The evolution of the golf ball is a timeline that spans hundreds of years, with continual technological advances in materials, construction and aerodynamics. It’s a certainty that today’s golf balls are the best that have ever been, and that they will continue to get better.
Originally, advances in golf balls came slowly, but they have been rapidly speeding up in the past few years. The goal of all manufacturers today is to make a ball that best fits a golfer’s individual game, and that will allow golfers to maximize their abilities to hit long drives, hit shot-stopping approaches, and work the ball with a great measure of feel and control.
One of the earliest advances in technology came in the late 1800s when, in addition to the development of new materials to use, dimples were added. This greatly aided the capability of the ball to stay aloft and maintain a more consistent trajectory. In the last century, multilayered golf balls have emerged with two, three and four layers composed of numerous synthetic materials. Advances in cores, inner layers and outer covers have all contributed to helping us enjoy the game more and play better.
The Rules of Golf, which are overseen by the USGA and the R&A, stipulate that the maximum weight of a ball may be 1.62 ounces and the minimum width may be 1.68 inches in diameter. These limits are actually the weight and size of just about all balls in play.
Before we look at the very latest in golf ball technology, and what it can do for us, let’s take a brief look at what happens when a golf ball is struck, and why.
When a golf ball is hit, the impact--which lasts less than a millisecond--determines the ball’s velocity, launch angle and spin rate, all of which influence its trajectory (and its behavior when it hits the ground).
A ball moving through air experiences two major aerodynamic forces, lift and drag. Dimpled balls fly farther than non-dimpled balls due to the combination of two effects: First, the dimples delay separation of the boundary layer from the ball. Early separation, as seen on a smooth sphere, causes significant wake turbulence, the principal cause of drag. The separation delay caused by the dimples therefore reduces this wake turbulence, and hence the drag.
Secondly, backspin generates lift by deforming the airflow around the ball, in a similar manner to an airplane wing. A backspinning ball experiences an upward lift force which makes it fly higher and longer than a ball without spin. Unfortunately, a ball that’s not struck perfectly square may experience sidespin, making the ball curve in an unwanted direction.
Although there have been products with a lot more or a lot less dimples, most golf balls today have about 300 to 450 dimples, configured in various patterns designed to affect trajectory. All balls today contain solid cores, which rebound inside the ball when struck to provide velocity. Inner mantle layers can affect both velocity and spin performance, while outer covers--most of which now are either Surlyn or urethane blends--also determine spin and control.
Over the past 10 years, ball manufacturers have worked to make the multilayered balls optimize driver spin rate and make the balls go farther. In essence, the spin rates of the multilayered balls of today typically are the same as the two-piece distance balls of the past. This allows players to now launch the ball higher, with lower spin, and subsequently increases the distance of tour-type balls.
Another major change in the past decade or so is the feel of the two-piece golf ball.
“Ten years ago, the two-piece golf balls would be very firm,” explains Dean Snell, senior director of golf ball research and development at TaylorMade Golf. “They would be in the 90 to 100 compression range (requiring high swing speeds), with hard covers and high compression cores. Today, most two-piece balls are very low in compression, in the 30 to 70 compression range, and covers are also softer. This lower core compression allows us to make the balls with low driver spin, again allowing high launch/low spin drives for longer distances.”
In essence, the feel of a two-piece ball is much softer than it used to be, while it still delivers distance. And tour balls have gotten firmer with a multilayer design, while delivering distance and feel/control.
Optimizing launch conditions for each player is very important in maximizing total distance achieved. “If you launch a ball too low,” says Snell, “you are not optimizing carry. If you launch it too high, you are not optimizing roll. The ball speed is dependent on the player and the equipment he or she uses. The biggest impacts on distance are ranked in this order: 1. Launch angle; 2. Backspin; 3. Ball speed. Players should work to get the best results they can, keeping these optimum numbers in mind.”
Which is why all the major equipment manufacturers recommend custom fitting. Being fit by a professional will help you choose the right specifications for your clubs. And, assessing individual characteristics also will help golfers choose a ball that’s better for them. In other words, not all golfers should be playing tour balls.
“The (newest) technology in golf balls is sweet. It’s LDP,” says pro golfer/broadcaster Gary McCord. “What it does? The mis-hits are much better. It basically increases (the) sweet spot on irons and woods.”
LDP, which stands for Low Drag Performance, was introduced in 2008 by TaylorMade to promote longer distance and better performance for a broad spectrum of player types. The technology is engineered into every ball the company now makes.
“We analyzed more than 84,000 swings and found that there are a significant amount of off-center hits for players of every level,” says Snell. “With Low Drag Performance, we’ve designed a technology that keeps the ball in the air longer by maintaining lift and reducing the drag, or resistance against the ball in flight.”
An example of what happens on a mis-hit, such as hitting the ball on the upper half of the driver, is that the spin rate drops, sometimes more than 1,000 rpm. A lower spin rate can cause the ball to knuckle, or simply, fall out of the sky.
“By varying dimple diameters, depths and edge angles in a symmetrical pattern, we are able to optimize driver distance, and increase the distance on mis-hits where the ball’s driver spin is greatly reduced,” says Snell. “Through our research, we were able to create performance benefits for players who have driver spin rates from 1,000 to 3,000 rpm, compared to previously when we fit balls into (a narrower range). So we’ve created a ball that works for a wider range of players.”
Pros that are playing balls on tour with the new LDP technology include Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Retief Goosen, Sean O’Hair, Darren Clarke, Hale Irwin, Natalie Gulbis and many more.;
Feedback regarding LDP technology has not been restricted to drivers. “The biggest positive feedback we’ve received from our tour staff is the consistency in iron shots, hitting distance marks that players expect,” says Snell. “The tendency was that full, short iron shots had too much spin and became inconsistent. It was challenging to hold shots to back pins and any wind factors caused the ball to be difficult to control. As best as possible, we wanted to eliminate outside factors impacting flight conditions.”
Knowing all this now, it’s obvious that a golf ball is much more than just a round object to bash around the course. It’s clearly a work of advanced technology, and a piece of equipment that can help all players’ games.
