Why A Golf Ball Actually Flies Through The Air

Not accounting for weather conditions there are a few things that influence how high and far a golf ball will fly.

The first thing is the spin of the ball.

A ball must spin to be able to fly through the air. The spin rate is measured in "rpm" or revolutions per minute.

A driver, because of it's lower degree of angle on it's face will produce less spin than a wedge which has a a higher lofted face. A driver may have a 10 degree loft while a wedge may have a 60 degree loft. The wedge will produce much more spin on a ball than a driver will. This is why the ball gets in the air much quicker with a wedge than with a driver.

As the balls spins faster it creates less pressure on top of the ball than under it. This creates lift. As the balls slows down the lift is decreased until the ball eventuallly looses lift and height and gravity takes over. Just like an airplane wing.

The spin of the ball has to be clockwise. If struck properly, the ball actually spins towards you as it flies through the air. If you top the ball, and produce a counter clockwsie spin, or the ball spins away from you, the normal result is that the ball falls to the ground much quicker.

Another factor are the dimples on the ball.

The dimples on a golf ball have everything to do with the areodynamics of the ball. The dimples create a restless boundry of air around the ball, technically called lift. Larger dimples creates more turbulance which produces less lift. Flatter dimples create a smoother flow of air over the ball and thus more lift.

For example the Maxfli 432 dimple pattern is made up of 12 pentagons and 20 triangles based on a icosidodecahedron. Six circles define the pattern and generally this pattern stands for distance and control in a ball.

The Maxfli 408 dimple pattern consists of 6 squares and 8 hexagons based on a octahedron. This is a "crossover" dimple pattern and some of the patterns have the contour of a ball while others have the contour of a saucer. This dimple size, contours and allocation on the ball, contribute to a good distance ball.

The Maxfli 402 dimple pattern (Noodle), has 20 triangles, 30 squares, and 12 pentagons based on a rhombicosidodecahedron. This pattern provides excellent flight qualities. Many weekend golfers use the Noodle because it gives them a better trajectory, better lift!

Read more articles by this author, about this and other subjects, here.

About The Author

Bob Power has been an Internet entrepreneur for longer than he would like to remember. He is currently on a voyage of learning, thanks to his readers, who have asked him to answer questions about topics they want more information on. You can see some of the surprising, and at times exciting results, and variety of topics and paths this has taken him on, or to contact Bob Power please click here.

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