Gyroscopic Putter

Respectfully submitted

As partial fulfillment

Of the requirements of the

Oklahoma Junior Academy of Science

Spring of 1999

By

John S. Long, Jr.

Science Department Westmoore High School

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73170

Spring 1999

Westmoore High School

12613 S. Western

Oklahoma City, OK, 73170

Introduction

Practice is imperative to improve a golf game, but obviously there is more to it than that. Practice the wrong things, or the wrong way, and you might find yourself getting worse. However, if you practice the right things, the right way, you can not help but improve. (1) This is the case with all athletic events whether it is throwing a baseball, shooting a free throw, or hitting a golf ball.

Putting is the portion of golf in which the player uses a putter; this includes on the green and on the green fringe. The putter consists of a shaft and a head. The shape and length of the

club varies with each player. Ideally, when putting, the player stands square to the ball, leaning over the club, which is swung in a pendulum motion with the length of the head directly

perpendicular to the desired path of the ball

The body’s natural tendency, however, veers from this perfect pendulum motion.

Penick describes the troubles of putting through a story of an old student (2). In this anecdote Penick sows that the

problems, which are consistent with all putting difficulties, are stance and stroke. The stance can be visually corrected,

but the stroke is substantially more difficult to fine tune. Turning the putter’s face out away from the body puts the vector of the force transfer at an inappropriate angle, sending the ball away from the line of target in the direction the player is facing. The opposite twist creates the same problem in the opposite direction. Holding the shaft too far from the body, placing the hands above the putter head, or leaning to far back away from the club also leads to problems with club twisting. Inevitably the problem with the player’s stroke comes down to stability of the club throughout the swing.

If these bad habits are practiced continuously the players memorized stroke will be wrong no mater what amount he or she might practice. To remedy this problem a multitude of teaching devices have been developed.

The Gimme Putter approached the leveling problem by hinging the juncture between the head and adjustable shaft (3). The Gimme Putter even adjusts for a left-handed player. This feature makes keeping the putter at the correct alignment to the ground a bit easier.

(Fig-1)

Eulau designed a putter attachment with curved bars extending from the heel and toe of the putter head in the direction of the ball (4). The bars gave a visual aid of the alignment of the ball to the club (Fig 1). Different teaching putters and putter attachments can be found in the hundreds, with each having a different focus. However, there is no club that focuses on the complete swing. No club stabilizes the swing in all directions and still allows the straight putting swing-through. To create a putter of this type would require a force that would resist all movement except in the direction of the ball. A gyroscope could supply this force.

The angular acceleration of a gyroscope holds the axis in a fixed position in respect to the direction of the spin. A gyroscope that has only one plane of spin holds its axis directly perpendicular to the plane of motion. According to Newton’s First Law it would take an outside force to change the direction of the angular acceleration (5). Positioning the gyroscope’s axis parallel to the putter’s head would allow the putter to swing freely in the desired vector of the golf ball, while resisting motion in all other planar directions.

In 1989 Scot Hoch lost the Masters Tournament on a three-foot put (6). The putting stroke needs to be constant. When Hoke lost the Masters tournament, he was concentrating on the score and missed the shot. Because the correct putting style was not stable enough as a memorized motion, Hoke’s inconsistencies showed up when he was distracted. The purpose of this "Gyroscopic Putter" is to teach. With this club, a player could not only see and feel a straight swing, but he would also be able to focus on the stance and its relation to a "perfect put."

Methodology

To obtain the resistance desired to stabilize a swinging putter, the gyroscope needs to be mounted with the direction of the gyroscopes spinning weal parallel to the intended path of the ball. This leaves the axis perpendicular to path of the ball, but parallel to the length of the putter head.

To mount the device I began with an 3"x4"x .75" (7.2x10.2x1.9cm) oak mounting block. A nine-volt motor was mounted in the block by drilling a 1-1/16" (2.7cm) hole. Fixed to the shaft of the motor was a ten-tooth primary gear with a ¼" (0.7cm) diameter. This is connected to a thirty-two toothed receiving gear. It is mounted to the gyroscope with a 1" (2.5cm) thick and ¾" (1.9cm) diameter piece of dow-rod. A 1" (2.5cm) rolling pen is fitted under the gear to space the gear off the wood (Fig-2). The spinning disc in the gyroscope is a 3.5" (8.9cm) steel disk. The block was shave down to fit in a cylinder container that was 3.5" (8.9cm) deep and 4"

(Fig-2)

(10.2cm) in diameter. To power the motor I used one nine-volt battery. I first mounted the battery box with toggle switch to the side of device housing. Then wiring holes were drilled for connection to the motor.

