Why Do Golf Balls Have Dimples?
Dimpled balls travel up to four times farther than smooth-surfaced golf balls. In the early days of golf, smooth-surfaced balls were used until golfers discovered that old, bumpy balls traveled longer distances. The science of aerodynamics helps explain the dimpled phenomenon. The dimples reduce the drag on a golf ball by redirecting more air pressure behind the golf ball rather than in front of it. The higher levels of pressure behind the golf balls force them to go far distances. The dimples change the levels of pressure by bringing the main air stream very close to the surface of the golf ball. The dimples, or “turbulators,” increase the turbulence in the layer of air located next to the surface of the ball. This high-speed air stream near the ball increases the amount of pressure behind the ball-thereby forcing the ball to travel farther.
The reason why golf balls have dimples is a story of natural selection . Originally, golf balls were smooth; but golfers noticed that older balls that were beat up with nicks, bumps and slices in the cover seemed to fly farther. Golfers, being golfers, naturally gravitate toward anything that gives them an advantage on the golf course, so old, beat-up balls became standard issue. At some point, an aerodynamicist must have looked at this problem and realized that the nicks and cuts were acting as ” turbulators ” — they induce turbulence in the layer of air next to the ball (the “boundary layer”). In some situations, a turbulent boundary layer reduces drag . If you want to get deeper into the aerodynamics, there are two types of flow around an object: laminar and turbulent. Laminar flow has less drag, but it is also prone to a phenomenon called “separation.” Once separation of a laminar boundary layer occurs, drag rises dramatically because of eddies that form in the gap. Turbulent flow
