Golf Ball Cannons

[Pretzel]

  On 10/29/2015 at 5:09 PM, Lihu said:

Maximum distance is only 200 yards. You'd need a 12 gauge version which would be noticeably louder than the 97 dB of the current driver.

Go for this instead, you can launch it 450 yards and it's probably cheaper to make than the other thing is to buy (also much quieter).

Golf Ball Air Cannon

[Lihu]

  On 10/29/2015 at 5:17 PM, Pretzel said:

Go for this instead, you can launch it 450 yards and it's probably cheaper to make than the other thing is to buy (also much quieter).

Golf Ball Air Cannon

I don't see a way to get a controlled "less" than 450 yards. Maybe you need both in your bag? I think we found a solution for those who start golf over 50.

[Pretzel]

  On 10/29/2015 at 5:20 PM, Lihu said:

I don't see a way to get a controlled "less" than 450 yards. Maybe you need both in your bag? I think we found a solution for those who start golf over 50.

Use less air pressure. You could probably chart your yardages with various air pressures to fit any shot, then carry a putter and wedge for up close to the green.

[Lihu]

  On 10/29/2015 at 6:13 PM, Pretzel said:

Use less air pressure. You could probably chart your yardages with various air pressures to fit any shot, then carry a putter and wedge for up close to the green.

Need to design a push cart and trailer for a normal cart that can carry a compressor large enough for a round. . .You could probably use compressed air in place of the 22 rim fire cartridges too.

Is this starting to get on the verge of ridiculously non-conforming?

[Jon Hoover]

  On 10/29/2015 at 5:17 PM, Pretzel said:

Go for this instead, you can launch it 450 yards and it's probably cheaper to make than the other thing is to buy (also much quieter).

Golf Ball Air Cannon

I did a scramble that had one of those (profile pic) it was sweet but you have to get the tube curved just right so you get the right amount of spin on the ball. Its crazy to watch how it comes out low then rockets up wards and falls. It was a 460ish par 4 and it landed just beyond the green. If you ever have the opportunity to try one do it.

[Pretzel]

  On 10/29/2015 at 6:26 PM, Lihu said:

Need to design a push cart and trailer for a normal cart that can carry a compressor large enough for a round. . .You could probably use compressed air in place of the 22 rim fire cartridges too.

Just get one of the standing compressors so you can strap it in like a 7 foot tall bag!

  On 10/29/2015 at 6:47 PM, Jon Hoover said:

I did a scramble that had one of those (profile pic) it was sweet but you have to get the tube curved just right so you get the right amount of spin on the ball. Its crazy to watch how it comes out low then rockets up wards and falls. It was a 460ish par 4 and it landed just beyond the green. If you ever have the opportunity to try one do it.

What if you were to rifle the barrel? Would that make a golf ball more accurate or would it just make it curve as it flew since the spin would be, in all actuality, sidespin as opposed to having a spin axis. 

The better question in all of this is, what would the course say if you came back from your car with an air compressor strapped to your cart and a golf ball bazooka in your bag next to it? I got some pretty good looks driving to a golf course in a cart with 18" off-road tires and a lift kit (my family uses it as a farm vehicle, has tread almost 2" deep), but I imagine the postulated scenario would take the cake. Hitting into people might be complicated when your ball speed is half the speed of sound...

  On 10/29/2015 at 6:26 PM, Lihu said:

Is this starting to get on the verge of ridiculously non-conforming? 

Not quite, but this would be far beyond the line:

Better yet, you could build a hybrid potato cannon with a golf ball sized bore. Hybrid potato cannons work by pressurizing oxygen and propane in the combustion chamber, then simultaneously releasing the pressure and igniting the mixture. People have attained supersonic spud speeds of nearly mach 2, if I remember correctly (I know it was over mach 1), with these. With a smaller golf ball and a large enough cannon you might be able to propel a golf ball at hypersonic velocities, which would be pretty cool and could potentially give you a range of almost 50km (without air resistance it would have a carry distance of over 300km). With such a "club" at your disposal, you would certainly win accolades such as "longest drive", "most likely to shoot down a passing aircraft", and "most likely to be on a federal watchlist".

 

Edited October 29, 2015 by Pretzel

[rehmwa]

  On 10/26/2015 at 6:46 PM, rehmwa said:

I just want to say how proud I am of all of you for the direction this thread has taken.

We all win.

[Lihu]

  On 10/29/2015 at 8:12 PM, Pretzel said:

Not quite, but this would be far beyond the line:

Better yet, you could build a hybrid potato cannon with a golf ball sized bore. Hybrid potato cannons work by pressurizing oxygen and propane in the combustion chamber, then simultaneously releasing the pressure and igniting the mixture. People have attained supersonic spud speeds of nearly mach 2, if I remember correctly (I know it was over mach 1), with these. With a smaller golf ball and a large enough cannon you might be able to propel a golf ball at hypersonic velocities, which would be pretty cool and could potentially give you a range of almost 50km (without air resistance it would have a carry distance of over 300km). With such a "club" at your disposal, you would certainly win accolades such as "longest drive", "most likely to shoot down a passing aircraft", and "most likely to be on a federal watchlist".