To secure device to the club I used a one and a half-inch metal bracket and two wood screws. It would be possible to cut the putter and permanently mount the device, but I opted to use a detachable model to allow the player to remove the device when he felt more comfortable with his/her putting.

After the construction of the device it was tested by two beginner and three novice golfers. For this test two identical traditional style "Red Crown" putters were used. The Gyroscopic putter device was mounted to one of the two putters. A 2.5-lb. weight (the approximate weight of the Gyroscopic Putter device) was secured to the second putter and used as a control. A four-foot by four inch by one-quarter inch piece of plywood was placed behind the hole perpendicular to the direction the players were putting. The purpose of the testing was to show the level of accuracy improvement with the Gyroscopic Putter.

The first test group was at ten yards. Three golf balls were placed ten feet away from the cup on a standard flat practice green. The distance from the rim of the cup to the point the ball hit the board was measured after the three balls were hit. The distances were recorded. The same three balls were placed in their original position ten feet from the cup. This time the balls were hit with the Gyroscopic Putter. Again the distances to the edge of the cup were recorded. This process was repeated twice, hitting a total of nine balls with each club from ten feet.

This process was repeated again at fifteen and then twenty feet. A total of fifty-four

swings, twenty-seven swings with each club, over three different distances, and their accuracy were recorded for each individual.

Results-

The results of the test were recorded. Players A, B, and C considered themselves novice and Players D and E consider themselves beginners. The averages of each test distance for each player are shown hear with the percentage of accuracy increase or decrease with the Gyroscopic Putter. The following graphs and chart show the difference in accuracy of the Traditional and Gyroscopic Putter. Each graph represents the average distance as compared to the test distance for the player listed with each. The chart shows the calculated averages for each putter at each distance and that player’s overall percent improvement.

The results show an increase in accuracy for all players. The highest percentage of improvement was seen in Players D and E. On average the players showed a 26.4% improvement in accuracy.

Player A Conv. Gyro % Improvement .

10’ (3.04m)- 4.3"(11. cm) 2.7"(6.8cm) 21.7%

15’ (4.6m)- 6.9"(17.4cm) 5.3" (13.5cm)

20’ (6.1m)- 9.5"(24.1cm) 8.1"(20.6cm)

Player B _

10’(3.04m)- 3.2"(8.1cm) 2.3"(5.8cm) 14.3%

15’ (4.6m)- 6.7"(17.cm) 5.8"(14.7cm)

20’ (6.1m)- 9"(22.9cm) 8.1"(20.6cm)

Player C _

10’(3.04m)- 4"(10.2cm) 3.2"(8.1cm) 23.7%

15’ (4.6m)- 6.2(15.75cm) 5.8"(14.7cm)

20’ (6.1m)- 11.3(28.7cm) 8.4"(21.3cm)

Player D _

10’(3.04m)- 7"(17.8cm) 4.1"(10.4cm) 31.9%

15’ (4.6m)- 7"(17.8cm) 4.8"(12.2cm)

20’ (6.1m)- 12..3"(31.2cm) 9"(22.9cm)

Player E _

10’(3.04m)- 8.6"(21.8cm) 4.6"(11.7cm) 40.6%

15’ (4.6m)- 9.2"(23.4cm) 5.9"(15cm)

20’ (6.1m)- 14.2"(36.1cm) 8.5"(21.6cm)

Conclusions-

The best way to learn how to do some thing right is to feel or see it done right for yourself. This Research shows That the Gyroscopic Putter improves the accuracy of putting. The Gyroscopic Putter allows the player to feel the error in his/her swing, forcing the individual to swing correctly. This repetitiveness leads to muscle memory, making the perfect putt feel as natural as the bad swinging habits did before. The way you learn your swing is the way you will swing when you are concentrating on other things. Learning it right and practicing it right are the keys to the perfect putt. For this reason the Gyroscopic Putter is the ultimate learning tool.

Reference:

1. http://www.cegolf.com/muscle.htm "Muscle Memory."

2. Penick, Harvy. And If You Play Golf, You’re my Friend. Simon & Schroder, NY, 1993.

3. http://www.thegimme.com / "The Gimmie Putter"

4. http://www.patents.ibm.com/cgi-bin/viewpat.cmd/US05351961 "US Patent Eulau"

5. Considine, Douglas. " Gyrosopes." Van Nostrans’ Scientific Encyclopedia. 6^th edition, 1983

6. http://www.golfweb.com/gwmah.htm "The Masters History."