The Physics of Golf

             The game of golf is one of the most ancient games in existence today. Variances of the game were played by the Julius Caesar and his countrymen, who invented the first style of golf, called paganica. In the Roman version, a sack animal skin stuffed tightly with feathers was used as the projectile. This early golf ball was known as the featherie. The featherie was quite ineffective as well as inefficient. The feather-stuffed skin proved to be too light to go any remarkable distance. Frustrated with this, the Romans would only whack it harder, eventually discovering that the Featherie fell easily apart if too much force was applied.
             After the disaster with the featherie, the game of golf was given to rest for a few centuries, until the those crafty 19th Century Italians developed the "gutta-percha" ball. This new design in paganica balls was crafted from the dried gum of the Malaysian Sapodilla tree. This gum could be rolled into a ball and then heated until hard, providing the first smooth, hard, durable piece of golfing equipment to date. According to everything physicists and golfers alike knew at the time, the ball that was smoothest would go farthest. It was only logical, according to the laws of aerodynamics, which clearly state that the smoother object invokes less drag and wind resistance. However, they did not take other ideas of air movement into consideration. These will be discussed later. The new ball provided the right weight, size, and density to advance golf ball technology to new heights. Of course, it wasn't too long after that rubber was invented, and someone had to find a whole new use!
             for the Malaysian Sapodilla tree. The rubber ball of course made it's way into the forefront of the golf scene, making obsolete completely natural equipment like tree gum and feathers. The first modern design in golf balls was introduced in the 1960's, and dubbed appropriately the "two piece". Almost all golf balls in use toda...

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The Physics of Golf . (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 19:58, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/59680.html