By Tom Wishon
Member Question:
Hi Tom,
Does a particular clubs smash factor drop over time due to wear?
-Scott T, Age 30, 3 handicap
Tom’s Answer:
It can, but that is usually only for a higher than normal club head speed player who also hits a LOT of balls. What happens is that the face starts to cave in very slightly over many hits and once that happens, the face cannot flex inward the same as before so the COR drops and the ball speed drops with it.
For today’s high COR head designs, the normal air cannon hit test done in development to check the face design is done by firing between 5,000 (short test) and 10,000 (more usual test) at the center of the face. Usual speed for the air cannon is 50 meters/second, which is around 114 mph or so.
After each 500 balls the head is inspected for cracks but the main check is the bulge and roll radii of the face. After the designated number of total “hits”, if the bulge and roll have “caved in” to only 1” less radius than the face had when the test started, the test is deemed successful and the head passes. But if the bulge/roll radii are…
Read the rest of what Tom has to say about Tom’s Corner in the January 2015 Monthly Handicap Improver here:
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