Understanding the golf ball to lower youre handicap? Read this...

Not long ago I wrote an essay about the flight dynamics of the golf ball. Personally I found how the golf ball flies particularly interesting and how different factors influence this, and how varying factors can affect youre golf game. The research may only expand youre knowledge of the golf ball, and could help you to achieve a desired lower handicap. If youve got the concentration and time, I recommend reading it!

Funny you should mention this. I watched a story about the pro football player that played pro baseball, then became a college quarterback, then joined the golf team, then was drafted first round of the NFL draft. My wife asked, how can he play golf that well.

My answer. He played baseball. He understands a swing and moreover understands the effects of spin on the ball.

Being an ex baseball pitcher gives me an understanding of spin on a ball. I know instinctively what causes a ball to go what direction and why. That helps me shape ball fight and fix my swing.

I glanced at your work but I didn't see any mention of side spin on the ball. Did I miss something?

I tried dude, I really did.  But my eyes glazed over on page 3 and I think I had an aneurysm.

Looks like you know your stuff but I will just have to take your word for it! haha

A bit dry to say the least. I know it is what it is and you probably had to write it that way. I'm a Doctor and I purposely do not read abstracts because of that. How about a rewrite in everyday language. I can understand what you wrote but.......whew! Sometimes trying to sound important and scientific leaves a lot on the table. Again I know you had to put it in that form for whatever you wrote it for but, wow. The average person cannot read such and even edumacated idiots like me get lost in the details. But, good work!!

No I was solely focusing on the distances achieved depending on the dimples. I hoped to have 0 side spin during my tests as this translates into maximum distance.

It is a scientific paper so it may be a bit boring to some, but like you said, thats how they should be written. And further to youre point, I did think it was fairly average language backt then hahaha, but its also meant to be an essay that all can understand . Maybe skip to the conclusion, its a bit straight foreward :D And thanks! I put 100 hours of work into the whole essay from start to finish, I'm was glad its over!! But thats the first of many essays to come, except those would be for university, and not on golf haha

OK, I quickly scanned through it.

I found the recommendation to used a dimpled ball because it goes farther to be N/A- In about 30 years of golf, I don`t ever remember seeing anyone play with anything but a dimpled golf ball and can`t recall seeing smooth balls for sale in any golf shop.

The finding that a lower compression (i.e. 72) goes further than a higher compression (i.e. 98) is interesting.  Did you use a particular brand of 72 compression balls?  Who sells 72, 88 and 98 compression balls?  I remember players choosing between 90 & 100 compression balls when I was younger, but don`t see too many balls today that explicitly state their compressibility rating (although I have done limited ball shopping in recent years).

I know that there are restrictions on balls.  Are lower compression balls that go farther legal?  If so, why wouldn`t a company market and sell these balls?  One reason that the Pro V1 was so popular so quickly is that it flew further and resulted in an immediate increase in PGA Tour driving distances.

Glad you read it haha. Ok on many golf balls there is no number like 88 written on it, giving it a specific compression rating. You can find these statistics online, Ill post a link once I find it again. There is a limit to how much the ball can compress, but honestly it is no advantage to all players. For those with high swing speed, choosing a soft golf ball will compromise accuracy for distance. Pro V1 are softer than older balls, but have a compression rating in the 90's region which gives more accuracy and less distance than those golf balls with rating 70. This is what pro's prefer as distance isnt something they need. ProV1s also are not single core so respond better upon impact. A golf ball with a solid core and not multi wound are typically driving range balls, which makes those balls cheap to make but hard to hit well.

You reached a conclusion that "proves" that the more compressible (lower compression) a golf ball is, the further it will travel?  It seems to me, that if that conclusion were true without qualification, I'd be playing a Nerf golf ball with a compression somewhere around 5, as would most other golfers out there.

In looking at your data, it appears that the club-head speeds you tested topped out somewhere in the 135-140 kph range.  That equates to 83-87 mph.  Those swing speeds are towards the lower end of what the average male golfer generates with the driver.  Since conventional wisdom dictates that lower compression balls are better suited to lower swing speeds and higher compression balls to higher swing speeds, I'm not surprised that you reached a conclusion that the lower compression balls were better suited to the relatively low swing speeds you tested.  Unfortunately, the swing speeds you tested do not seem to be appropriate to the higher compression balls.

It would be interesting to see data that includes a broader range of swing speeds that would include those ordinarily considered appropriate for the higher compression balls.  As a point of reference, I believe the average driver swing speed on tour is in the 182 kph (113 mph) range with the really big hitters well over 195 kph (121 mph).  I'm a relatively short hitter for my handicap and even I average 166 kph (103 mph) with my driver.

Looks like a fun project.  I'm assuming this was an academic assignment of some sort.  I'm curious as to what level class, if you don't mind sharing.  Thanks!

For the collection of the data, someone else hit the golf balls. I tried to find a PGA player to hit the golf balls, however he was not able to come to the shop where they had the simulator. Even though, a swing speed of 130-140 is the average speed of a golf ball (including irons), for any shot. At a high swing speed however I did find research which supported my thesis where the higher swing speeds may not be entirely better suited to low compressible golf balls. The advantage gained in distance is inversely proportional to you re swing speed. In simpler terms, someone with a higher swing speed has a lesser additional advantage to someone with a low swing speed.

The research was an investigation to see what golf ball suits you re swing speed. Although not included in the tests, hexagonal dimples make the golf ball go that extra distance, as the surface area on the golf ball increases hence the ball can 'grab' the air more than a golf ball with circular dimples.

As to the academic level, its the final year of high school, international baccalaureate if you re familiar with the system.

I can say for a fact that low compression golf balls will go much shorter than high compression balls for me at around 105 mph swing speed. If I hit a low compression ball like the e6 (a 58) the ball will balloon and go 15 yards shorter on an equivalent drive with a ProV1x (a 100 rating). It has nothing to do with ball speed for me, which I haven't measured, but the fact that the e6 goes miles into the sky and will get absolutely no rollout with my 10.5* setup.