For all their apparent simplicity, golf balls are specially designed to make your golf game go smoothly. The game will not work if you try to play with a ping pong ball! Every aspect of a golf ball has a purpose, and that includes one of the ball’s most recognizable features: the dimples.
A golf ball’s dimples allow for a smooth, controllable flight and also give the ball lift by impacting the way the air flows around the ball. There is science behind the design, and the dimples are not just for show.
Are you not yet convinced that dimples are key to a golf ball’s performance? Read on for a deeper dive into the physics of golf ball dimples and find out exactly why a golf ball has dimples and how they work to improve the tool of the game.
How Do Golf Ball Dimples Work?
Any object moving through the air faces the force which the air exerts on it. There are two components to the force an object flying through the air undergoes:
- Drag
- Lift
You might remember these terms from your introductory physics class.
Drag
This force acts in the opposite direction of an object’s motion. It drags an object back, slowing it down and causing unpredictable flight changes.
The air’s force exerts a lot of pressure on the front of an object flying through it, but as the air parts and goes around the object, a low-pressure area is created directly behind it.
This low-pressure area is known as a wake. The wake is what causes the drag on an object in flight. The bigger the wake, the more drag an object will experience as it flies through the air.
Lift
This force acts perpendicular to the object’s motion, typically upward. Lift happens when a solid moves through a fluid. Lift is what counteracts the weight of a solid to keep it in flight through the air.
Resource: Do Golf Balls Go Bad?
How Do Golf Ball Dimples Affect Lift and Drag?
Aerodynamics is all about altering the lift and drag on an object, and this is the purpose of the dimples on a golf ball. Aerodynamics is extremely important in the game of golf.
- As the air hits the dimples on a golf ball, small pockets of turbulence are created. This creates a small layer of air close to the surface of the ball.
- The air flowing over the ball thus sticks closer to the ball’s surface and flows off the ball further back.
- This creates a smaller wake, which means less drag and a ball that flies farther and smoother.
The dimples on a golf ball also affect lift. Lift is the result of the pressure created below that ball that pushes it upward in flight. A golf ball’s lift comes from its spin. The spinning motion of a golf ball causes the pressure beneath the ball to be greater than the pressure above, which causes lift. The dimples optimize the spinning effect by cutting down drag and increasing the ball’s lift.
Resource: What are the softest golf balls?
How Do Golf Ball Dimples Improve the Game?
Now that you understand at least a bit of the aerodynamics involved with golf ball dimples, you can look at how exactly this appears in an average round of golf. For the player, golf ball dimples serve two purposes:
- A smooth flight through the air
- A better lift into the sky
As explained above, golf ball dimples significantly reduce drag. So much so that a golf ball with dimples will go about twice as far as a ball without dimples. Besides greatly increasing how far you can hit the ball, dimples also give you better control over the ball.
As the golf ball’s dimples cause the air to flow smoother over the ball, it decreases the air resistance on the ball. This means your ball is not pushed around as much by the force of the air resulting in a much more controlled flight.
To get your ball to travel, you also need lift, and golf ball dimples are key in this aspect as well. About half of the lift you get on a golf ball is caused by the spin on the ball, but the other half is due to how well the dimples optimize this spinning.
In simple terms, a golf ball with dimples works about twice as well as a smooth golf ball in terms of both lift and flight.
Have Golf Balls Always Had Dimples?
Golf has been around for a long time, and for a lot of that time, people played with smooth balls. However, at some point in the 1800s, players noticed that their dented golf balls actually performed better than the perfectly smooth ones.
This accidental discovery led to experiments and, by the 1900s, golf balls started being manufactured with dimples. Technology has since then advanced to be far more precise, but golf balls with dimples have been around for over 100 years.
Resource: How many golf balls in a sleeve?
Are All Golf Ball Dimples the Same?
After learning how vital dimples are to a golf ball’s success, you may be surprised to learn that golf ball dimples are not regulated. They can have different shapes, different depths and appear in varying amounts on balls.
Resource: Best golf balls for mid handicapper (3 options)
- Most balls have circular dimples, but some have hexagonal.
- As for the number, golf balls typically have between 300 to 500 dimples.
- The average depth of a golf ball dimple is 0.010 inches, but this too can vary slightly.
With all this variation, how do you know what is best? Do you need to start checking the specs on your golf ball dimples to get your best game?
Fortunately, you do not need to start measuring and counting dimples. The exact science behind golf ball dimples is a matter for aerodynamic engineers, not the average golfer. The slight difference in the dimples between different companies and models is not something you should be stressing over.
There is a great deal of difference between a smooth golf ball and a dimpled golf ball, but not between two dimpled balls with slight variations. If you are trying to find your perfect ball, you should be experimenting on the range instead of counting and measuring dimples. Find a ball that feels right to you, and that ball has your ideal dimple pattern.
Golf Ball Dimples Are Not Everything
There are other things that go into how smoothly and how far a golf ball flies beside the dimples.
- The amount of spin on a ball is crucial to how much lift the ball ultimately has.
- The speed of the ball will also impact drag and air resistance.
- Windy days are still going to impact your golf game.
Dimples also cannot overcome everything. Although dimples greatly reduce drag and air resistance, they do not make your ball immune to these forces. The impact will just be far less than it would be with a smooth ball.
In other words, just because your ball is not going as far as you want or its flight is unpredictable is not a sign that you need different dimples. In fact, most golf ball dimples are practically the same in effect, so if you are looking to up your game, the dimple pattern on your ball is not the best place to start.
Conclusion
Two key forces affect your golf ball’s flight: drag and lift. Golf ball dimples have a massive impact on both, which is why they are so crucial for effective golf balls. Dimples reduce drag and increase lift.
Without dimples, golf balls would only travel about half the distance and would be much harder to predict. The accidental discovery of dimples has definitely improved the game of golf!
Sources:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-dimples-in-golf-ba/
https://golf.com/gear/golf-balls/how-many-dimples-on-a-golf-ball/
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/lift1.htmlhttps://bridgegolffoundation.org/dimples-drag-lift-aerodynamics-golf-ball-flight/#:~:text=First%2C%20dimples%20allow%20air%20to,ball%2C%20creating%20lower%20pressure%20there.
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.