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Originally Posted by lagster
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My background is not extensive... but I will start the discussion if anyone is interested.
Physics... as I understand it, consists of 4 basic factors. From these 4 things... MASS, SPACE, TIME, and ENERGY all physics is comprised.
MASS-- matter, weight, etc.
SPACE-- distance measurements
TIME-- measured in seconds, or parts of a second
ENERGY-- the capacity to do WORK(Force x Distance)
One can easily see how all these factors have involvement in a golf stroke. Lets start with MASS.
HOW MUCH DOES (MASS) INFLUENCE THE DISTANCE A GOLF BALL CAN BE STRUCK BY A PERSON WITH A GOLF CLUB? THE MASS OF THE PERSON STRIKING THE BALL, AND THE MASS OF THE GOLF CLUB?
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ok, i'll bite...i think mass influences distance via the equation "F=ma", where "F" is the force imparted (ie by the clubhead to the ball), "m" is the mass of the thing imparting the force (essentially the clubhead mass IMHO), and "a" is the acceleration of the thing imparting the force (ie the clubhead)...i don't think the mass of the person has much of anything to do with it except that bigger/stronger people may be able to accelerate the club faster than a smaller person of the same skill level...hence why 155 lb pros can hit further than 250 lb ams (they have more skill) but the long driving contest guys are often bigger (skill+strength)...as an aside my belief is that the issue/importance of clubhead velocity is overemphasized...i have seen posts in various forums that cite studies that show pro-swings (w/o ball contact) have max velocity AFTER impact point...why all the emphasis on clubhead velocity then?...well because your max acceleration is usually just BEFORE your highest velocity and as general rule if the club got to a higher max velocity, it was very likey also at a higher acceleration unless the time frame is very different...anyway, there's my $0.02
-hcw