Characterization of the materials in golf ball construction for use in finite element analysis
The overall aim of the present work is to develop suitable material tests and use the acquired data to produce a fully validated finite element (FE) model that is capable of predicting hysteresis during cyclic loading as well as coefficient of restitution (COR) on high speed impacts. This paper reports the detailed experimental study that has been carried out in order to establish accurate and reliable material properties of a two-piece golf ball. The data has been used with FE package ABAQUS to produce a model of the ball which takes into account material heterogeneity. © 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. "
Simulating the Contact of Golf Club to Ball for Improved Performance
Long before FEA was developed, people were participating in sports and as competition intensified is became clear that for many sports, the equipment plays as important a part in performance as does the athlete. With the use of modern materials and manufacturing processes there is always scope for maximizing the performance of sporting equipment. Traditionally improvements were incremental, as athletes fed-back suggestions to manufacturers and new prototypes were built and tested. Given the cost of tooling for many of the current manufacturing methods, carbon fibre with resin infusion to mention one, it is clear that such build and test iterations are not as preferable given the potential of limited success and high cost.Modern simulation techniques are capable of examining a “day–in–the-life” of an object and from an examination of the envelope of response the most sensitive regions can be detected. Iteration on the design variables, provided they remain within any constraints, be they physical or otherwise, can be incorporated to investigate their effect on performance.In this paper non-linear transient dynamic (NLTD) FEA is undertaken on a 3 iron golf club impacting a golf ball. During the less than 0.5 millisecond impact the whole outcome of the shit is established. Design changes that can lead to improved performance are studied. From the FEA simulation information on ball top spin, side spin, take off velocity are investigated.
Computational modelling of the golf stroke
The golf stroke was computationally modelled using finite element analysis. Results for 
the impact between the club head and the ball compared well with previous research, both 
practical and theoretical. The results imply that for thick face club heads, such as irons, 
club head performance is independent of material stiffness but highly dependent on the 
friction of the interface and the clubhead geometry. The three ball flight predictors 
(speed, trajectory and spin rate) as a function of clubhead parameters are shown to be 
non-trivial. Acceptable models of impact could be achieved using rigid faces for thick 
face clubheads with the centre of mass and clubhead inertia accurately described. 
Results on ball construction effects imply that both the stiffness and mass distribution 
throughout the ball affect performance. The large deformations of the ball mean that 
classic rigid body mechanics cannot suffice in golf impact predictions. 
A model of the golf swing based on a double pendulum was constructed and shaft 
performance examined for various styles of golf swing. Shaft parameters thought to 
affect performance were quantitatively evaluated and results compared well with 
previous research. Increased club head speeds at impact were achieved with shafts of 
lighter weight or reduced bending stiffness for all styles of golf swing examined. The 
cause of bending forward of the shaft at impact was identified to occur from the large 
centrifugal forces acting on the head and the increased bending stiffness of the shaft also 
due to centrifugal force. On a detailed level shaft behaviour was affected by vibrations 
which appeared chaotic due to the changing stiffness of the system. This is expected to 
be less of an effect in an actual golf shot due to the damping provided by the human 
participant.