How Many Dimples on a Golf Ball

Golf balls typically carry hundreds of tiny dimples on their surface – most modern balls have between about 300 and 500 dimples. In fact, the average golf ball has roughly 336 dimples, each about 0.010 inches deep on average.

For example, Titleist’s premium Pro V1 golf ball now uses 388 dimples on its cover, and the Pro V1x uses 348. Other top manufacturers similarly choose counts in this range: there is no single “official” number. The USGA only mandates that a dimpled ball’s pattern be symmetrical, but does not set a fixed dimple count.

In practice, most high-performance balls cluster in the 300–400 dimple range, striking a balance between distance and control.

Typical Dimple Counts by Brand and Model

Figure: A Titleist Pro V1 golf ball uses 388 dimples in its 2023 design. Titleist’s Pro V1x uses 348 dimples for a higher-flight profile. Most modern premium balls fall in the 300–400 dimple range.

Examples illustrate the range of dimple counts: Titleist’s 2023 Pro V1 has 388, while its Pro V1x has 348. Both numbers come directly from Titleist’s engineering spec sheets.

By comparison, other popular balls tend to be in the low 300s. Older Titleist models had ~352 dimples. The exact count is chosen by engineers: more dimples usually mean smaller individual dimples, which can increase lift and control, while fewer, larger dimples can maximize distance by reducing drag.

Critically, no governing body caps the number – the USGA’s Equipment Standards require only that any dimple pattern be symmetrical. In short, when someone asks “how many dimples?” the honest answer is “it depends on the ball,” though ≈336 is a useful rule-of-thumb.

Why Golf Balls Have Dimples: The Aerodynamic Science

Figure: A modern golf ball has hundreds of dimples cut into its surface. These are not decorative – they fundamentally change the airflow around the ball.

Dimples generate a thin turbulent layer of air that dramatically reduces drag compared to a smooth sphere, allowing the ball to fly roughly twice as far as it would without dimples.

The secret to dimples is aerodynamics. A smooth sphere flying through air creates a large low-pressure wake behind it, generating high drag.

Dimples act like thousands of tiny vortex generators, stirring the air so that a turbulent boundary layer clings to the ball’s surface.

This tiny layer of swirling air lets the main airflow stay attached longer around the backside, which shrinks the wake and cuts drag roughly in half. In other words, a dimpled ball “slices through” the air far more efficiently than a smooth ball.

Researchers have shown that dimples generate a turbulent flow that reduces the ball’s drag, letting golf balls reach far greater distances.

Dimples also enhance lift. A spinning golf ball generates lift like a spinning wing: backspin makes air speed up over the top, lowering pressure.

About half of a golf ball’s lift comes from spin alone and the other half from the airflow effects of dimples. As one Titleist engineer explained in a test with a swing robot, “the dimples help to create lift.”

In one experiment, a ball with dimples on only one side hooked sharply, while a completely smooth ball knuckled unpredictably. In effect, dimples amplify the upward force on the ball without increasing backspin. The result: golf balls can be both long (low drag) and steady (extra lift) thanks to their dimpled surfaces.

Boundary Layers and the Drag Crisis

The aerodynamic benefit hinges on getting air from laminar to turbulent flow.

Dimples trigger the “drag crisis” at lower speeds. In practical terms, this means the ball enters a low-drag regime sooner than a smooth sphere would. In the critical Reynolds-number range of a typical golf shot, dimples shift the drag crisis to favor the dimpled ball.

The net effect is a much smaller wake – the turbulent wake behind a dimpled ball is dramatically reduced compared to a smooth ball – so less energy is lost to drag. This is why Tour pros, who impart high speeds, rely on balls with precise dimple geometry to eke out every extra yard.

Dimple Geometry: Size, Depth, and Pattern

Each golf ball model uses a carefully engineered dimple pattern. Key parameters include the dimple diameter, depth, shape, and overall distribution. Most manufacturers stick to spherical dimples about 3–4 mm across and ~0.010 inch (0.25 mm) deep, but some get creative. Titleist’s latest balls use spherically-tiled tetrahedral dimples, optimizing consistency. Callaway’s HX (Hex) series famously uses hexagonal dimples to try a different approach. TaylorMade even experimented with “trihedral” patterns on older models.

In practice, changing the depth of the dimples has a dramatic effect on flight. A wind-tunnel study of 3D-printed balls found that even tiny increases in dimple depth or surface roughness cause higher drag coefficients – a 0.001 inch (0.025 mm) depth change can dramatically alter trajectory. Manufacturers typically keep dimple depth in a narrow optimal band: too shallow and you lose the turbulence, too deep and you add friction.

Because of these factors, different balls have different dimple counts: larger dimples mean fewer can fit on the sphere. That’s why distance balls often have fewer, larger dimples (long, piercing flight), while high-spin balls have many small dimples (more lift and control). For example, two Nike balls of the same diameter might differ by 50–100 dimples depending on design. However, the overall pattern symmetry must be maintained. The Polara ball was ruled illegal when its equatorial dimples were normal but the rest of the ball almost smooth; it “self-corrected” hooks, so the USGA banned it in the late 1970s. Today’s balls avoid such tricks but still push the limits of pattern design within the rules.

History of Golf Ball Dimples

Golf’s earliest balls were smooth: wooden balls and featheries had no intentional texture. Players noticed worn or nubby balls flew farther, which led to innovation. By the mid-1800s, gutta-percha (gutty) balls began with scraped or shaved surfaces. In 1905, clubmaker William Taylor patented the first purposeful dimpled golf ball, cementing the concept. Over the 20th century, patterns evolved from simple pits to hundreds of uniform dimples. By 2019, even a Guinness World Record prototype had 1,070 tiny dimples. That ball never went mainstream, but it underscores the extreme end. Officially, however, only ball weight and diameter are regulated (max 1.62 oz, min 1.68″ diameter). There are no USGA rules on dimple count or shape per se – only that any pattern be uniform and symmetric so as not to give players an unfair aerodynamics.