I came across some crazy and excellent golf ball physics, so I thought I would share! Here are some of this caveman’s favorites:

• The momentum of a well-hit drive just after impact is roughly equivalent to that of a bullet fired out of a typical 22-caliber rifle. The golf ball which weighs 1.62 oz. can exceed 150-mph after impact with a driver swung at 110-mph. Just after impact, a person hit by a golf ball would experience similar contact forces as that of being struck by a 22-caliber bullet fired from a rifle with the speed of 750-mph. Remember that next time you hear “fore” or you’re thinking about to hitting into a slow playing group in front of you. However, a golf ball does experience drag force during flight that reduces the velocity by more than 50% by the time it lands.

• During collision between the ball and driver, peak force applied to the ball can be as high as 4000 pounds. A swing of 110-mph can result in the ball going from rest to 150-mph in 0.0005 seconds. In fact, during certain stages of impact, the ball experiences more than 50,000-g’s of acceleration!
• An oversized driver can increase distance up to 2% for a 1″ OFF CENTER hit when compared to that of a normal-sized driver. The benefit of having an oversized driver is only for OFF CENTER hits. In other words, hitting the “sweet spot” of an oversized clubhead will result in no advantage in terms of driving distance.
• A ball hit by a pitching wedge can have a backspin of 180 revolutions per second or 10,800 Rpm’s. This is much faster than the allowable Rpm’s for most sports cars. In fact, NASCAR racers average around 8000 Rpm’s while Indy car’s can go as high as 12,000 Rpm’s.

And if that’s not enough, you can read more here.

~Scratch

Bonus: This is what a golf ball looks hitting a steel plate at 150mph!

I have decided to that I love my Rock Heads so much, that I am going to run a sweepstakes for you all.

Want some more details?

• Prizes? $100 Gift Certificate to the cave!
• Who’s Eligible? ANYONE!! (well, the laws say you must be at least 18)
• How Long Do You Have To Sign-Up? I am giving ya until June 23rd at 12:08pm (EST), Random Time I know, but make sure you get those entries in before then!

  And most importantly:

• How do you Sign up? Well, choose one of these 3! For more chances, feel free to sign up on all of ‘em!

On Facebook:	On Twitter:
Or If you Don’t Have Those:

~Scratch

The 18th week of Caveman Golf Trivia has come to a close. Thank you all for playing! This Caveman has officially asked 450 trivia questions. Maybe I should Write a book! For those Rock Heads who are scorin’ at home, here are all the questions and their answers:

What year was the Mark H McCormack Award first given?
1998

Who received the first Mark H Mcormack Award?
Tiger Woods

Who has received every Mark H McCormack Award since the first one?
Tiger Woods

What is the Mark H McCormack Medal?
Awarded to the leading player in the World Amatuer Golf Ranking

What is the Mark H McCormack Award?
Given to the pro golfer who holds the #1 position for the greatest number of weeks each year.

Who holds the record for for most weeks on top of the World Golf Rankings?
Tiger Woods

Which golfer holds the record for second most consecutive weeks as the #1 world golfer?
Tiger Holds Both the first and second records, then after him is Greg Norman

What is the fewest weeks after turning pro that a golfer has made top 10 in the World Golf rankings?
33 weeks by Tiger Woods

Since 2000 how many golfers have been ranked Worlds #1?
Only 3

When was the first time Tiger Woods reached the #1 spot?
1997

How many PGA stops are named after Pro Golfers?
2

When Did the Byron Nelson classic become named after its first winner?
1968

Who has the lowest score at the Byron Nelson Championship?
Rory Sabbatini

Who holds the Byron Nelson Championship record for most times won?
Tom Watson

Which tournament ended Tiger’s record breaking streak of 142 consecutive cuts made?
Byron Nelson Championship

What is The Open Championship?
The British Open

How many different courses has the British Open been played on?
9

How did Adam Scott clinch his victory at the 2008 Byron Nelson?
Sunk a 48′ putt during the playoffs

Which golfer holds the record for consecutive top 20 placements?
Jack Nicklaus

What is the penalty for accidentally having 15 clubs in your bag for the duration of a hole?
2 strokes

How many holes can you have 15 clubs in your bag before being disqualified?
0 if you do it knowingly, 2 if you had no idea for a 4 stroke penalty

A player plays a stroke from Point A to Point B.
The player deems his ball unplayable and proceeds under either Rule 28b
or c. After dropping under penalty of one stroke, the ball comes to rest
at Point C. The player deems his ball unplayable for a second time and
wishes to proceed under Rule 28a, playing …from Point A. Is this
permissible?
It Is!

