“I’ve heard people say putting is 50 percent technique and 50 percent mental. I really believe it is 50 percent technique and 90 percent positive thinking. See… but that adds up to 140 percent, which is why nobody is 100 percent sure how to putt!” – Chi Chi Rodriguez
Two retired scientists, self-proclaimed duffers, came to us asking for help with their retirement project: to improve their putting using mathematics. Around the office at CenterSpace, we have been wondering if applying the fundamentals of math to the putting green might help us lower our scores this year. We sure could use some help! We will feature the results of their experiments in our quarterly newsletters throughout the year.
Armed with the NMath .NET math libraries they plan to attack the project in stages.
First, they will model the equations of motion in a simple way with the ball represented as a point, without the complications of the rotational dynamics of a real ball.
Second, they will develop a computer application to serve as a framework for solving the differential equations of motion and displaying this motion with 3d animations. For certain simple models of greens, this will allow the visualization of a putt given an initial direction and speed.
The next step will be to solve the two point boundary value problem: calculate the best initial direction and speed to get the ball into the cup at a reasonable speed. Also more complicated “real life” greens will be modeled, using least squares routines to fit known green elevation data.
“These greens are so fast I have to hold my putter over the ball and hit it with the shadow!” -Sam Snead
Finally, a more realistic model will be investigated to more precisely capture the rotational motion of a 42.67 mm ball on a grass surface.
Of course we have no illusions that this project will lower anyone’s handicap, because only hours on the golf course, the driving range and practice greens can do that. To our golfing scientist friends it’s a good excuse to both revisit the fun of their college math and physics and explore new and exciting golf courses throughout the world.
And… just maybe… seeing the ball drop in the hole on the computer will help them relieve the frustration of a morning on the real greens that we are all too familiar with!
“I would like to deny all allegations by Bob Hope that during my last game of golf, I hit an eagle, a birdie, an elk and a moose.” -Gerald Ford
Happy Retirement Guys!
Please check out some of the functionality the duffers used…
C# polynomial least squares
C# differential equations (Chapter 31). A lot more differential equation functionality is coming in June, 2011.