Friction Effect on Angular Velocity of a Golf Ball

Abstract

The oblique impact of a golf ball with a rigid steel target was studied using a high-speed video camera. The video images during the impact were employed to measure the compressional displacement of the ball normal to the target and to determine the normal velocity and acceleration of the ball as a function of time. The rotation angle of the ball was also measured to evaluate the angular velocity during the impact. The results showed that the angular velocity increased and then decreased during the impact. To study the velocity change, we introduced an analytical model and suggested that the ball deformation can play an important role to understand the friction effect during the impact.