Like this?

 

[Pretzel]

  On 10/29/2015 at 8:33 PM, Lihu said:

Like this?

 

That's pretty good, but he's still able to hold it and it "only" has a muzzle velocity of about mach 1.6. I imagine a tighter fitting barrel designed for a golf ball along with a larger combustion chamber/barrel could get you closer to mach 5 if you money was no object.

[Lihu]

  On 10/29/2015 at 8:40 PM, Pretzel said:

That's pretty good, but he's still able to hold it and it "only" has a muzzle velocity of about mach 1.6. I imagine a tighter fitting barrel designed for a golf ball along with a larger combustion chamber/barrel could get you closer to mach 5 if you money was no object.

I wouldn't imagine it costing much more, but the barrel would most likely be longer, in the past, we built one for about $50 in PVC. Stainless steel one might cost $250?

It would be a good vehicle to answer the question "How fast can a golf ball go before disintegrating".

 

Here's "Bob's". I could imagine him teeing up on a 650 yard par 5, and overshooting it by a factor of 3. It sounds like a military weapon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzL-yGcJG-w

[Pretzel]

  On 10/29/2015 at 8:45 PM, Lihu said:

I wouldn't imagine it costing much more, but the barrel would most likely be longer, in the past, we built one for about $50 in PVC. Stainless steel one might cost $250?

It would be a good vehicle to answer the question "How fast can a golf ball go before disintegrating".

You don't build hybrid potato canons out of PVC unless you enjoy pipe bombs and shrapnel. A kid in high school physics the year before me tried it and they had to call in the bomb squad when the teacher saw what he had built (she assumed he was making it safety) since he brought it to class for the demonstration already primed. Stainless steel would be a must for that type of cannon, but PVC is good enough for just pressurized air.

 

I wonder if anyone has tried building a remote controlled golf ball yet? It would make putting pretty easy if they had.

[RussUK]

  On 10/29/2015 at 6:26 PM, Lihu said:

Need to design a push cart and trailer for a normal cart that can carry a compressor large enough for a round. . .You could probably use compressed air in place of the 22 rim fire cartridges too.

Is this starting to get on the verge of ridiculously non-conforming?

Basically you need a small tank. It would have to have a loud speaker as no one could hear you shout ""FORE" with the hatches down!

[Pretzel]

  On 10/30/2015 at 1:43 PM, RussUK said:

Basically you need a small tank. It would have to have a loud speaker as no one could hear you shout ""FORE" with the hatches down!

Just mount the canon on the roof of the cart like they do with mounted guns on a humvee. Maybe we could achieve the desired muzzle velocity with 50 cal blanks? 

[RussUK]

  On 10/30/2015 at 1:50 PM, Pretzel said:

Just mount the canon on the roof of the cart like they do with mounted guns on a humvee. Maybe we could achieve the desired muzzle velocity with 50 cal blanks? 

Yes, that would be the "sensible" solution (to a problem that should'nt exist ), but wheres the fun in that? If Bubba can make a hover cart, why not a golf tank. 

Not sure the green keepers would be happy about the track marks though. 

May have to take this on Dragons Den "im after £250,000 for 20% of the company to build a kick ass golf tank........oh, you're all out?"

[Lihu]

  On 10/30/2015 at 1:50 PM, Pretzel said:

Just mount the canon on the roof of the cart like they do with mounted guns on a humvee. Maybe we could achieve the desired muzzle velocity with 50 cal blanks? 

bob's 2000ft/s golf ball cannon is over 2/3 the muzzle velocity of a barret sniper rifle. :-D

[RussUK]

  On 10/30/2015 at 1:57 PM, Lihu said:

bob's 2000ft/s golf ball cannon is over 2/3 the muzzle velocity of a barret sniper rifle.

Maybe Bob has just  found a way of cutting the army's defense budget for snipers!

[Lihu]

  On 10/30/2015 at 2:00 PM, RussUK said:

Maybe Bob has just  found a way of cutting the army's defense budget for snipers!

Did you watch the video? That acetelyn powered cannon has serious firepower? Unfortunate that it only has an 800m range or so. . .

[Pretzel]

  On 10/30/2015 at 1:56 PM, RussUK said:

 

May have to take this on Dragons Den "im after £250,000 for 20% of the company to build a kick ass golf tank........oh, you're all out?"

They have a show like that called Shark Tank in the U.S. Over here it would go more like this:

"I'm seeking $300,000 for 20% of my company, which sells golf tanks"

"How versatile is your product? What kind of fuel mileage does it get?"

"Have you thought about expanding into a clothing line."

"What percentage of this market do you already hold?"

The people on that show are clueless enough that they might actually buy into it. Anyone want to go into business?

  On 10/30/2015 at 2:04 PM, Lihu said:

Did you watch the video? That acetelyn powered cannon has serious firepower? Unfortunate that it only has an 800m range or so. . .

It also lacks rapid reload capabilities. I think we ought to go for the gatling-style approach in case a mulligan or breakfast ball is needed after the first shot.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Pretzel