- Roger Titley