Arizona State University researchers have developed a
dynamic inertial balance device and methodology designed to meet the need to
match the behavior of golf clubs during the swing. This device was developed
directly from biomechanical research conducted at ASU. It duplicates, or
exceeds, the ability of an expert golfer with a "grooved swing" to match their
clubs to one another. With the mechanical variation minimized between clubs,
each swing will give feedback to the golfer pertaining to their swing motion,
making it easier to learn the game of golf. The expert will be able to swing the
same way no matter which club is being used, and be confident in the results.
The manufacturer will be able to sort their clubs more finely than manufacturing
tolerances allow, creating matched sets that help golfers of all ability levels
play more consistently, and have more fun.
Potential Applications
The invention has application for golf club manufacturers
seeking to create dynamically matched sets of golf clubs, as well as for
individual golfers who want to create a set of clubs with a unique set of
balances. A club manufacturer using this system could ensure their sets were
more fully balanced than is possible via manufacturing tolerances and static
weighing alone. Additionally, the system would allow existing clubs to be
matched far more accurately than the current method of adding lead weights to
grips and heads and comparing “feel”.
Benefits and Advantages
The key benefit this technology offers is the ability to
create a truly balanced set of golf clubs. When the clubs are fully balanced, a
golfer is assured that each club will respond as expected during the swing,
helping the golfer develop the key attribute of repeatability. When one or more
clubs in the set differ significantly in their moment of inertia, this
unexpected difference can cause problems for many golfers.
Current systems use swing weight scales to balance clubs.
While this can match clubs in static form, these same statically-matched clubs
may exhibit very different swing behavior in motion due to differences in
materials, club length, and mass distribution – as such, these ‘matched’ clubs
are not dynamically balanced. In contrast, this system analizes the properties
of the club in motion, and does so in a more time-efficient manner than more
cumbersome pendulum-based systems.
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