Sport Science

   Golf putters

In collaboration with our partner Division, LLC., we have designed and patented a class of golf putterheads characterized by having extremely large moments of inertia (MOI) for a given weight and size.  These MOI values are more than double those of any putterhead on the market or disclosed in patents. 

We achieve these large MOIs in four novel ways. 

• (1) The putterhead consists of two to four relatively heavy "load" elements placed in locations as far as possible from the putterheaad center of mass (COM), together with a minimal number of relatively light "connecting elements", including a face plate and shaft holder.  (2) The shapes of these elements are chosen to increase the MOI.  These shapes, and their distributions within the putterhead, result in novel appearances of the putterheads.
• (3) The dimensions of the load elements are chosen to increase the MOI.  These dimensions also give rise to novel appearances of the putterheads.
• (4) The weights of the load elements are determined, by mathematical optimization calculations, to maximize the MOI, given the configuration, overall weight, and overall size of the putterhead.  (The sizes are consistent with USGA regulations.)  A a putter head that embodies these principles is shown in Fig. 4.6.   This prototype was designed and fabricated by our partner Division, LLC. 

If a correctly swung putter head makes contact with a golf ball at the sweet spot (the point directly in front of the COM), the ball will rebound at the intended speed and in the intended direction.  If the impact is not at the sweet spot, the ball will rebound with a decreased speed and in a deviated direction.  The larger the putterhead MOI, the smaller are these speed and direction errors.  In other words, the larger the MOI, the larger is the area on the clubface that produces an acceptable hit.  That is why the MOI is so important.  And that is why, other things being equal, the larger the MOI, the better.