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What is the size of a golf ball dimple?

Author

Sarah Smith

Published Jan 22, 2026

The diameter (42.67 mm) and dimple size (3.5 mm) of the model golf balls were kept constant. However, the depth of each dimple was varied from 0.5 to 1.5 mm with an increment of 0.1 mm. To compare the dimpled balls, a smooth ball was also modelled using the same diameter.

Are all the dimples on a golf ball the same size?

The size of golf ball dimples are most frequently measured by their depth. The average depth of a golf ball dimple is roughly 0.010 inch. The circumference of dimples also varies from model to model. While most dimples are spherical in shape, they don't have to be.

What is a dimple on a golf ball?

Those dimples actually serve an aerodynamic purpose. TadejZupancic/Getty Images. The reason why golf balls have dimples is a story of natural selection. Originally, golf balls were smooth; but golfers noticed that older balls that were beat up with nicks, bumps and slices in the cover seemed to fly farther.

What is the diameter of golf ball?

Hence the majority of the manufacturers produce golf balls with the maximum allowed weight of 1.620 oz./ 45.93 g. Golf Ball Size: According to the USGA Rules of Golf, the diameter of the ball shall not be less than 1.680 inches (42.67 mm).

Are all golf balls the same diameter?

What is the standard Golf ball size? In today's golf world, there is only one standard size golf ball that is legal in tournament play and authorized to sell in golf shops. The standard size golf ball today is 1.68 inches, but before the nineteen eighties, the minimum size was 1.62 inches.

25 related questions found

Why is a golf hole the size it is?

It is believed that the standard hole size was created at Royal Musselburgh Golf Club in Scotland in 1829 when they invented the first known hole-cutter that produced a 4.25 inch hole and was based on the typical Musselburgh drainage pipe at the time. The R&A adopted that standard width in 1891. The USGA followed suit.

Are more dimples on a golf ball better?

More dimples being on a golf ball are not necessarily better. The number of dimples that are on a golf ball is less important than the dimensions of the dimples themselves. Too many dimples mean more drag, and too few dimples mean an unpredictable flight trajectory.

How many dimples does a Callaway golf ball have?

Typically though, there are 300-500 dimples on any branded golf ball. For example, TaylorMade has 322 while Callaway has 332 dimples. Then there's Titleist Pro V1, one of the best beginner golf balls, with 352 dimples.

How many dimples are on a professional golf ball?

The vast majority of the most popular modern golf balls have between 300 and 400 dimples. Some exceptions that go beyond 400 or even 500+ dimples, but not among our favorite balls and the balls that are typically proven to perform the best for most golfers.

How wide is a golf hole?

No, the true diameter of a golf hole is 4.25 inches. What that translates to, kitchen-speak, is a traditional-sized plastic container.

Why do dimpled golf balls fly farther?

"The dimples on a golf ball create a thin turbulent boundary layer of air that clings to the ball's surface. This allows the smoothly flowing air to follow the ball's surface a little farther around the back side of the ball, thereby decreasing the size of the wake.

Why do planes not have dimples in golf balls?

About 90% of the drag of a smooth sphere shape is pressure drag and the rest is friction drag. Putting dimples on surface will increase the friction drag but will reduce the pressure drag by having the turbulent boundary layer attached farther before separation.

Does a golf ball have 336 dimples?

The dimples are usually the same size as one another, but some golf balls have several different sizes of dimple on the same ball. Any number between 300 and 500 dimples is reasonable, and 336 is a common number.

What ball has 336 dimples?

On American golf balls, there are usually 336 dimples, while there are 330 on a British ball. However these numbers can vary widely. Golf balls have anywhere from 300-500 dimples. Golf ball manufacturers will manipulate the number, shape, size, and even edge angles to optimize ball flight and trajectory.

Which golf balls have the most dimples?

The Titleist Pro V1 ball consists of 352 dimples. You can therefore see that most of the biggest balls in golf today feature around the 320 to 350 dimple mark.

Which brand of golf ball goes the farthest?

Longest Golf Balls: Titleist Velocity

The longest golf ball is the Titleist Velocity. This is a two piece ball that is built completely for distance and low ball spin from the tee. Titleist is known for having some of the best golf ball technology on the market, and the Velocity is no exception.

How many dimples does a Pro V1 golf ball have?

The new Pro V1 has 388 dimples, and the new Pro V1x has 348 (both in a tetrahedral pattern), marking the first time the dimple counts have changed since 2011. Dimple patterns, however, are far more than simply the number of them.

How far would a golf ball go without dimples?

According to Frank Thomas, Golf Digest's chief technical advisor and former technical director of the USGA, a smooth golf ball with no dimples would travel about 130 yards when hit with a modern driver by a tour-caliber player.

What is the best shot in golf called?

An ace, commonly known as a hole-in-one, is the best score out there. When you get an ace, that means you get to write a “1” on the scorecard.

Why is a round of golf 18 holes?

In 1764, the golfers at St Andrews decided to combine the first four short holes into two, to produce a round of 18 holes, though it was still 10 holes of which 8 were played twice. Thus was born the 18-hole round, though it would be hundred years before there were eighteen holes and other courses followed suit.

How wide are golf greens?

Major Championships. Typical PGA Tour fairways are 30 to 32 yards wide on average, according to golf course architect Jeffrey Brauer.

How deep should a golf hole be?

The Rules of Golf explicitly state that a hole must be 4.25 inches in diameter and at least 4 inches in depth. Maintaining clean hole edges is one of the reasons why holes are changed frequently, often each morning prior to the first tee time.

Do softer golf balls go further?

Although softer golf balls go further from the tee for lower swing speed players, the gap across the whole range of ball types is only around 5 yards, so it is more important to fit the ball to your irons and then fit your driver to your preferred ball to maximise distance.

Can you get different size golf balls?

The minimum size a golf ball can measure is 1.68″.

The average golf ball size, however, may be different from the minimum allowed diameter. Although 1.68″ is the minimum, balls can be made larger than this.