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.

Thanks,
Rich

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.

Rich Grise wrote in
:

[...]
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.

Neglecting all aerodynamic effects, I calculate that the minimum initial velocity would need to be
approximately 580 feet per second.

On Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:46:00 +0000 (UTC), Doug Miller
wrote:

Rich Grise wrote in
:

[...]
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.

Neglecting all aerodynamic effects, I calculate that the minimum initial velocity would need to be
approximately 580 feet per second.\

Ok. But remember that you can't ignore the aerodynamic effects with a
golf ball. I'm sure you're aware of this, but some folks may not
realize that those little dimples have quite a large (positive)
effect.

--
Ed Huntress

On Jan 16, 2:55*pm, Rich Grise wrote:


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.

Thanks,
Rich

I am not convinced that you could propel a golf ball a mile. A golf
ball is round , which is not very good at going long distances. In
addition a golf ball is not very dense.

Dan

--Remember the farther you can whack it at one go the farther off
the mark it'll land unless your accuracy is dead on. There's a point of
diminishing returns in that calculation. OTOH if you just want range we use
golfballs for ammo in our cannons in Northern California, bwahaha...

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : Steel, Stainless, Titanium:
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : Guaranteed Uncertified Welding!
www.nmpproducts.com
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

On Jan 17, 10:58*am, steamer wrote:
* * * * --Remember the farther you can whack it at one go the farther off
the mark it'll land unless your accuracy is dead on. There's a point of
diminishing returns in that calculation. OTOH if you just want range we use
golfballs for ammo in our cannons in Northern California, bwahaha...

--
* * * * "Steamboat Ed" Haas * * * * : *Steel, Stainless, Titanium:
* * * * Hacking the Trailing Edge! *: *Guaranteed Uncertified Welding!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *www.nmpproducts.com
* * * * * * * * * *---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

I worked over my ballistics simulatiom and fixed some errors. If the
drag coef is around .5 I don't get ranges arounnd 400 meters when
launced at 330 m/sec Mach 1, Terminal velocity is around 30 m/sec

What kind of range are you getting with your cannon?

I am thinking spin and dimples have got to be adding lift

--Haven't ever measured distance but I know it's a looooong walk to
the targets! :-) In my cannon I use about 50cc of Pyrodex per shot.

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : Steel, Stainless, Titanium:
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : Guaranteed Uncertified Welding!
www.nmpproducts.com
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

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.


I am a little surprised that no one mentioned the other side of the
thing. The "equal and opposite reaction" thing. It's going to drive
the "club " head backwards. Better be really holding on to the damn
thing. Essentially this is a gun at right angle to, and on the end
of, a yard long stick. That's going to be a bitch to control.

Better would be a similar club that you swung, but that fired on
contact.
jk

On 01/17/2012 08:54 PM, jk wrote:

I am a little surprised that no one mentioned the other side of the
thing. The "equal and opposite reaction" thing. It's going to drive
the "club " head backwards. Better be really holding on to the damn
thing. Essentially this is a gun at right angle to, and on the end
of, a yard long stick. That's going to be a bitch to control.

Better would be a similar club that you swung, but that fired on
contact.

The club will come to an instant stop, and hurt your arm.


How about... place the explosive charge on the *back* side of the club
head, so that the head is driven into the ball.

On Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:34:20 -0800, beryl wrote:

On 01/17/2012 08:54 PM, jk wrote:

I am a little surprised that no one mentioned the other side of the
thing. The "equal and opposite reaction" thing. It's going to drive
the "club " head backwards. Better be really holding on to the damn
thing. Essentially this is a gun at right angle to, and on the end
of, a yard long stick. That's going to be a bitch to control.

Better would be a similar club that you swung, but that fired on
contact.

The club will come to an instant stop, and hurt your arm.

Not necessarily. It depends on the weight of the club and its swing
velocity versus the charge impulse and iplate weight. In fact..unless
it was a huge charge and a big assed plate..I doubt it would even stop
the club.



How about... place the explosive charge on the *back* side of the club
head, so that the head is driven into the ball.

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

On 01/18/2012 04:35 AM, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:34:20 -0800, wrote:

On 01/17/2012 08:54 PM, jk wrote:

I am a little surprised that no one mentioned the other side of the
thing. The "equal and opposite reaction" thing. It's going to drive
the "club " head backwards. Better be really holding on to the damn
thing. Essentially this is a gun at right angle to, and on the end
of, a yard long stick. That's going to be a bitch to control.

Better would be a similar club that you swung, but that fired on
contact.

The club will come to an instant stop, and hurt your arm.

Not necessarily. It depends on the weight of the club and its swing
velocity versus the charge impulse and iplate weight. In fact..unless
it was a huge charge and a big assed plate..I doubt it would even stop
the club.

You already have the inertia of the ball, and you're adding to that the
recoil from the explosion. Now you have a broken arm.

