In the golf ball design world of air pressure, turbulence, and aerodynamics, surface structurestructure of the surface is a major design consideration. There are several historical events that have contributed the design and make-up of the golf ball. Evolving over a period covering hundreds of years, the ultimate design and make up of the golf ball has been achieved, based on scientific research . The humble golf ball is a good example of the evolution of the history of aeronautical engineering.

In the beginning of the game of golf on the eastern coast of Scotland, most players used antiquated equipment in order to play the game which was a more varied game than it is today. Then, the first golf clubs and golf balls are made of wood.

feather golf ball was used for the first time and gained popularity. This version of the golf ball was commonly known as the "Featherie". This feather golf ball was a handcraftedhand made golf ball made with goose feathers securely pressed into a horse or cowhide outer casing. This was done while the ball was still wet. As the ball dried out, the the leather would contract and the feathers expanded to form a hardened golf ball.

Because these types of golf balls were specially handcrafted, they could easily cost more than the golf clubs. It is not surprising that, only those people with time and money had the money to play the game of golf at this time.

After the 'Featherie' the next type of ball , to gain in popularity was the Guttie golf ball. This prehistoric type of golf ball was made from the rubber like sap from the Gutta Percha tree which comes from the tropics. These Guttie balls could be simply formed into a sphere when hot. as they cooled, they kept their shape and could then be used as a golf ball. With its rubber nature, Guttie balls could be produced cheaply and could be easily repaired by reheating and reshaping.

In a comparison between the two earliest forms of golf balls, the feather golf ball was said to travel much further than the rubber Guttie. This apparent paradox was eventually confirmed as being due to the difference in surfaces. The smooth surface of the Guttie reduces the ability of the golf ball to travel over greater distance.

With this new knowledge, the manufacturers of golf balls finally designed with balls with the "dimples" that are associated with modern golf balls in use today.

Dimples are put onto golf balls so as to minimise the aerodynamic drag, which acts on the ball and is higher if it were totally smooth. The cause of this is because smooth balls, when sailing through the air, create a huge pocket of low-pressure air in its wake therefore producing drag. The drag acts as an anchor and the ball slows down.

But in contrast, by placing dimples on golf balls, the difference in pressure goes down and the drag is reduced. These dimples create turbulence in the air around the golf ball. This, in turn, makes the air flow around the golf ball more closely. consequently, the air flows in to the wake created by the ball instead of flowing past it. The result is a smaller wake and less drag. As a result the ball travels further.

Dimples also help players to put backspin on a shot thereby making the golf ball break off on the putting green.

The concept of placing dimples on golf balls can be traced back to the Gutta Percha phase of development. It was Coburn Haskell who introduced the one-piece rubber cored ball encased in a Gutta Percha cover. It was during this time that players first observed how their shots became more and more predictable the longer that they played with the same ball. They noticed that the rougher the balls became the more precisely and further they could hit it.

When William Taylor applied the dimple pattern to a Haskell ball in 1905, golf balls finally took on their current shape. So the dimples came into being. From then on, dimpled golf balls were officially part of every golf competition. In 1921, the dimpled golf balls took on a standard size and weight.

Nowadays, there is a large choice of golf balls to fit different golf games and conditions. Some golf balls offer greater control, while some others offer greater distance. However else these golf balls vary, they all have one fearure in common and that is the dimple. Golf balls are not just pieces of golf equipment; they are a paradigm of a physics concept!