Technology in Golf

History

The first recordings of golf being played were on February 26, 1297 in a small city in the Netherlands. It was originally played with a leather ball and a stick. The object of the game was to hit the leather ball towards a designated target. The player who hit the target the most number of times won the game.

The way modern golf is played is considered to be invented by the Scottish. The famous St. Andrews Links was one of the very first golf courses, but was not your traditional 18 holes. The course consisted of 11 holes starting at the club house and ending further from the club house. If a person was playing this course they would play 11 holes down and then play the same holes back to the club house making a total of 22 holes. It was later changed to 18 because two of the holes were considered too short, so they were combined into one hole.

Equipment

Most of the major changes that occurred in the game of golf happened during the 1900’s. For example, one piece of equipment that isn’t necessarily used to play the game of golf, but instead help tremendously is the grass mower.

This allowed greens keepers to mower shorter grass for the putting surface and the fairway. The best improvements in the game dealt with the clubs and golf balls used.

Golf Ball History The equipment has changed drastically since the people in the

Netherlands with wooden sticks and leather balls. The first golf balls every created were made of both leather and goose feathers. The leather was sewn into a ball shape and stuffed full with the goose feathers. The ball-makers would then soak the ball in water, when it dried the leather shrunk and the feathers expanded making a firm and compact ball. The only problem with this design was that they were both fragile and very expensive. The next version of a golf ball was designed in 1848. This version was called the Gutta Perch ball, which was made out of a sap type substance that turned into rubber. This sap was taken from the Gutta tree found in the tropics. This version was not as expensive as the feather balls because it was both easy to make and also easy to repair.

The next advancement in golf balls was made in the 1890’s. This ball was made the same way and out of the same material, but the only difference was that the golf ball makers put raised bumps on the surface of the ball. It wasn’t until 1905 when William Taylor designed the dimple pattern on the exterior of the ball just the modern ball today.

Golf Club History

Just like the golf ball, the clubs used in golf have gone through dramatic changes as well over the years. In Scotland players would carve their own clubs and balls out of wood. Eventually skilled craftsman started to mass produce better equipment. The first specialized set of clubs was made for King James IV by a bow-maker. After he was given the throne of England he appointed a royal club-maker named William Mayne. The original design of a golf club consisted mainly of wood. The club head were crafted from stronger woods like holly and apple trees. The shafts of the club were usually made of hazel. They connected the shaft to the head of the club using a variation of the splint and leather straps.

The craftsman of golf clubs had different variations such as longnoses, grassed drivers, spoons, niblicks, and a putting cleek. It wasn’t until much later that they were coined woods, irons, wedges and putters. Some craftsman such as Robert

Forgan started to import hickory from America to use as the shaft. Aluminum also started to become a popular material for club makers because it was easy to hand forge the club heads. The first grooved faced irons were created by a man with last name of Burr. It was said by doing this it would increase backspin during the flight of the ball. Steal shafts were being experimented with in the

1890’s. They became legal after the Prince of Wales used a set of iron shaft clubs on St. Andrews in 1929. In the 1931 U.S. Open, Billy Burke became the first person to win a major tournament using a set of steel shafted clubs. The first graphite shaft created was in 1973. This graphite material provided greater support for the golfer because they were lighter and stronger than the usual steel shafts.

Modern Technology

If you walked into a golf specialty store comma you can find all different clubs, changing from shape, size, comma and material used. This list just goes on. A golfer has the choice of purchasing clubs that have titanium club faces, graphite or steel shafts, as well as size and texture of grips. Golfers who are serious about the game can also get their clubs designed and fitted to their swing and body type.

The average golfer will carry three different woods, which are also known as drivers. After technology changed and companies stopped using wood as the primary material in club making, they went to using steel and titanium. The most recent design in the woods is using other metals comma such as carbon fiber and scandium. After the metals there are other factors such as the loft angle, and size of the sweet spot. The typical driver will have anywhere from a 7.5 degree angle to 10.5 degree angle. Most amateur golfers will use around a 10.5 degree loft. Some of the higher end clubs will have different impact zones. Clubs that are designed for a beginner golfer have more of a cushion or forgiveness area.

The “sweet spot” is the center of the club face where the ball will get the most amounts of power, flight distance, and accuracy. The small this section of the club gets, the harder it is to make good contact with the ball. Most drivers today have a large forgiveness area comma so that if a golfer does not hit the dead center of the club face comma it will still do what they want it to do.

Modern day irons have what is called a cavity on the back of the club.

This was designed so that a golfer can get under the ball easier and also give it an increased loft. The weight can vary on the bottom of the cavity depending on the type of golfer using the club. This cavity also helps lower the center of gravity and also dramatically increases the moment of inertia. The loft angle on irons is much steeper than your driver because they are designed for fairway play and short shots. The average range for irons is 16 degrees to 48 degrees. This angle will change comma depending on what type of iron to hit, such as a 5 iron has less of an angle than that of a 9 iron.

Conclusion

Golf has gone through multiple changes in both equipment and technology. In this type of field where there is an endless demand for golf, clubs will always change comma as well as the materials used to build them. This game has gone from being played by the rich and famous to today’s age where anybody and play. It is obvious that the best improvements have been made in golf over the past hundred years. It has changed the way people look at the game, and definitely how they play the game. One can’t even imagine what changes are to come in the future. References

(1995-2008). A History of the Golf Ball. Retrieved May 5, 2008, from Golf Europe Web site: http://www.golfeurope.com/almanac/history/golf_ball.htm

(1995-2008). A History of the Golf Club. Retrieved May 5, 2008, from Golf Europe Web site: http://www.golfeurope.com/almanac/history/golf_club3.htm

(2008). Golf. Retrieved May 7, 2008, from Wkipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf

(2008). Golf club (equipment). Retrieved May 8, 2008, from Wkipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_club_%28equipment%29