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:32:17 -0800, beryl wrote:

On 01/18/2012 04:35 AM, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:34:20 -0800, wrote:

On 01/17/2012 08:54 PM, jk wrote:

I am a little surprised that no one mentioned the other side of the
thing. The "equal and opposite reaction" thing. It's going to drive
the "club " head backwards. Better be really holding on to the damn
thing. Essentially this is a gun at right angle to, and on the end
of, a yard long stick. That's going to be a bitch to control.

Better would be a similar club that you swung, but that fired on
contact.

The club will come to an instant stop, and hurt your arm.

Not necessarily. It depends on the weight of the club and its swing
velocity versus the charge impulse and iplate weight. In fact..unless
it was a huge charge and a big assed plate..I doubt it would even stop
the club.

You already have the inertia of the ball, and you're adding to that the
recoil from the explosion. Now you have a broken arm.

Ii suggest you do the math a bit better.

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

beryl wrote:

On 01/17/2012 08:54 PM, jk wrote:

I am a little surprised that no one mentioned the other side of the
thing. The "equal and opposite reaction" thing. It's going to drive
the "club " head backwards. Better be really holding on to the damn
thing. Essentially this is a gun at right angle to, and on the end
of, a yard long stick. That's going to be a bitch to control.

Better would be a similar club that you swung, but that fired on
contact.

The club will come to an instant stop, and hurt your arm.

Not so, or not always so, it all depends on the mass of the ball the
mass of the head, and the force delivered by the charge.

As for "hurt your arm" no more so than a club can do already. People
already have crappy follow through a lot of the time. Sure would make
the game more "interesting" with people out on the course adjusting
powder charges, cleaning their clubs of the fouling etc.



How about... place the explosive charge on the *back* side of the club
head, so that the head is driven into the ball.
Just as (un) likely to "hurt" your arm.

jk

On 01/19/2012 08:13 PM, jk wrote:
....
As for "hurt your arm" no more so than a club can do already. People
already have crappy follow through a lot of the time.

I sure did. Always tended to bend my elbows, instead of rotate at the
shoulders. I think a Rolex would have helped.

How about... place the explosive charge on the *back* side of the club
head, so that the head is driven into the ball.
Just as (un) likely to "hurt" your arm.

Combining an explosive charge with inertial guidance would let golfers
concentrate on style.

SNIP

Better would be a similar club that you swung, but that fired on
contact.
jk


Funny you mentioned that. I just finished reading "The Million Dollar
Golf Ball". Same concept, carried waaaaaaay to extreme with guidance, etc.

--
Steve Walker
(remove brain when replying)

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:24:07 -0500, Steve Walker
wrote:

SNIP

Better would be a similar club that you swung, but that fired on
contact.
jk


Funny you mentioned that. I just finished reading "The Million Dollar
Golf Ball". Same concept, carried waaaaaaay to extreme with guidance, etc.

Got a link?

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

Funny you mentioned that. I just finished reading "The Million Dollar
Golf Ball". Same concept, carried waaaaaaay to extreme with guidance, etc.

Got a link?



Actually ,I made a mistake. The title is "The Ten Million Dollar Golf
Ball". It's fiction.

Send me your address & I'll mail it out to you.

--
Steve Walker
(remove brain when replying)

On 01/22/2012 06:48 PM, Steve Walker wrote:
Funny you mentioned that. I just finished reading "The Million Dollar
Golf Ball". Same concept, carried waaaaaaay to extreme with guidance,
etc.

Got a link?

Actually ,I made a mistake. The title is "The Ten Million Dollar Golf
Ball". It's fiction.

Gummer's surgery made him the $50K Goof Ball. True story.

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:48:34 -0500, Steve Walker
wrote:



Funny you mentioned that. I just finished reading "The Million Dollar
Golf Ball". Same concept, carried waaaaaaay to extreme with guidance, etc.

Got a link?



Actually ,I made a mistake. The title is "The Ten Million Dollar Golf
Ball". It's fiction.

Send me your address & I'll mail it out to you.

Nah..thanks anyways. Fiction Ive got plenty of.

VBG

All I have to do is sit in front of the computer and read the Lefties
posts for my fill of fiction.

Gunner

One could not be a successful Leftwinger without realizing that,
in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers
and mothers of Leftwingers, a goodly number of Leftwingers are
not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
Gunner Asch

On Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:55:06 -0800, 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 only skimmed the thread, so I don't know if it's been mentioned yet.

If I'm remembering correctly, when you look at a high-speed video of a
golf ball being hit, the ball deforms considerably. Then it rebounds off
of the club.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa0j44ydQpQ

Less representative of a real driver hit, but food for your thought:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=AkB81u5IM3I

There has to be some elastic limit reached where it either transmutes
itself into Golf Confetti, or it attains the approximate mechanical
compliance of a rock. In either case, the efficiency of the stroke is
going to be lost.

--
My liberal friends think I'm a conservative kook.
My conservative friends think I'm a liberal kook.
Why am I not happy that they have found common ground?

Tim Wescott, Communications, Control, Circuits & Software
http://www.wescottdesign.com