Golf

Putt-Kew is a golf related fun game which started in 1990 as a game between a father and his 9 year old son at a holiday resort.

Since that time, they worked diligently to develop a simple game that would have a few objectives:

It had to provide useful practice opportunity for golf enthusiasts, especially those who do not have the opportunity to be members of a golf club

It had to be realistic to golf, unlike many fun games which may use similair balls and clubs, this game had to provide a challenging way to play a subset of golf in smaller space, quicker, and yet not deviate from the true game in the area where it focuses.

It had to be attractive to non-golfers as well as regular players, to provide these separate groups with an opportunity to actually play together with both groups enjoying their participation.

The game that evolved from this turned out to be very appropriate to the goals, but the one major constraint was that having chosen the putting angle as the focus, the greens proved impractical to maintain where the game is played frequently. The holes needed regular moving, and the green in itself required almost 24/7 maintenance and care.

In 2005 the decision was taken to investigate the possibilities of using a synthetic green. The son was sent off to review the possibilities in the USA, and once a suitable green type was tracked down, a first synthetic version was installed in Pretoria, South Africa.

The synthetic green proved to be totally within the requirements of the game - it did not react too favourably to chips to the green, but on the green itself the reaction and feel was quite acceptable compared to the real thing. Since the game was purely aimed at putting, it was a case of getting the undulations realistic, get the surface to be as close as possible to a bent grass green, and the stimp to be similair to that on the local club greens or perhaps just a bit faster (like on a championship touring green)

In 2007 the original designer retired from his IT job, and decided to promote the game and get it played in a wider circle. The original prototype site is still in regular use as it is in the grounds of a guesthouse.

A second playing green was installed in Pretoria at a different venue, and a few more are in the planning stages, hopefully to be ready for public use during the coming summer period of 2008.

Putt-Kew has a set of 11 rules, a few regular players, and is now the registered trademark and name of a company dedicated to the expansion of the game.

A league also exists, and game results are recorded in view of enabling players to keep track of their standing in the league rankings. Players also have access to a website where the top scores are regularly updated for review.

To summarise: Putt-Kew is a game focused on 40% of the game of golf which is the putting, played on a suitable synthetic or natural green called a table, in which players compete in turns to sink 18 holes in as few strokes as possible, followed after sinking the 18th ball, by then sinking the 19th ball first. The player who sinks the final (19th) ball is the game winner. For league game purposes, all strokes are recorded on a scorecard similair to that used in golf, and registered on a Putt-Kew games database.

Putt-Kew is a golf related fun game which started in 1990 as a game between a father and his 9 year old son at a holiday resort.

Since that time, they worked diligently to develop a simple game that would have a few objectives:

It had to provide useful practice opportunity for golf enthusiasts, especially those who do not have the opportunity to be members of a golf club

It had to be realistic to golf, unlike many fun games which may use similair balls and clubs, this game had to provide a challenging way to play a subset of golf in smaller space, quicker, and yet not deviate from the true game in the area where it focuses.

It had to be attractive to non-golfers as well as regular players, to provide these separate groups with an opportunity to actually play together with both groups enjoying their participation.

The game that evolved from this turned out to be very appropriate to the goals, but the one major constraint was that having chosen the putting angle as the focus, the greens proved impractical to maintain where the game is played frequently. The holes needed regular moving, and the green in itself required almost 24/7 maintenance and care.

In 2005 the decision was taken to investigate the possibilities of using a synthetic green. The son was sent off to review the possibilities in the USA, and once a suitable green type was tracked down, a first synthetic version was installed in Pretoria, South Africa.

The synthetic green proved to be totally within the requirements of the game - it did not react too favourably to chips to the green, but on the green itself the reaction and feel was quite acceptable compared to the real thing. Since the game was purely aimed at putting, it was a case of getting the undulations realistic, get the surface to be as close as possible to a bent grass green, and the stimp to be similair to that on the local club greens or perhaps just a bit faster (like on a championship touring green)

In 2007 the original designer retired from his IT job, and decided to promote the game and get it played in a wider circle. The original prototype site is still in regular use as it is in the grounds of a guesthouse.

A second playing green was installed in Pretoria at a different venue, and a few more are in the planning stages, hopefully to be ready for public use during the coming summer period of 2008.

Putt-Kew has a set of 11 rules, a few regular players, and is now the registered trademark and name of a company dedicated to the expansion of the game.

A league also exists, and game results are recorded in view of enabling players to keep track of their standing in the league rankings. Players also have access to a website where the top scores are regularly updated for review.

To summarise: Putt-Kew is a game focused on 40% of the game of golf which is the putting, played on a suitable synthetic or natural green called a table, in which players compete in turns to sink 18 holes in as few strokes as possible, followed after sinking the 18th ball, by then sinking the 19th ball first. The player who sinks the final (19th) ball is the game winner. For league game purposes, all strokes are recorded on a scorecard similair to that used in golf, and registered on a Putt-Kew games database.

What is friction in golf? This seems like a simple question on the surface (pun intended). Deep down, it is a very, very complex question which could have numerous answers and explanations.
To understand how friction factors into golf, an understanding of friction is necessary. Friction generally refers to the physical resistance between objects in motion which come in contact with each other. Each object will have a direct effect on the motion, or ability to move, of the other object.

Friction plays a big part on how golf is played, and on how the equipment performs. Here are a few of the major elements of the game in which friction plays a large role.

Ball Flight

There is friction when a golf ball travels though the air. This friction occurs between the surface of the golf ball, and the particles which make up the air it is traveling through. Air which is thicker or more dense provides more resistance to the golf ball through friction. This resistance causes the ball to travel shorter distances. More moisture in the air means more resistance and an even shorter ball flight. Air density is affected by gravity. Farther from the earth�s surface gravity is lessened, resulting in thinner air. Thinner air provides less friction and resistance, resulting in the ball traveling farther. Because of the differences in air density due to altitude, the golf ball generally flies shorter closer to sea level.

Ball Roll

Once a ball hits the ground there is considerably more resistance and friction. This friction occurs between the surface of the golf ball and the ground. Because the ground causes far more friction and resistance than the air, a golf ball will travel a considerably longer distance airborne than it would rolling on the ground.

The makeup of the ground where the ball is rolling can have varying levels of friction. For instance a sand trap would have more friction than a tightly mowed grassy area. That friction prevents the ball from travelling very far, which is why most shots which land in sand traps tend to stay in them and not bounce out.

Similarly, longer grass produces far more friction than shorter grass. The ball will travel shorter distances in longer grass because of the increased resistance and friction.

Club-Ball Friction

For the split second that the golf club comes in contact with the golf ball at impact, there is a tremendous amount of friction. Impact friction is an interaction between the golf ball�s surface and the face of the golf club.

When a golf club strikes a golf ball, this friction and resistance can greatly affect the flight of the ball due to the amount of spin imparted on the ball. For instance, a club glancing across the ball will create a side-spin, due to the friction and interaction between the club and the ball. That side-spin can cause the ball to curve in a particular direction, depending on the angle that the club cut across the ball. This is how draws (slight curves from right-to-left for right-handed players), fades (slight curves from left-to-right for right handed players), hooks (large curves from right-to-left for right-handed players), and slices (large curves from left-to-right for right-handed players) are produced.