In the golf ball design world of air pressure, turbulence, and aerodynamics, surface structurestructure of the surface is a essential design consideration. There are several historical events that have contributed the design and make-up of the golf ball. Evolving over a period covering hundreds of years, a better design and make up 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.

During the early days of the game of golf on the eastern coast of Scotland, most players used ancient apparatus in order to play the game of golf which was a more chaotic game than it is today. Then, the first golf clubs and golf balls are made of wood.

feather golf ball was used for the first time and gained popularity. This version of the golf ball was commonly known as the "Featherie". This feather golf ball was a handcraftedhand made golf ball made with goose feathers securely pressed into a horse or cowhide sphere. The whole process was carried out while the ball was still wet. As the ball dried out, the leather shrank and the feathers expanded to form a hardened golf ball.

Because these types of golf balls were specially handcrafted, they usually cost more than the golf clubs. As a result, only a few privileged people had the money to play the game of golf at this time.

After the 'Featherie' the next version , to gain in popularity was the Guttie golf ball. This prehistoric type of golf ball was made from the rubber like sap from the Gutta Percha tree which comes from the tropics. These Guttie balls could be simply formed into a sphere when hot. as they cooled, they kept their shape and could then be used as a golf ball. With its rubber nature, Guttie balls could be manufactured at a low cost and could be simplyquickly repaired by reheating and reshaping.

In a comparison between the two earliest forms of golf balls, the feather golf ball was known to travel a longer distance than than the rubber Guttie. The reason for the different distances was eventually confirmed as being due to the difference in surfaces. The smooth surface of the Guttie reduces the capacity of the golf ball to travel over greater distance.

With this new knowledge, the developers of golf balls eventually produced with balls with the "dimples" that are found on modern golf balls in use today.

Dimples are put onto golf balls so as to reduce the aerodynamic drag, which acts on the ball and is increased if it were totally smooth. The reason for this is because smooth balls, when sailing through the air, leave a huge pocket of low-pressure air in its wake so creating drag. The drag performs as a brake and the ball reduces in speed.

But in contrast, by having dimples on golf balls, the difference in pressure gets lowered and the drag is reduced. These dimples create turbulence in the air around 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 travelling past it. The result is a smaller wake and less drag. So the ball travels further.

Dimples also help players to put backspin on a shot thereby making the golf ball break off on the putting green.

The concept of placing dimples on golf balls can be traced back to the Gutta Percha phase of development. It was Coburn Haskell who created the one-piece rubber cored ball encased in a Gutta Percha sphere. It was during this time that players bacame aware of 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 came into being. From then on, dimpled golf balls were officially used in every golf competition. In 1921, the dimpled golf balls took on a standard size and weight.

Today, there is a large selection 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 thing in common and that is the dimple. Golf balls are not just pieces 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