Chemical Education Today

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Modern Sport and Chemistry:

What a Golf Fanatic Should Know
by Scott E. McKay,* Timothy Robbins, and Renée S. Cole

Chemistry and Golf

Schematic by N. Glasser and R. J. Wildman

rubber winding
rubber core
Chemistry plays an integral role in our daily lives (1). We rigid core
interact with a host of synthetic and natural chemicals every day,
the importance of which even shows up in our favorite sports.
Advances in the chemical and material sciences, in particular,
have made a dramatic impact on sporting events over the past
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several decades. The impact of chemistry is most obvious in

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sports such as golf that require a great deal of specialized equip-

ment. Greatly improved golf balls signalled the beginning of the cover cover
technological revolution in the mid- to late-1980s. Golf clubs
have also undergone drastic improvements. As recently as 35 2-piece traditional rubber-wound
years ago golf clubs used aluminum or steel shafts; now shafts
use composite fibers and boron-doped carbon (2) or polymers
such as Kevlar to propel golf balls at higher velocities while pre- dense pliable
compressible inner cover
serving the accuracy of the earlier steel shafts. The influence of
layer
technology on the game appears to be pervasive—it has changed
the very nature of the game, including the type of players who rigid core
dominate it.

Golf Balls
Mid-priced golf balls ($14–24 for a dozen) typically use a
two-layer technology, a cover and a core. The outer layer can be
made from gutta percha or balata (polymers of isoprenes such cover
as 2-methylbuta-1,3-diene) for a softer feel or from an ionomer
4-piece
for a tougher skin and slightly harder feel. These outer layers are
often doped with titanium and other additives to impart desir- Figure 1. Layer schemes in various golf balls. Characteristics of the
able properties. For example, titanium makes the cover stiffer so layers differ in density and elasticity to optimize for flight length and
the ball will go farther when it is struck. The cores of the balls rotational control.
are made of rubber or proprietary elastomer compounds in a
wound or resin form.
A dramatic increase in performance was realized with the
introduction of multilayer golf ball technology (3). High-end
multilayer balls ($40–50 for a dozen) are typically comprised of • Top Flite XL 3000 Super Straight (6): The F F
four layers: two core layers and two thin outer layers. The cores outer layer is coated with Teflon (a polymer
conserve the energy imparted by the club and propel the ball, of tetrafluoroethylene) to reduce side spin.
providing the maximum distance; the outer covers provide golf- F F
n
ers with good touch and feel around the greens. The technology • Top Flite Exceptional Spin w/Z-Balata (7):
The cover is Zynthane Balata, a polyisoprene Teflon
of the layers depends on the ball manufacturer and tends to be
a closely guarded secret. Even in the freshly-cut Callaway HX that generates extra spin.
Tour Ball (Figure 2), it is difficult to discern the four layers.
These multilayer balls far outperform the two-layer balls for the CH2 H
combination of feel and distance they can be driven. More infor- C C
mation on golf ball construction is available on the Web (4). H3C CH2
n
Example Golf Balls
polyisoprene
Examples of golf balls and their structures are:
• Top Flite XL 2000 (5): Titanium is added to two-layer • Callaway HX Tour (8): The cover is thermoset poly-
balls in the outer layer to increase the launch angle and urethane; the core is polybutadiene (see Figure 2). This
trajectory. multilayer ball provides exceptional feel and carry.

© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 85 No. 10 October 2008 • Journal of Chemical Education 1319
 Chemical Education Today

Report

Callaway HX Tour golf ball H H

H
1.680r H
H H
0.018r 1,3-butadiene
cover material:
O H O H O H O H
thermoset polyurethane
... C+ N N O O N N O O– ...
core material:
H H H H H H H H
polybutadiene
polyurethane

Figure 2. A cross-section of a multi-layer Callaway HX Tour golf ball is shown in the center. A schematic showing layers is on the left; the
structure for each layer is shown on the right.

