Dimples allow a golf ball to fly nearly twice as far as a perfectly smooth one.

In the mid-19th century, golfers using smooth gutta-percha balls noticed that older, scuffed balls performed better than brand-new ones. This observation led to the intentional 'hammering' of balls to create surface patterns. In 1905, William Taylor received a patent for the first dimple design, which revolutionized the sport by applying principles of fluid dynamics to the ball's flight path.The science involves the boundary layer of air surrounding the ball. A smooth ball creates a large pocket of low-pressure air behind it, known as a wake, which acts like a vacuum and pulls the ball backward. Dimples trigger 'turbulent' air flow in the boundary layer, which actually helps the air follow the ball's curvature further around the back. This significantly reduces the size of the low-pressure wake and cuts total drag by about 50 percent.Furthermore, dimples enhance lift through the Magnus effect. When a ball is hit with backspin, the dimples help pull air over the top and push it downward at the back, creating an upward force. Research from NASA and major manufacturers like Titleist shows that while a smooth ball might travel only 130 yards, a dimpled ball hit with the same force can easily exceed 260 yards. Modern balls are engineered with specific dimple depths, usually around 0.010 inches, to balance lift and drag perfectly.