Evening star., 1928-04-22
Mathematics on Golf Links

their face value. the bail would have
travelled. had It not been for the wind
no less than six and one-haE miles
IS
T GIVE next a calculation Of even
L more acute current interest. IL Is
In regard to moving the head" How
often Is an admirable stroke az soil
spoiled by moving the head! have
seen members Of our golf club sit silent
and glum all evening, rurmuring from
time to time, II moved my head.
When Jones and ! play together. ]
often hit the ball sideways into me
vegetable garden from which no bal
returns they have one OF these or
every links: il Is Scottish InventAor ,
And whenever do 50, Jones always
says. You moved your head" In re-
turn. when he drives his ball away up
into air and down again 10 yarcS u
front of him. always retaliate ws1c
the repartee, You moved your heac
old man"
In short. II absolute iulmooiiity o.
the head could be achieved. the naloi
problem OF golf would be solved.
Let us put the theory mathematicalS
The head, poised on the neck, mas
circumferential sweep or orbit OF socag
> inches, not counting the roliing q
the ewes. The circumfersntial SweeE
Of golf ball is based on a RADIUS @!
$50 Yards. or q circumference ot seoa.
I 500 wards which Is very nearly eclSIsl
10 a mile. Inside this circumference lS
a area Of 37.S7S.400 square feet, t0s
whole Of which is controlled By tltls
movement OF the human neck.
In other words. II 3 PLAYER were %
wlygle his neck even i-lso or an men
the amount Of ground on which tf1s
ball might falsely alight wo0l6 BE haG
a million feet. II at The same tune
he multiplieS the effect by rollins his
eyes. the ball might altght anywhere
/ feel certain that after reading tns$,
no sensible player will move MS whole
head
A further calculation rsnAins-and
one perhaps OF even greater. practical
interest than the ones above,
Everybody who plays goN IS VEL
aware that on some days he plays eet-
ter than on others, CUeSston--hoV
often does man really play his game
i TAKE the case Of AnAphihiuS lcns>
There are certain days when he :
as he admits himself, pat on h
game" by not having ON his pgoyT'
g0lf vest. On other days the light W.
him OF his game at ether times, ;s
dark, 81 too, the heat, So again, 81
cold, He IS often put 81 his game es'
cause he has been up too late the niSG'
before. cr similarly because ne he
been 10 bed too early Ae night before
the barking Of = dog always rus hGn
OF his game, 80 do eAildVens ar aG0lS>
or women, BAD news puts him OF n,
game, SO does SN>d news, 80 deeS IN
absence Of news,
All OF this may ee expressed yaaths
mattcally by very simple appllcS
ton OF the theory e1 permutattonS ar
probability let uS say that there a.
50 toytnS of disturbance All
one OF which pats Jones' OF his gam
Zach one ~ these disturbances happen
say, once IN 10 DAYS What chance
there that day viii eNanAe when not
single one Of them oecurSs
The formula Is a little complicated
but mathematician will recognise q
answer at oNee as y over | pltS \
squared over plus TX over II
times N. In fact, that Is exactly how
often Jones PLAYS at his best, X evet
plus Y squared over y
squared over l. worked cat IN time
and reckoning four games 60 the
week, and allowing ger leap wears and
solar eclnSeS, IL comes 30 aeout once
In 1850, 600 years,
And srom watching ,teneS play. ]
think that thts Is about right
teepSrlsat, t@sSi