• Surlyn Ball (9): The Surlyn outer layer provides resilience, alloys. Because of the inherent weight of these materials, the club
broad hardness and stiffness range, and excellent resis- head of the driver was limited to about 200 cm3. With the use of
tance to cuts and abrasions of the golf ball’s outer surface lightweight titanium, the “wood” club heads are now 460 cm3,
when it hits hard surfaces such as clubs, rocks, cart paths, the upper limit placed by the United States Golf Association
Surlyn TradeMark Dupont
etc.
poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid)
(USGA). The move to graphite shafts and metal woods started
during the 1970s and 1980s. These newer materials for clubs
Me Me have higher rebound coefficients and are another source of in-
CH2CH2 CH2
creased ball speed—the velocity with which the ball rebounds
C CH2 C
off the clubface. Another development was the use of square
á
a COOH COOź M grooves on the club face. These grooves impart more spin to the
b c
ball and allow golfers more control of their shots, even in taller
Surlyn: poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) grass. Before that period, players would readily give up distance
to be in the short grass, which was the only part of the course
• Srixon Trispeed (10): This ball uses a rabalon HR from which they could impart enough spin. With sharpened
ionomer that provides a durable outer layer and good square grooves (2) even in moderate rough, strong players can
rebound. now impart enough spin to not only hold the green but also aim
C C C C C C
straight for the hole without danger of overshooting.
n At present, titanium composite materials or alloys allow for
C bigger club heads and larger sweet spots than those found in the
−
O O relatively heavy steel or wooden heads of the past. A larger sweet
metal ion + spot is more forgiving when the club face is not struck dead-on.
−
Therefore a player can risk generating more club-head speed at
HO O O O impact without losing accuracy or precision. As golf technology
C C becomes more forgiving to off-center strikes, the premium of
C C C C C C accuracy and precision is being replaced by power.
n
Example Golf Clubs
generalized ionomer polymer
Examples of golf clubs, their advantages, and composition
Golf Clubs include:
• PureSpin Clubs Driver (11): The clubface is titanium
From the early 1930s through the 1970s, the shafts of clubs with 10 carats of industrial diamonds bonded to it. The
were made predominantly from steel. Experiments with alumi- diamonds, a 3-D network of covalently bonded carbons
num shafts suffered from poor torque performance. Steel has atoms, provide a hardened hitting surface; thus more
good shaft performance but is quite heavy for the average player. energy can be transferred to the ball. The use of titanium
Replacing steel with graphite reduced the weight of the club enables the club to be lightweight for greater club head
significantly and allowed for the use of longer shafts. Reducing speed. The shaft is liquid crystal polymer (LCP) such as
weight and increasing the shaft length enables increased swing Kevlar.
speeds. Although the overall weight of the heads of the irons and
the woods have changed very little over time, both types of club O O
heads have gotten much bigger due to new materials and design
elements. This is most evident in the club head of the driver. N N
The original “woods” were made from actual wood, most often
oil-hardened persimmon. “Wood” now indicates a type of club H H
n
rather than the material from which it is constructed; today they
are constructed of materials other than wood, such as titanium Kevlar

1320 Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 85 No. 10 October 2008 • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • © Division of Chemical Education
 Chemical Education Today

• Prairie Pathfinder Clubs (12): These clubs have a head 17). More importantly there is a definite trend for the longer
made of chromium–nickel alloy. They have the desired hitters to win the major events with long tough golf courses. It
trampoline effect—the ability of the club face to depress is apparent from available data (see online supplement, 17, 18)
and then spring back. This ability is quantified by measur- that there was a significant advantage to being accurate in the
ing the coefficient of restitution (COR), expressed as a 1970s and early- to mid-1980s, before many of the modern ma-
percentage determined by a ball’s speed off the clubhead terials became commonplace. Most of the championships were
divided by the speed at which it struck the clubhead (13). won by players who ranged in driving accuracy rank from 5 to
COR is limited to 0.830 under USGA rules. 57. A few of the players, like Jack Nicklaus, were ranked high in
driving distance, but he also ranked high in driving accuracy and
• Aldila NVS Clubs (14): Aldila uses additives that
was known for being one of the best all around drivers of the golf
provide additional strength and stiffness from carbon
ball of all time. Most players were not particularly long, but they
composites that have a carbon matrix with graphite fibers
were accurate. The 1990s were ushered in by John Daly and the
laced throughout. The driver head is made of finely milled
“grip it and rip it” generations to follow. Although a few players
titanium or a combination of a titanium face plate with a
with low distance stats still managed to triumph in the 1990s,
composite crown, thus moving as much weight as possible
the high performance materials were pushing the architects of
to the bottom and back of the club. Some manufacturers
golf courses to design ever longer distances; by the late 1990s
are now using carbon nanotubes to strengthen the graph-
the power players were essentially dominant.
ite materials.

