Math Behind the Frustrating Golf Mishap
Math and physics explain the anguish of a golf ball that zings around the rim of the hole instead of falling in.
A "lip out" occurs when a golfer putts a ball, and rather than the ball falling in, it swings around the rim of the hole, sometimes even descending into it, before escaping again.
- The most common kind of lip out occurs when the ball is hit too hard, and it arrives slightly offset from the center of the hole.
- This situation sets up a competition between two different forms of angular momentum.
For the putt to succeed, the angular momentum of the ball pitching down into the hole must overcome the angular momentum of it rotating around the hole's rim.
Researchers report their findings in Royal Society Open Science.
Author's summary: Physics explains golf's frustrating "lip out" phenomenon.