Ever wonder why golf balls are covered in dimples? It’s not just a design quirk—it’s aerodynamic genius.

A smooth ball would get dragged down by the air around it, creating a wake that slows it dramatically. But those tiny dimples? They create a thin layer of turbulence that actually reduces drag, allowing air to hug the ball more closely as it flies.

Even better, dimples help the ball generate lift. As the ball spins through the air, the dimples help it glide upward, similar to how an airplane wing works. Thanks to this clever bit of physics, a dimpled golf ball can travel twice as far as a smooth one.