A Changing Style of Play The Future of Golf

The continued incorporation of modern-day materials into What’s in the future for golf ? The PGA and LPGA have
equipment has resulted in a shift in the playing style of leading instituted a drug testing program (19), screening for anabolic
players. The days may be numbered for players who finesse the steroids, beta blockers, and masking agents among others (see
golf course; they are quickly becoming anachronisms to the “grip online supplement, 20). There are new regulations on the driver
it and rip it” mentality and style of play. Indeed it has been previ- head volumes and COR (21). It was inevitable that restrictions
ously shown (15) that there is a statistical correlation between be placed on the clubs and balls (22). If current combinations
driver distance and scoring average. Gone are the 1960s and of club/shaft/balls routinely fly more than 300 yards with a
1970s when players like Lee Trevino and Lanny Wadkins curved given swing speed, then ultimately ingenious chemists and
and bounced the ball around the golf course, strategically plac- engineers will increase this to 350 or 400 yards. Where will
ing each subsequent shot for the best angle of attack and shot it end? There certainly is no end to the chemistry, materials
trajectory. Today you still see some shorter-hitting players on science, and engineering with these products, whether it is the
the occasional tour stop, players like Fred Funk or Corey Pavin. recent MRI of a golf ball (23) or super elastic gum metal alloys
They are very accomplished, but they are relegated to the bottom (24).The questions are more philosophical in nature: what is
of the driving distance stats. Most of the good younger players best for the sport?
tend to be longer players. These new players get limited playing
opportunities in their first years on tour, and those events will Literature Cited
be typically on newer, less known courses built for the longer
hitting modern Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) player, 1. (a) McKay, S. E.; Boone, S. R.; Cole, R. S.; Giffin, G. A.; Kopitzke,
tending to be well over 7200 yards. R. Modern Sport and Chemistry: What a Chemically Aware
There are still a few venerable courses on tour that minimize Sports Fanatic Should Know. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 813–819.
the length advantage, courses like the Colonial (Fort Worth, (b) Carraher, C. E.; Seymour, R. B. Polymer Chemistry: An Intro-
TX) or Merion (Ardmore, PA). Old style courses tend to be duction; Dekker: New York, 1981.
shorter and have severe doglegs that force longer-hitting play- 2. Stuller, J. Better Golfing through Chemistry. Invention & Tech-
ers to lay up and or provide severe penalties with out-of-bounds nology Magazine [online] 1993, 9; http://www.americanheritage.
and water hazards for wayward shots, such as the “target golf ” com/articles/magazine/it/1993/1/1993_1_46.shtml (accessed Jul
Tournament Players Club (TPC) in Jacksonville, FL. An estab- 2008).
lished course like Torrey Pines in San Diego is being lengthened 3. Gross, J. Golf Balls: Polymer Chemistry Has Played a Key Role in
out to over 7600 yards for the 2008 U.S. Open to keep the the Evolution of the Golf Ball. Science and Technology 2005, 83,
approach shots challenging. If the U.S. Golf Association keeps 34.
using length to keep the winning score of its championships to 4. For example, see: Golf Ball Construction. http://www.golf-
about level par, fewer and fewer of the old style players will be balls101.com/golf-ball-construction.aspx. Construction of Golf
able to compete. Balls. http://www.golfjoy.com/golf_physics/construction.asp. The
Few would disagree that there is a much greater emphasis on Basics on Golf Balls. http://www.learnaboutgolf.com/beginner/
fitness and strength than ever before. Compared with the other balltypes.html (accessed Jul 2008).
tour players, the modern day big four players (Tiger Woods, Phil 5. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Off the Tee, May 4, 1999. http://
Mickelson, Ernie Els, and Vijay Singh) all rank high in driving www2.jsonline.com/golfplus/may99/gary50499.asp (accessed Aug
distance but much lower in the category of driving accuracy (16, 2008).

© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 85 No. 10 October 2008 • Journal of Chemical Education 1321
 Chemical Education Today

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6. Top-Flite XL 3000 Super Long–Golf Balls. http://www.golfballs. Abstract and keywords

com/PB1091/Top-Flite-XL-3000-Super-Long-Golf-Balls.html. Full text (PDF) with links to cited URLs and JCE articles
(accessed Jul 2008).
Supplement
7. A History of Innovation by Top Flite Golf. http://topflite.com/
history/ (accessed Jul 2008). Three tables showing Top 25 Money Leaders (2008), PGA cham-
8. Callaway Golf. http://shop.callawaygolf.com/Balls/Callaway_Golf_ pionship Winners (1980–2007), and PGA Banned Substances
Balls/HX_Tour.html (accessed Jul 2008). List.
9. (a) Dupont Surlyn. http://www2.dupont.com/Surlyn/en_US/ Fully manipulable ( Jmol) versions of many polymers are part of
products/golfball_resins.html (accessed Jul 2008). (b) Jerome, R.; the JCE Featured Molecules collection on JCE Online at http://
Mazurek, M. In Ionomers: Synthesis, Structure, Properties and Ap- www.JCE.DivCHED.org/JCEWWW/Features/MonthlyMol-
plications; Tant, M. R., Mauritz, K. A., Wilkes, G. L., Eds.; Blackie ecules/. This month’s column on p 1456 expands that collection.
Academic and Professional: London, 1997; Chapter 1.
10. Srixon Trispeed. http://www.srixon.com/pr_01_25_07b.html (ac- Scott McKay is a member of the Department of Chemistry,
cessed Jul 2008). University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO; mckay@ucmo.
11. Pure Spin. http://www.purespin.com/ (accessed Jul 2008). edu. He was a member of the collegiate golf team at Eastern Kentucky
12. Prairie Golf. http://www.prairiegolf.com/ (accessed Jul 2008). University in Richmond, KY. Timothy Robbins is an undergradu-
13. Coefficient of Restitution. http://golf.about.com/cs/golfterms/g/ ate chemistry student at the University of Central Missouri. Renée
bldef_cor.htm (accessed Jul 2008). S. Cole is a member of the Department of Chemistry, University of
14. Aldila NVS. http://www.aldila.com/docs/2007_Catalog.pdf (ac- Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO; [email protected].
cessed Jul 2008).
15. (a) Quinn, R. J. Exploring Correlation Coefficients with Golf
Statistics. Teaching Statistics 2006, 28, 10–13. (b) Regression
Analysis of Golf Statistics and their Relationship to PGA Tour
Performance. http://www.bus.ucf.edu/mdickie/Research%20
Methods/Student%20Papers/Sports/Ridenoure-PGA%20earnings.
pdf (accessed July 2008).
16. PGA Tour Statistics: 2008 PGA Tour Money Leaders. http://
www.pgatour.com/r/stats/info/?109 (accessed Jul 2008).
17. Top 25 Stats. http://www.pgatour.com/r/players/ (accessed Jul
2008)
18. PGA Championship Winners. http://golf.about.com/cs/
historyofgolf/a/pgachamps.htm (accessed Jul 2008).
19. PGA Banned Substance Press Release. http://www.pgatour.
com/2007/r/09/20/doping.chart/index.html?eref=sitesearch (ac-
cessed Jul 2008).
20. (a) Liska, K. Drugs and the Human Body with Implications for So-
ciety, 6th ed.; Challice, J.; Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ,
2000. (b) Velcheti, V.; Govindan, R. Insulin-Like Growth Factor
and Lung Cancer. J. Thoracic Oncology 2006, 1, 607–610. (c) Holt,
R.; Sonksen, P. H. Growth Hormone, IGF-1 and Insulin and
Their Abuse in Sport. Br. J. Pharmacol., 2008, 154, 542–556.
21. The Rules of Golf (USGA, 2008). http://www.usga.org/playing/
rules/pdf/2008ROG.pdf (accessed Jul 2008).
22. Murphy, M. A Connection That Matters. Golf Digest December
12, 2003, 13.
23. Kennedy, C. B.; Balcom, B. J.; Mastikhin, I. V. Three-Dimensional
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Rigid Polymeric Materials Using
Single-Point Ramped Imaging with T1 Enhancement (SPRITE).
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24. Ashley, S. Alloy by Design. Sci. Amer. 2003, 289, 24.

Supporting JCE Online Material

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1322 Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 85 No. 10 October 2008 • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • © Division of Chemical Education