On 1/16/2012 11:55 AM, Rich Grise wrote:
I was reading Dave Barry today,
http://www.miamiherald.com/2007/02/1...ear-clubs.html
, where he talks about
an explosive golf club that could propel a ball up to 500 yards:

"The Ballistic Driver is a ''swing-less'' golf club. You grip it as
usual, and you position the head of the club next to the golf ball. But
instead of swinging the club, you press an ''Activator Button'' on the
grip; this detonates a small explosive charge inside the club head,
which causes a metal plate to shoot out the side of the club a distance
of 1.5 inches at a speed of 200 miles per hour. The plate hits the golf
ball, which then, according to the brochure, goes ''250 yards, every
time . . . down the middle, exactly where you aimed it, drive after drive."

He goes on to say, "''it could theoretically propel the ball 500
yards.'' This means that a pathetic schlump like me could propel the
ball farther than Tiger Woods Inc. hits it on those rare occasions when
he is not filming American Express commercials.

And who knows what lies down the road? I mean, if we can make a club
that can hit the ball 500 yards, why not 1,000? Why not 1,500? Why not a
mile?"

And I wondered, why not a mile? A lot would depend on what kind of
propulsion you used, but I'm guessing the muzzle velocity would be
supersonic.

I think you'd have to define what it still means for it to be a "golf
ball" after it stops. It seems pretty obvious that if you shot it
through the air at the same trajectory as a typical driver - typically 8
to 11 degrees of loft - at a sufficiently high velocity, the thing would
ignite. That ball would be unplayable as a golf ball for a subsequent
"stroke." And of course, it's probably theoretically possible that it
not only would ignite, but burn up completely. A meteorite the size of
a golf ball entering the atmosphere is going to burn up completely.