Technology And Tradition in Sports Essay

These magazines and movies are only a small portion of how golf has helped changed society.  Golf provided a helping hand in bringing the American nation closer together as equals.  Blacks and Whites of all ages and gender have been given the chance to play along side each other in a safe environment.  Sports sometimes provide a place for equality.  Golf is a great example of this equality.  Stossel says "golf is beginning to look more like America: diverse, multicultural, and largely middle class" (2).  But, will Americans take advantage of the

It is unknown when the game of golf originated, but it is believed that people began playing in Europe during the middle ages. In the United States, golf was a sport primarily played by the wealthy individuals until tournaments began being televised. Since then, golf has grown to be a very lucrative industry with over 27 million golfers nationwide by the end of the 1990’s. “Competition in the Golf Equipment Industry,” a case study written by John E. Gamble of the University of South Alabama, is an overview of the problems currently facing major companies in the golf equipment industry: technological limitations (due to golf’s governing organizations), a decline in the number of golfers,

Golf has changed a lot since it first started in 1297, where a leather ball was hit into a hole and the fewest hits won. The golf clubs and balls have changed significantly and the number of options has increased as well. They have gone from wood drivers to drivers made of complex blends of elements that make the ball fly higher and farther. Since the golf clubs and balls have all been improved, it’s a surprise that some of the rules haven’t been changed to make the game more fair.

Imagine the sun bursting through the trees for the first time of the new day, the smell of freshly cut grass still potent to your nose as you tee the ball up for a round of golf in the cool mist of a spring morning. "That is what brings you back every time, the smell of the air, the coolness of the whether and the beautiful surroundings that make every shot enjoyable." (Suess, PI) This is the game of golf in its finest and most exquisite time to many people and many people it has touched in its long history. Golf is a lifestyle and not just games to people that are avid in playing. The game of golf has a history that is rich in technological advances and personal accomplishments, which through time has shown to shape

In 1848, a golfing clergyman from St. Andrews, the Reverend Adam Paterson, experimented with a substance from India called gutta-percha. It had been sent to him as padding covering a gift and he found that the material could be softened with heat and then molded into a hard ball. The gutty as it was known was not an instant success as the smooth ball tended to duck in flight. Players soon found that its performance improved at the end of a round when the ball received some nicks and scratches. Therefore, newly molded balls were scored all over with a saddler 's hammer with such good playing results that the demise of the feathery was certain.

There is a clear inconsistency in the claim that Performance Indicator (PI) offers significant profit uplift potential for golf ball manufacturers and the fact that no single manufacturer is yet to adopt the technology. This memo discusses the key arguments on why this is the case.

In, “Why Booming Distance is Ruining Golf,” the author, Ben Alberstadt, explores the idea of how “shot-making” on the PGA Tour is now non-existent and it has become all about monster drives and impressive approach shots. The author begins by stating some facts that show how driving averages are increasing at an unsustainable rate. In 2011 the PGA tour average driving distance was 290.9 yards and three years before that it was around 287.3 yards. Alberstadt continues with, saying that golf ball distances have also gone up which in turn is costing courses money. This

The first geometric topic involved in golf is the circumference of circles. For people who do not know the objective of the game of golf, it is fairly simple. Put the ball in the hole. The circumference of the hole is 13.35 inches, while the diameter is 4.25 inches. It is extremely important that the creators of the course measure each distance from the tee box to the hole. Also, the diameter of a regulation golf ball is 1.68 inches. The circumference is 5.28 inches. Though it is not clear exactly how the standard measurement of the hole came up, it is obvious that it greatly affects the scores of golfers. If it was made a little bit smaller, scores will rise greatly. If the hole were too be made a little bit bigger, and scores would come down significantly.

Golf ball manufacturers would be looking to achieve several key strategic goals, such as increased sales, increased market share and / or increased profitability, to adopt and implement PI’s technology. Accordingly, manufacturers are mainly concerned with the cost and implications on manufacturing, competitor reactions (and customer perception), the forecast growth in the new balls market, the share they could capture and the financial details of agreement.

Fourteen clubs - four wedges, six irons, a rescue, a three wood, a driver, and a putter - this is golf. It is one of the most mentally challenging sports in the world. It can fool beginners who are deceived by its simplicity. Golf is often underestimated by those who have never attempted to play the sport. While it has often been known as a “rich man’s” sport, in recent years this perception has begun to change. There are a number of other generalizations made when talking about golf, yet these are most always from those who have never experienced, played, or followed the game. One should question how a critic with no knowledge of the activity could state whether or not golf should be considered a sport. Golf is a sport, regardless of what any critic has to say. Studies and experimentation, along with the experience itself, reveal all of the athletic aspects that make golf better than most sports.

The U.S. Golf Association (USGA) specified the characteristics of legal balls within tight parameters. These restrictions on size, weight, materials, texture, etc., seemingly left little room for product innovation. In fact, the USGA regulations specified not just what went into a ball, but how it could perform, stipulating to within 10-20 yards how far the ball could travel when hit by a certain type of club traveling at a certain speed, all verified under controlled conditions with robotic testing equipment. Nonetheless, new product introductions were rampant in the industry, with slight changes in surface coatings and dimple patterns, for example, being touted for their ability to add a handful of yards to a golfer’s shots, to give more accuracy, or to create greater control through faster spin on the ball. In addition, ball manufacturers spent millions of dollars on advertising campaigns for their balls. There were three basic types of balls, all conforming to the same general specifications. The oldest technology still in use was the three-piece ball, which consisted of a core, windings, and a cover; this ball was good for spin and overall control. The second, and most popular, type of ball was the twopiece ball, which eliminated the windings of the three-piece ball; this ball produced more distance. The newest technology was the “solid core, multi-layered ball,” which had taken the

“Given the year we just experienced in golf, it would be phenomenal if we see anything in 2001 that will even remotely compare. We witnessed an incredible season by the game’s most dominant player-in this era or any other. We saw how fans and players alike could respect the game in an international competition. And, we have seen the game’s visibility skyrocket” (Strange 20).

With the professional endorsement by these golfers, the target market was able to see the product in action and also learn how to properly use them. With practice, these average

If this technology were universally adopted by all manufacturers, there may be benefit to the industry as a whole. However, value brand manufacturers feel that brand image might be tarnished by concern about consumer’s “infringement on their access to cheap used balls.” Additionally, high-end manufacturers’ sales, which represent 67% of total new balls market, will be reluctant to adopt the technology due the belief that the consumers may buy new value brand golf balls rather than their own premium brand golf balls.

As anyone who has played a round of golf will attest to, the sport is based around many fundamental principals of physics. These basic laws are involved with every aspect of the game from how a player swings the club to how the ball moves through the air on its way toward the pin. It is the challenge that physics presents to the golfer that has allowed the game, and equipment used, to develop so drastically over the past one hundred years. The first golf balls used were called featheries. They were made with a horsehide cover packed with wet goose feathers. When the balls dried they became extremely hard. The major flaw with the featheries was that they could not be used when the conditions were wet because they