How many times have you... wondered why there are dimples all over the golf ball?
In this article I will explain to you why golf balls have dimples. How it controls the flight of the ball and why they are really important to your golf game.
Did you know that golf balls were originally smooth? That is right. Smooth as glass. Here is the funny thing though. Golfers started to notice that the older the golf ball with cuts and bruises traveled longer distances!
Apparently the nicks and cuts on the golf ball caused the ball to fly farther down the fairway compared to a brand new ball. So like all golfers will do, they flocked toward the old balls like a moth on a heat lamp! I imagine at this point some aerodynamicist must have examined the beat up ball syndrome and realized that the cuts were acting as turbulators. These nicks and cuts were reducing drag which gave greater distance!
The dimples on a golf are the same exact thing as these nicks and cuts. The just are modernized! I think this is absolutely amazing. I love learning the history and evolution of golf equipment. Maybe it is custom clubs and how they evolved.
Concluding, I hope you enjoyed this brief article on golf ball dimples. So head to the golf course and don't worry if your ball bounces off a tree. It may help!
Corey Meltifa writes for http://www.golf-equipment-deals.com Learn more about: http://www.golf-equipment-deals.com/How_To_Improve_Your_Game_With_Simple_Golf_Exercises.html http://www.golf-equipment-deals.com/Three_Secrets_of_a_Consistent_Golf_Stroke.html
With an increasing market of high-end retailers selling golf equipment, one could possibly miss a "real" golf store.
Typically, golf stores have the latest, if not the best, golf equipment and accessories needed by somebody who plays golf. Things could range from golf clubs to golf balls, to even posters, shirts, and wallpaper.
Most golf stores focus on ensuring the proper equipment for the interested golfer. They will provide hints on how to choose the right club and the appropriate golf ball. Golf stores do not only supply things relative to golf but some also offer services and knowledge about the sport itself.
Additional services could include club repair, club fitting, and swing analysis. Most of these golf stores use the True Temper Shaftlab and Achiever Launch Monitor swing analysis. These machines measure everything, from ball speed, club head speed to carry distance. They also provide printouts illustrating extreme deflection, shaft loading, downswing time and face angle.
Also, there are other golf stores that offer golf classes being thought by local pros. Golf tutorials can also be offered for juniors along with women's clinics on the sport.
Golf collectors will find many interesting items in a golf store as well. Hobbyist may find collector items like golf balls used by some of the world's most renowned players. Signed items may be available too.
Plus, there are golf stores that offer unusual golf gifts. These things range from the most common to the most creative golf gifts one could get for just about any occasion.
Most golf storeowners are actually golfers themselves. Usually, they put up a golf store after retiring from playing golf. Like most businessmen assert, it's good to be passionate about what you are selling. This "passion" will give feelings of satisfaction and gratification to the golf shopper and this is something money cannot buy.
In the chemistry of air pressure, turbulence, and aerodynamics, surface structures are vital physical element. History has it that there are things that seem to be peculiar on their make-up hundreds of years ago which eventually came up with a better composition based on scientific research. And a golf ball is the best paradigm of this theoretical stand in history.
During the earliest days of golf on the eastern coast of Scotland, most players used ancient apparatus in order to play the game in a more disorganized and informal way. Here, the first clubs and golf balls are made up of wood.
It was on 1618 that the feather golf ball was finally introduced. This was commonly known as the "Featherie". This feather golf ball was a handcrafted ball made with goose feathers securely pressed into a horse or cowhide sphere. This is being done while the ball is still wet. After drying, the leather shrank and the feathers expanded creating a hardened ball.
But because these kinds of golf balls are specially handcrafted, they usually cost higher than the clubs. In doing so, only a few privileged people could afford to play golf during those times.
Next came the Guttie golf ball. This prehistoric kind of golf ball was made from the rubber like sap of the Gutta tree that can be found in the tropics. Normally, these Guttie balls can be easily shaped into a sphere when hot and eventually used as a golf ball. With its rubber nature, guttie balls can be cheaply reproduced and can be easily repaired by reheating and reshaping.
However, between the two earliest forms of golf balls, the feather golf ball was said to travel farther than the gutties. This is due to the smooth surface of the gutties that limits the capacity of the golf ball to cover more distance.
With this new scientific analysis, the developers of golf ball finally came up with balls with the "dimples" that are predominant in modern golf balls nowadays.
