Application of CFD Technology Analyzing the Three-Dimensional Aerodynamic Behavior of Dimpled Golf Balls

A computational modeling method using the CFD codes GAMBIT and FLUENT jointly has been developed for analyzing the three-dimensional aerodynamic behavior of surface dimpled golf balls. Drag and lift coefficient values and fluid field solutions have been obtained for the balls with three different types of dimple pattern distributions, which consist of the dimples with the same or different pocket sizes and depths. The baseline case golf ball carries 422 circular dimples with the dimple distribution pattern very similar to that of a Spalding TOP-FLITE PLUS II ball. The computed drag and lift coefficients of this baseline ball stationary or spinning have been made to compare with some published wind-tunnel experimental results, and the agreement was found to be good. This indicates that the modeling method developed is relevant and suitable for predicting the ball flight behavior for varying dimple geometry and dimple pattern distribution designs. From this, the necessary ball surface design parameter changes can be found either to enhance or to limit the ball’s aerodynamic performance, which controls and determines the ball flying distance and trajectory accuracy after initial impact.