Why do dimpled golf balls have less drag than smooth balls?
A smooth golf ball has drag due to the laminar flow of air over its surface. The turbulence causes less drag on the dimpled balls because they are more aerodynamic through their roughness or small changes in shape.
Why are there dimples on the surface of a flying ball?
Turbulent flow creates more drag initially, but is less vulnerable to separation. At high speeds, like that of a flying golf ball, you want this air layer to cling to the ball as long as possible, and the added dimples do just that.
Why do golf balls fly differently on each side?
It’s because the texture of the surface of a golf ball creates more turbulence on one side than the other. This causes air to flow around it more quickly on one side, reducing drag and improving distance. The amount of drag a golf ball experiences as it flies through the air is determined by its surface area.
Is the wake behind a dimpled golf ball laminar or turbulent?
Comparison of the turbulent wake behind a dimpled golf ball (top), which originates from a turbulent boundary layer separation, and a smooth ball (bottom), which originates from a laminar boundary layer separation. Note that the separation point for the dimpled ball is located much further downstream and the wake is smaller.
Why are golf balls so aerodynamic?
Dimples on a golf ball create a thin turbulent boundary layer of air that clings to the ball's surface. This allows the smoothly flowing air to follow the ball's surface a little farther around the back side of the ball, thereby decreasing the size of the wake.
Do dimples on a golf ball make it fly farther?
Dimples do make a golf ball fly farther. Without dimples, golf balls do not spin well and have too much drag while in flight to travel a long distance. Golf balls with dimples have been proven to travel at least 160 yards farther than smooth golf balls.
Are golf balls aerodynamic?
The aerodynamics of golf balls is considerably more complex than that of many other spherical balls. The surface roughness in the form of dimples intensifies the level of complexity and three-dimensionality of air flow around the golf ball.
What makes a golf ball fly farther?
The faster the air moves, the less pressure it exerts, an effect that is called Bernoulli's Principle. This lower pressure air above the ball helps generate lift, a force that pushes the ball upward, helping it to travel farther.
Why is there 336 dimples on a golf ball?
Essentially, golfers would have little hope controlling a smooth golf ball. When dimples are added to a golf ball, it creates a tiny layer of air around the golf ball that significantly cuts down drag. This forces the air to flow over a larger portion of the ball, which results in a much smoother ball flight.
Why is a golf hole 4.25 inches?
Four-and-a-quarter inches in diameter. R&A ADOPTS 4.25-INCH HOLE SIZE That first hole-cutting implement utilized a cutting tool that was, you guessed it, 4.25 inches in diameter. The folks running the R&A apparently liked that size and so adopted it in their rules for 1891.
What makes a golf ball fly?
1:182:50Golf for Beginners - How does a golf ball fly? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo we're gonna hit some shots here that you'll see and out on the golf course you'll see the ballMoreSo we're gonna hit some shots here that you'll see and out on the golf course you'll see the ball taking off and flying into the air but it'll have some curve to it they don't always go straight. The
Why are most golf balls white?
In the 17th century leather golf balls were painted white with readily available chalk or lead pigment to ensure they could be spotted amongst the green grass. So why could they soon fall out of favour? White has proven to be an excellent all-round colour for a range of golfing conditions.
Are golf balls directional?
Set the ball up so that the logo or the writing on the ball (some golf balls even have lines or arrows drawn on them) points towards target 2 – the direction you want the ball to initially travel in. Moving the ball in this way is only possible on the tee or if the course is playing with preferred lies.
Do cold golf balls go further?
A golf ball will travel less distance in colder temperatures for two reasons. First, when the golf ball and golf club are colder, the transfer of energy is not as efficient, so the ball speed will be less. Second, colder air is more dense than warm air, so there is more friction and drag.
Why do golf balls go further in Arizona?
You can feel humid air more, but water weighs less than the nitrogen and oxygen molecules that make up dry air. So, you're hitting into thinner air, which means the ball goes farther as though a golfer were playing at a higher altitude.
Do expensive golf balls go further?
Do the less-expensive balls travel a little farther and straighter off the tee? They can, but when we tested both types of balls at average-golfer swing speeds, the difference was almost negligible: six yards, usually less.
Why do dimples reduce drag?
First, dimples allow air to flow more smoothly around a ball's surface, which decreases the wake and low-pressure area behind the ball, resulting in less drag. Second, the dimples increase lift by causing the air to move faster at the top of the ball, creating lower pressure there.
How many dimples does a Titleist Pro V1 have?
388 dimpleNew Spherically-tiled Tetrahedral Dimple Designs– featuring a 388 dimple layout for Pro V1, and 348 for Pro V1x – are optimized to each model to maximize distance and flight consistency. Pro V1 maintains its penetrating trajectory while Pro V1x will fly higher than the prior generation.
