thegolfguru | The Complete A-Z Of Golf

thegolfguru The Complete A-Z Of Golf: " Dimpled golf balls fly much further than smooth balls. Before discussing why this is true, we need to understand something called the boundary layer. The boundary layer is the thin layer of air surrounding a ball as it flies. In the boundary layer, the speed of the air varies from the air on the surface of the ball (which is not moving relative to the ball) to the air out by the mainstream airflow, at the edge of the boundary layer. The reason dimpled balls travel further than smooth balls is because the dimples on a golf ball create turbulence in the boundary layer. This actually helps because the dimples then scoop air back towards the rear of the ball. By moving more air to the rear, this helps keep the air pressure behind the ball from dropping. And by doing this, the amount of air pressure pulling backwards on the ball is decreased. Here is a diagram of the affect of dimples with varying depths on a golf ball’s distance"