The golf ball is a study in air pressure, turbulence, and aerodynamics, surface structures and a number of other elements.

The modern golf ball is a technological creation employing all of the above elements in its makeup.

However, it was not always thus.

The golf ball is a study in air pressure, turbulence, and aerodynamics, surface structures and a number of other elements.

The modern golf ball is a technological creation employing all of the above elements in its makeup.

However, it was not always thus.

Originally golf, a game invented in Scotland, was played informally and with simple primitive clubs. The first clubs and golf balls are constructed out of wood.

The year 1618 brought the feather golf ball into the golfing world. The ball was known as the "Featherie" it was a handcrafted golf ball made with goose feathers tightly pressed into a horse or cowhide ball while the ball was still wet. Subsequent to drying, the leather contracted and the feathers blew up larger thus creating a hardened ball.

However, because these types of golf balls are particularly handcrafted, they often cost more than the clubs themselves. Because of this, only a few privileged people could afford to play golf during those early times.

The Guttie golf ball was the next golf ball developed. This golf ball got it's name from the fact that it was made from the rubber like sap of the Gutta tree that grows in the tropics.

Normally these Guttie balls can be easily formed into a sphere when they are hot enough and eventually can be employed as a golf ball. With its rubber makeup, guttie balls can be inexpensively produced and can be simply repaired by reheating and then reshaping.

Between these two earliest golf balls, the feather golf ball was said to travel greater distances than the guttie ball.

With scientific analysis, the developers of golf balls finally hit upon balls with the "dimples" that are found in most modern golf balls today.

Dimples are part of the golf ball design so as to reduce the aerodynamic drag, which acts on the ball when sailing through the air. Smooth, non-dimpled balls leave a large pocket of low-pressure air which creates a drag.

Thus, by having dimples on golf balls, the pressure differential is reduced and the drag force is reduced conterminously. Dimples create a nice little turbulence in the air surrounding the golf ball. This, in turn, compels the air to grab the golf ball closer. By doing so, the air trails the warp thus produced by the ball, towards the back instead of flowing past it.

This results in smaller wake and less drag.

Dimples also help golfers to use backspin on a shot making the golf ball reverse itself once it lands on the putting green.

The idea of putting dimples on golf balls goes to Coburn Haskell who introduced the one-piece rubber cored ball cased in a gutta percha sphere. This came about when the players ascertained that their shots more 'predictable' as their balls became 'rough' after much use.

It was William Taylor who applied the dimple pattern to a Haskell ball in 1905, that golf balls took on their modern form.

From that point on dimpled golf balls were formalized as the only ball to use in official golf tournaments.

Today, there is a huge selection of golf balls available to golfers to fit different golf games as well as varying conditions. There are golf balls that give more control, and others that focus on more distance.

But in the end, it is always the golfer's game, his ability on the golf course and how he uses his golf clubs that makes golf such a challenge and really such an art form in the world of sports.

The central idea in golf is to hit a golf ball using different types of clubs, across a pre-determined path on the course.  The winner is the golfer who manages to complete the path with the fewest number of swings called 'strokes'.  

The game begins when the ball is hit off a tee and ends when the player has played 18 holes consisting of the 'front' nine and the 'back' nine.

Golf penalties  occur  if the ball is  in:

•  an unplayable position.

• An out-of-bound area.

Golf Strokes:

• A golfer should  begin the game facing the green from the non-dominant side of his body. This ensures that the body and club are parallel to the green.  
  

• The golfer should  select a 'stroke' according to the distance he is  aiming for. A 'drive' is for long distance shots, while an 'approach' is best in mid distance shots. 'Chips' are to play short distance shots, in order to land the ball on the green so that he can then  'putt' on the flat surface.
  

•  Other regulations specify the 'scoring' and 'handicapping' basics.