Why do cars not have dimples in golf balls?
The dimples in a golf ball promote an earlier transition to turbulent flow and thus reduce the pressure drag of the golf ball, so it can fly further. In a car, the size is large enough to develop a turbulent boundary layer early on. Dimples would not help, but increase drag slightly.
How many dimples are on a professional golf ball?
Most modern golf balls have about 300–500 dimples, though there have been balls with more than 1000 dimples. The record holder was a ball with 1,070 dimples—414 larger ones (in four different sizes) and 656 pinhead-sized ones. Officially sanctioned balls are designed to be as symmetrical as possible.
From Observation to Mathematical Model
As a child, I occasionally would walk around a nearby golf course with my family on rainy days; the only times when no golfers would dare to play. Our own game was to find lost balls from previous, unfortunate players. The person who found the most balls would win.
The Drag Crisis Observation
Throughout history, the flows around many different shapes have been studied by scientists. For example, vortex streets are generated by the flow around cylinders. Although a sphere does not generate this type of large alternating flow structure, the flow characteristics can also be linked to the Reynolds number.
The Reason for the Drag Crisis
First of all, let’s recall that the drag of an object is caused by two sources:
Modeling the Aerodynamic Forces of Golf Balls
Now we understand why golf balls have dimples in the first place. Let’s remember that the drag is lower and therefore the ball can go further. To find out how much further the ball can go, we first need to compute its trajectory.
Finding the Optimal Launch Angle
The effect of the dimples on a golf ball should now be clear: They make the ball go further. However, in practical terms, this does not say much about how I should hit the ball.
Conclusion
In today’s blog post, we answered a seemingly simple question about golf ball dimples, which has to do with the behavior of the turbulent boundary layer over a sphere at a specific range of Reynolds numbers. This also outlines a classical process in engineering.
Try It Yourself
Try computing the trajectory of a golf ball in COMSOL Multiphysics. Click the button below to access the model file featured in this blog post:
Dimpled golf balls have less drag than smooth golf balls
Ever wonder why golf balls have dimples? It’s because the texture of the surface of a golf ball creates more turbulence on one side than the other. This causes air to flow around it more quickly on one side, reducing drag and improving distance.
The dimples on a golf ball create turbulence in the air that reduces the pressure on the ball as it moves through the air
Golf balls are created with either dimpled or smooth surfaces. The dimples on a golf ball create turbulence in the air that reduces the pressure drag on the golf ball, thus increasing distance.
The turbulent flow of air over a golf ball also creates lift, which is why you can hit a duffed shot and still get some distance from it
The turbulent flow of air over a golf ball also creates lift, which is why you can putt with a dimpled ball and it doesn’t roll as far. A smooth golf ball has drag due to the laminar flow of air over its surface.
Dimpled golf balls are more aerodynamic
Dimpled golf balls are more aerodynamic because they create an uneven surface for the air to flow over. This is due to their dimples, which act as tiny bumps on the surface of a smooth ball that provide turbulence in the airflow.
As a result of their design, dimpled golf balls travel faster off your club face and go farther with each swing
Did you know that dimpled golf balls have less drag than smooth golf balls? What does this mean for your game? Well, a study by the University of Western Australia found that a ball with more surface area on the club face will travel faster and farther off the tee.
Dimpled golf balls are more likely to travel further due to the reduced air resistance
Dimpled golf balls are more likely to travel further due to the reduced air resistance. A dimpled ball is less smooth and, therefore, has a lower drag coefficient than a similarly sized smooth ball. Dimples create pockets of low pressure in front and behind the ball which reduces the flow of air over its surface.
Dimples also help create turbulence in the boundary layer next to the surface of a ball
Ever wondered why dimpled golf balls have less drag than smooth golf balls? It’s because of the turbulence created by the dimples in the boundary layer next to the surface of a ball. The flow pattern over a smooth sphere is laminar, but it becomes turbulent when there are surface irregularities like those caused by dimples.
from Observation to Mathematical Model
The Drag Crisis Observation
The Reason For The Drag Crisis
Modeling The Aerodynamic Forces of Golf Balls
Implementing The Golf Ball Model in COMSOL Multiphysics®
Simulation Results
Finding The Optimal Launch Angle
Conclusion
- In today’s blog post, we answered a seemingly simple question about golf ball dimples, which has to do with the behavior of the turbulent boundary layer over a sphere at a specific range of Reynolds numbers. This also outlines a classical process in engineering. The observation of a common object led us to a deeper understanding of a complex physic...
Try It Yourself
References