Talk given for Science Week to be pitched around golf

The design of golf clubs and balls has reached a pinnacle of scientific excellence. Unfortunately they are placed in the hands of golfers who could not make par if firing a ball from a cannon.

That does not stop millions of golfers around the world who hope that the best equipment will help them trim shots off their game.

The manufacturers have not been slow to make this available, with science and technology at the very heart of golf club design, says Dr Ian Kenny of the University of Limerick.

This Friday he will deliver a Science Week talk at Cavan Golf Club, describing just how much physics, maths and engineering has been applied to golf clubs.

He is based in UL’s biomechanics research unit in the department of physical education and sports. “For me it is a combination of skill, art and science.” It isn’t all just about the equipment, “it is a combination of playing well and staying injury free”.

Even so, players can gain advantage if they are able to make the most of what the technology can do for them.

Longer club shaft

Mathematical modelling is used to study optimal club and ball designs, and then this is used to build better clubs. But if the club gives a player too much of an advantage

new rules

are set by the golfing authorities to control this.

Research showed that a longer club shaft meant the club head was moving faster when striking the ball. "If the shaft length increases the physics says you could hit a club faster and faster," said Dr Kenny.

Initially there was not limit on this, but a rule was introduced limiting shaft length to 48 inches. “Most people will play with a 45 or 46 inch club, but some use longer, and if they can control it they will hit faster.”

Club head

Then there is the club head. These kept getting larger and larger, and the current limit is now 460 cubic centimetres. The grooves cut into the club face have also been mathematically scrutinised, and once again limits have been placed on their size and depth, said Dr Kenny.

Then there is the golf ball and its pattern of dimples. "The dimples are another whole science. Each manufacturer has size and shape differences, and there are rules on how deep they can be."

The dimples are there because a struck ball spins and the spinning ball goes twice as far as a smooth ball. It is all down to aerodynamics as explained by Bernoulli’s principle, Dr Kenny said.

The manufacturers even take into account the sound a ball makes when struck. “If it is a soft, damp sound people don’t like it; you want to hear a sharp ping. People will choose their ball on how fast they can hit it and the acoustics.”

Dr Kenny’s talk at 8pm was arranged by the Cavan Monaghan Science Festival. The talk is free but booking is recommended. Book at science.ie