Golf / sport

Before golf balls became the sophisticated aerodynamic spheres that we have come to know today, they had extremely humble beginnings. The golf ball has seen quite a few evolutions. From a leather pouch stuffed with boiled feathers to cheap to produce tree sap, and then rubber filled and sap coated, all the way to the rubber filled and resin coated that is now prevalent on the market! During the 1800s the first molded ball was developed by a fellow named Robert A. Paterson. It was produced from the sap of the sapodilla tree which was native to Malaysia. This sap could be heated and rounded in a mold and would set rather firmly. These balls were called the guttie and were actually reusable in some ways as it was possible to re-heat and round them again with another press in the mold. It was found by some guttie owners that if you used them for a time, the dings and knocks in the surface actually helped the ball fly further and also stabilized the ball during flight. This concept was then applied to future development of the golf ball. It was in the late 1890s that the Goodrich rubber goods manufacturing plant released another kind of ball, one that stored and released a bunch of potential energy when struck. It was formed by compressing and wrapping a number of rubber bands, then coating it with a skin made of sap from the Balata tree. This new development in golf ball construction made the guttie obsolete. However, the balls we use today are another step ahead again. It wasn't until 20th century that dimples finally made their way into the construction of golf balls! Before then, they actually had raised nubs on them as it was believed this helped. Turns out it was the exact inverse that would help the golf ball take flight, literally. A smooth ball is subject to the force of drag and tear winds, which ultimately would put it wherever the winds decided to take it and at half the distance of a dimpled ball. The reason that dimples impact the flight patterns is really quite simple. They make the ball more aerodynamic and if you are able to spin the ball you may even control its flight!!. Half of the length of a golf balls flight is contributed to spin, while the other half rests solely with the dimples! It's all about aerodynamics. The dimples disrupt the laminar flow of the air and create turbulent air that is essentially stuck to the ball. If you'd like to know more about this, see this link. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_effect Nowadays we have amazing multi-part constructions that can take up to 30 steps to complete, with polished and painted urethane and other exotic materials making up those little white balls we love to chase about so much! As for the future of golf balls, it seems that the technology has advanced as far as it possibly can! With new improvements, some players have even requested that the flight distance be scaled back 10%! I hope you enjoyed this informative post about golf balls and why dimples came into their design! Stay tuned for more similar content and e-sports!! Have a fantastic day, @SammoSK