Dimples are crafted into golf balls so as to reduce the aerodynamic drag, which will be acting on the ball if it were totally smooth. This is because smooth balls, when sailing through the air, leave a huge pocket of low-pressure air in its stir therefore creating a drag. With the application of drag, the ball slows down.
Hence, by having dimples on golf balls, the pressure differential goes down and the drag force is reduced. These dimples create turbulence in the air surrounding the golf ball. This, in turn, forces the air to clasp the golf ball more closely. By doing so, the air trails the warp created by the ball towards the back instead of flowing past it. This results to a smaller wake and lesser drag.
Dimples also help players to put backspin on a shot making the golf ball break off on the putting green.
The idea of putting dimples on golf balls can be traced back during the gutta percha phase. Coburn Haskell introduced the one-piece rubber cored ball encased in a gutta percha sphere. It was during this time when the players observed how their shots become more and more predictable as their balls turned rough from play.
When William Taylor applied the dimple pattern to a Haskell ball in 1905, golf balls finally took their modern form.
From then on, dimpled golf balls were officially used in every golf tournament. In 1921, the golf balls took its form with standard size and weight.
Today, there is an abundant selection of golf balls to fit different golf game and condition. There are golf balls that offer control, while some offer distance. In whatever ways golf balls vary, only one thing is common and known. Golf balls are not just elements of the sports arena; they are more than ever paradigm of a concept in physics.
Like any other sports, golf requires that you are geared up correctly to be able to properly play the game. This article will give you an idea of basic golf equipment one requires to be able to learn and play golf.
For starters, the basic golf equipment is a golf ball. Golf balls are dimpled tiny balls, use in to play golf. They are dimpled to reach farther length when driven by golf clubs.
Another important golf equipment is a golf club or golf driver. Golf drivers come in different varieties. This is because a golf course has different landscapes and different golf clubs are required to make the proper drive. Depending on the landscape, either sand, grass or cement, a golf club is essential to make the perfect drive. Professional golfers usually have a bag or two of golf clubs to cater to their golf needs. Most golf stores and sports equipment store sell golf clubs. Some golf clubs are sold in sets while other are sold individually.
To protect your golf equipment, such as your golf club, a golf bag golf club cover is essential. A golf bag will, of course, hold your golf club in one place and will make it easier for your caddy to bring your many golf clubs. Golf bags can also hold golf balls and other golf equipment like water bottle to quench your thirst while under the sun or extra shirt or your regular shoes. On the other hand, a golf club cover covers the edge of your golf club. This is done so to protect your golf club from unwanted scratches and dents. Dents can cause your drive to go from ok to bad. Dents in golf clubs can affect the drive of your golf ball. With these golf equipment, you can take care of the state of your club and your game.
One golf equipment that you need to invest on is a good pair of golf shoes. Golf shoes are different from usual rubber shoes or walking shoes. Golf shoes are created to walk on greens - the type where the sport is played. Golf shoes usually have pointed rubber under the soles to grip the earth and sand under your feet. This way, unnecessary shaking or moving is avoided. This is important because shaking can cause you to not hit the golf ball or to hit the golf ball in the wrong direction. If you plan to play professional golf a good pair of golf shoes is a necessary golf equipment to add up to your list. Choose one that is sturdy yet comfortable enough for you to walk into. Golf is a sport that requires walking from one hole to another or to where your ball landed (you can not use golf carts on the greens) and thus, if your golf shoes are uncomfortable, you would have a hard time concentrating on your game.
A golf equipment usually provided by most golf courses (aside from the golf ball) is the tee. The tee is the tiny pin like thing that you punch to the ground to stand your ball into. The tee is use in teeing off (the start of your first drive) thus the name.
The most amazing golf equipment ever created (for me, that is) is the golf cart. Golf carts can take you from one hole to the other, though as I said earlier they are not allowed on the greens, they still lessen the burden of having to walk under the hot sun. This golf equipment can be acquired from golf courses. Golf players are usually made to use golf equipment such as this to give them a better and easier time playing the sport.
Many specialty shops and sport shops offer golf equipment. The internet is also a good source of golf equipment. Second hand golf equipment are even auctioned off the internet, if you are on a tight budget. Check out your local golf shop, sports shop, specialty shops, E-bay or Yahoo! for your golf equipment needs.