Golf Equipment Anatomy of the golf club Shaft function, composition, and length Golf club head Loft of irons Distances with different clubs Club matching – swing weight Perimeter weighting Ball-club impact characteristics Recent innovations in clubs, shafts, and balls References and websites
Golf Clubs - Anatomy
Shaft Function is to place clubhead in position for ball contact Composition, flex (feel), length
Golf Clubs - Head Loft of Driver, 3-, and 5-Woods Function is to impart velocity and spin to ball Important features: loft (fig 9.4, p 112), size of face, weight, moment of inertia, hardness (COR) Loft of Driver, 3-, and 5-Woods
Loft of Irons
Average Distances for Clubs
Club Matching – swing weight
Club Matching Swing Wt Conversion: Some clubs are matched for “Feel”, or stiffness, or vibration frequency (driver -4.2, 2 Hz, 5 iron - 5.7 Hz, 9 iron - 6.8 Hz)
Perimeter Weighting - Irons and Putter
Perimeter Weighting - Driver Larger and hollow, lighter & stronger material on perimeter
Perimeter Weighting in Putters:
Shaft Flex During Swing:
What happens at impact with real ball?
What Happens if impact is with an inelastic ball (top) and perfectly elastic ball (bottom)
The “Gear” effect
Reason for rounded face on driver
Ball lift and Flight:
Recent Innovations in Golf Clubs New materials allow larger clubs and perimeter weighting concept to be applied to a greater degree Results in more “forgiving” clubs Titanium - greater strength/mass ratio Putters - more variations and gimmicks than any other club (soft face, curved face, offset head Irons - investment casting allows cavity-backed, perimeter weighting Metal woods - are hollow, larger and perimeter weighted Claims of trampoline effect - more lively, or greater COR
Recent Innovations in Shafts New materials allow stiffer, lighter shafts Steel is still used by most golfers and comes in different levels of stiffness,or flex Carbon graphite is lighter and stiffer, but earlier models lacked torsional stability Titanium is popular, but expensive and too stiff for most golfers Some clubs are matched for resonate frequency
Golf Balls For many years there were two main types: balata (3-piece with liquid-filled rubber center, rubber winding, and soft balata cover; and surlyn (2-piece with plastic core and surlyn cover). Newer balls are either of two pieces (core and cover), or three pieces, as shown here. A.Core B.Ionomer Casing C. Urethane elastomer cover D. Dimple design
Golf Equipment References Cochran and Stobbs. (1986) Search for the Perfect Swing. Daish, C.B. (1972) The physics of ball games. http://www.cobragolf.com/ http://www.titleist.com/ Tech Line Corp, Technology in Golf (http://www.techlinegolf.com/) DaveT's Club Design (http://www.clubmaker-online.com/intro.html)
My Favorite Golf Hole: