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In the physical world of air pressure, turbulence, and aerodynamics, surface structurestructure of the surface is a critical design exercise. There are several historical events that have contributed the design and make-up of the golf ball. Eventually, after hundreds of years, the ultimate 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 evolution of the history of aeronautical engineering.

When the game of golf began on the eastern coast of Scotland, nearly all of the players used antiquated golf clubs and balls 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.

It was in 1618 that the feather golf ball was first introduced and made popular. This version 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 outer casing. The whole process was carried out while the ball was still wet. As the ball dried out, the the leather would contract and the feathers expanded to form 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 those people with time and money had the money to play the game of golf during this early period.

The next version , to gain in popularity was the Guttie golf ball. This ancient kind of golf ball was constructed from the rubber like sap from the Gutta Percha tree is grown in the tropics. These Guttie balls could be readily moulded into a sphere when hot. When they cooled, they kept their shape and could then be used as a golf ball. With its rubber nature, Guttie balls could be produced cheaply and could be easily re-cycled by reheating and re-moulding.

In a comparison between the two earliest forms of golf balls, the feather golf ball was said to go further than the rubber Guttie. The reason for the different distances 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 new scientific analysis, the makers of golf balls finally designed with balls with the "dimples" that are found on modern golf balls in use today.

Dimples are put onto golf balls so as to minimise the aerodynamic drag, which acts on the ball and is higher if the surface were totally smooth. The reason for this is because smooth balls, when flying through the air, create a large pocket of low-pressure air in its wake therefore creating drag. The drag performs as an anchor and the ball slows down.

But in contrast, by placing dimples on golf balls, the pressure differential gets lowered and the drag is made less. These dimples create turbulence in the air around the golf ball. This, in turn, forces the air to cling to the golf ball more closely. consequently, the air flows in to the wake created by the ball instead of travelling past it. This results in a smaller wake and less drag. So the ball travels a longer distance.

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

The idea 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 coating. It was during this time that players bacame aware of how their shots became more and more predictable the longer that they played with 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 modern form. So the dimples came into being. 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.

Nowadays, there is a large choice of golf balls suitable for different golf games and conditions. Some golf balls offer greater control, while some others offer greater distance. 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 physics concept!

Roger Titley is a successful webmaster who manages http://www.newgolfputter.com which is dedicated to all aspects of golf