Entire business sectors have been set up to delve into the hidden mysteries of this simplest of games and advanced technology, particular Doppler-radar technology, has revealed some of the sport’s secrets.
Golf engenders passion from both the players themselves and the legions of fans that support the sport in ever growing numbers but is apparently also a past time that can quite literally shorten your life simply because of the stress involved in the performance.
Accomplished golfers are turning more and more to launch monitors and ball tracking technology in an effort to better understand their game and how and where to tweak their swing. Increasing swing speed by a little can make a lot of difference to the yardage attained.
Here are a couple of interesting facts that may shed a little light on the finer points of the game and hopefully add a whole new dimension to the challenge of the greens.
- Did you know that the speed of a golf ball more than halves by the time it reaches the ground? So, if you smack the ball with an estimated swing speed of around 100mph, the ball speed on impact should be in the region of about 150mph. Yet, by the time the ball reaches the ground, the velocity of the ball has plummeted to only 47 – 48 mph! The virtually undetectable friction between the ball and the surrounding air is the major culprit but so too is the back spin. “Fore” takes on a whole new meaning now – best you dodge that ball as it comes off the club face or prepare for some major damage.
- Golf balls make significantly more mileage on hot days, so the struggling pros should make for the Sunshine Tour of South Africa to take full advantage of this fact. What is interesting is that the actual ball speed, back spin and launch angle are not affected by any variance in temperature. The extra yards can be attributed to the golfer himself, according to research conducted by a leading golf technology company - a golfer with an average swing speed of 100mph will carry the driver eight yards longer for each 25 degree Fahrenheit increase in temperature.
- A major myth buster is that different makes of golf balls will have absolutely no influence on distance with a driver. The only factor that does change when using different balls is the amount of back spin.
- Here is a simple equation that can lift your game immeasurably if factored in – 1mph increase in swing speed equals 1.5 mph increase in ball speed which in turn will add three yards in distance!
