1910] 



on the Dynamics of a Golf Ball. 



809 



rotating in the direction shown in Fig. 26 : the rules we found for 

 the effect of rotation on the difference of pressure on the two sides 

 ■of a ball in a blast of air show that in this case the pressure on the 

 front half of the ball will be greater than that on the rear half, and 

 thus tend to stop the flight of the ball. If, however, the spin was 

 that for a slice, the pressure on the rear half would be greater than 



Fig. 26. 



Fig. 27. 



the pressure in front, so that the difference in pressure would tend to 

 push on the ball and make it travel further than it otherwise would. 

 The moral of this is that if the wind is coming from the left we 

 should plav up into the wind and slice the ball, while if it is coming 

 from the right we should plav up into it and pull the ball. 



I have not time for more than a few words as to how the ball 



Fig. 28. 



Fig. 29. 



acquires the spin from the club. But if you grasp the principle that 

 the action Ijetween the club and the ball depends only on their relative 

 motion, and that it is the same whether we have the ball fixed and 

 move the club, or have the club fixed and project the ball against it, 

 the main features are very easily understood. 



Suppose Fig. 27 represents the section of the head of a lofted club 



