---
title: "What is a Golf ball made of?"
description: "A moulded polybutadiene rubber core inside an ionomer or urethane cover, dimpled all over. Every component, the material it uses, and the constraint that made that t"
url: https://atoneplace.net/made-of/golf-ball/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What is a Golf ball made of?

**What is a Golf ball made of?: A moulded polybutadiene rubber core inside an ionomer or urethane cover, dimpled all over.**

Dimples were an accident. Nineteenth-century gutta-percha balls were smooth when new, and players noticed that scuffed, battered ones flew further, so makers began hammering patterns into them deliberately. The physics took another century to explain: a smooth sphere sheds its boundary layer early and drags a wide wake behind it, while a dimpled one holds the flow on further round and leaves a narrower wake. The same dimples also generate lift from backspin, which is why a well-struck ball climbs rather than falling on a plain ballistic arc.

## Component by component

*Every material is a choice, and the third column is the constraint that drove it.*

| Part | Material | Why that material |
| --- | --- | --- |
| core | polybutadiene rubber, compression-moulded | Polybutadiene has the highest resilience of the common rubbers — it returns more of the clubhead energy than anything else that can be moulded cheaply. |
| mantle | ionomer resin layer, in three-piece and four-piece balls | A stiff intermediate layer lets the ball be soft for spin off a wedge and firm for distance off a driver, which one material cannot do alone. |
| cover | ionomer (Surlyn) for distance balls, cast urethane for tour balls | Urethane is softer and grips the grooves for greenside spin; ionomer is far more cut-resistant and spins less, which flatters a slice. |
| dimples | moulded depressions, typically 300-400 of them | They trip the boundary layer into turbulence, which keeps the airflow attached further round the ball and roughly halves the drag. |

## Other sport and games objects

- [Tennis ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tennis-ball/) — A pressurised hollow shell of vulcanised rubber, covered in a glued-on wool and nylon felt.
- [Soccer ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/soccer-ball/) — Polyurethane outer panels over a laminated fabric backing, wrapped around a latex or butyl bladder.
- [Basketball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/basketball/) — A pebbled composite or leather cover over nylon winding and a butyl rubber bladder.
- [Cricket ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/cricket-ball/) — A cork core tightly wound with wool yarn, cased in four pieces of dyed leather with a stitched seam.
- [Bowling ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/bowling-ball/) — A dense shaped weight block inside a filler, wrapped in a polyester, urethane or reactive resin coverstock.

## Common questions

### What is a Golf ball made of?

A moulded polybutadiene rubber core inside an ionomer or urethane cover, dimpled all over.

### What is the core of a Golf ball made of?

Polybutadiene rubber, compression-moulded. Polybutadiene has the highest resilience of the common rubbers — it returns more of the clubhead energy than anything else that can be moulded cheaply.

### What is the mantle of a Golf ball made of?

Ionomer resin layer, in three-piece and four-piece balls. A stiff intermediate layer lets the ball be soft for spin off a wedge and firm for distance off a driver, which one material cannot do alone.

## Related pages

- [Tennis ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tennis-ball/)
- [Soccer ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/soccer-ball/)
- [Basketball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/basketball/)
- [Cricket ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/cricket-ball/)
- [Bowling ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/bowling-ball/)
- [Pencil](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/pencil/)
- [Banknote](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote/)
- [Paper](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/paper/)
- [Glass](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glass/)
- [Ballpoint pen](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/ballpoint-pen/)
- [Marshmallow](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/marshmallow/)

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)