4 Fun Facts About the Amazing Game of Golf – Because Inquiring Minds Want to Know!

#1 – How long is the golf club in contact with the golf ball at impact?
  Answer: 450 Millionths of a second.
Is that awesome or what? All the decisions we make prior to hitting the shot are allowed 450 millionths of a second of influence upon the ball. And we immediately know if the influence was good or bad. We can feel the feedback in our hands. We can see the ball shooting out in our peripheral vision. All you can do then is sit back and watch. Check this out: When Tiger Woods won the 2000 US Open, it took him 4 days to complete, he hit the ball 272 times, the ball traveled over 27,000 yards and the total time of contact between golf club and golf ball was about a tenth of a second! The tournament was decided in the accuracy that took place in a tenth of a second. A lifetime of preparation was used to skillfully maximize that tenth of a second. Pretty cool stuff.

#2 – How hard does a golf club strike a golf ball?
  Answer: With 3,000 pounds of force.
Who ever said golf is not a contact sport? And 3,000 is a number from an average swing. Some of the big hitters are pounding it every harder than that. This is the force that transfers the influence of your swing into the ball in 450 millionths of a second. That is a lot of force in a small amount of time.

#3 – Why do golf clubs have grooves?
  Answer: To collect debris allowing the club face to contact the ball.
Most golfers think the grooves are what spins the ball. They play a small role but their main purpose is to give grass and other debris a place to go at impact so the club face can contact the ball and impart spin. Grass gets pushed back into the grooves from the 3,000 pounds of force being delivered by the club. The grooves also hide moisture that gets squeezed out of the grass at impact. The issue with V grooves as opposed to square grooves on the PGA Tour next year simply has to do with how much debris the groove can hold. Square grooves are larger than V grooves and therefore can eliminate more stuff allowing cleaner contact and therefore more spin. Only time will tell if the change makes a difference in scores. We shall see.

#4 – Why do golf balls have dimples?
  Answer: Imperfections in the surface of a spinning object, called turbulators, create turbulence in the layer of air around the object which reduces drag.
Original golf balls were smooth. It didn’t take golfers long to realize that their old, beat up golf balls flew better than the new, smooth ones. Eventually, somebody smart looked into this issue and aerodynamics was applied. The turbulators shake up the air around the ball which reduces drag and therefore allows the object to travel farther. Dimples are simply the symmetrical way to create uniform turbulent air flow around the ball.

And there you have it. Four interesting facts that you can now share and be the smartest in the group next time you play!

Thanks for stopping by and please check back soon.

Mike Snyder
Twitter: @Mike_Snyder