Why Does a Golf Ball Fly Farther After Its Surface Is Damaged?

Early golfers discovered something that seemed backward: an old, battered ball could fly better than a new, perfectly smooth one.

During the nineteenth century, many golf balls were made from gutta percha, a firm material derived from tree sap. Repeated strikes covered their surfaces with cuts and dents. Players noticed that these worn balls often traveled farther and followed more predictable paths. Manufacturers began adding raised patterns and indentations deliberately, eventually producing the regular dimples seen today.

A smooth ball moving rapidly through air creates a wide turbulent wake behind it. This low pressure wake pulls backward on the ball, producing considerable drag. Dimples disturb the thin layer of air touching the surface. Although they create turbulence, that turbulent layer clings to the curved ball longer before separating. The resulting wake is narrower, reducing pressure drag.

Dimples also affect lift. A golf club normally gives the ball backspin. The spinning surface changes the airflow and pressure around the ball, producing an upward force that keeps it aloft. Dimple depth, shape, number, and arrangement all influence this behavior, so manufacturers test patterns carefully.

In 1905, English engineer William Taylor patented a systematic dimple design after experimenting with different surfaces. Modern balls commonly carry several hundred dimples.

The rough surface does not help because roughness always moves through air more easily. It helps because, for a spinning sphere at golfing speeds, controlled turbulence produces less resistance than perfect smoothness.