Is it Legal for two golfers playing in the same competition at
different times on the same day caddie for each other?
Yes, it is

When a cart is being moved by one of the players sharing it, Is the cart
and everything in it are deemed to be that player’s equipment
Yes

Congrats to jcbbarnard (twitter) and Andrew Wells(Facebook) for winning the trivia contests this week. Remember you get 5 points for having the first correct answer, but can also gain points just by having the correct answer! Weekly winners receive $10 gift certificates to RockBottomGolf.com. Colton Schacher was the high scorer on my golfin’ game

If I haven’t heard from you yet, why not come & play with me and the rest of the Rock Heads this week? Questions are posted between 2 and 4 pm EST on both Facebook and Twitter. To keep things fair, you can only win once per contest per month!

~Scratch

PS: If you have any great golfin’ trivia that you would like to see asked, send it over my way, or feel free to try and stump this caveman.

The spotlight at this weeks HP Byron Nelson Championship was shared between two up-and-comers; 22-yea-old Jason Day, and 16-year-old Jordan Speith.

This was Day’s first win on the PGA Tour and came 3 years and 65 PGA tour events after he set the record for youngest winner on the Nationwide Tour at 19. Even being sick couldn’t stop this golfer, he said:

“Yeah, started with a cold and then turned into bronchitis, and then the swine flu after that, and now I have a sinus infection. I’m actually on meds, and they’re pretty heavy duty stuff, and they do make me a little sick at times, but everything is starting to come back.”

And then there was Jordan Speith. Jordan became the 6th youngest player to make a PGA tour cut and tied for 16th, pretty respectable for his first go. Speith was playing as an amateur and passed up a paycheck that would have amounted to over 91k! So when does he plan on going pro? Prior to this tournament, he had planned on waiting until after college, but maybe this experience changed his mind.

Add them to the mix with Rory McIlroy and Ricki Fowler, the future of golf is looking pretty excellent. What do you think Rockheads?

~Scratch

Just 3 years after he gave professional dancing a shot, Jerry Rice joined the list of pro athletes who thought they had what it takes to become a golfin’ great. His career as a Nationwide Tour Pro was short and brutal. He missed the cut at his first tournament, shooting an 83 and a 76.

The hall-of-famer didn’t give up hope and decided to give the BMW Charity Pro-Am a go. Round 1, Rice set another record: Highest score shot at the tournament, EVER. Probably not a record he was aiming for. If that wasn’t bad enough, a day later he was DQed for the use of a yardage measuring device. That is how Jerry Rice’s golfin’ dream died.

Perhaps its an over inflated ego that makes some pro athletes think that they can pick up the game in their late 20′s and contend with the golfers who have devoted their entire life to the game. There are, however, some Pro Athletes who can hold their own on the fairway.

Golf Digest’s list of the best Pro Athletes gone golfer:

1. Rick Rhoden -Former major league pitcher has won 43 amateur/celebrity golf tourneys.
2. Ray Sheppard – Redwings goal scorer, rounded out his puck and shrunk the net to a hole
3. Sterling Sharpe – Ex Greenbay Packers reciever
4. Dan Quinn – Another former NHL Star
5. Craig Hentrich – Punter gone putter
6. Ryan Longwell – NFL Kicker to fairway driver
7. Andy Van Slyke – Major league baseball player
8. Chris Chandler – Falcons QB from the ’99 Superbowl. They Lost
9. Trent Dilfer – Another QB, but his team won the ’01 Superbowl
10. Billy Joe Tolliver – Yet another QB. He never made it to a Superbowl

The Rest of the list can be found here, but I will warn you, its mostly hockey players! Maybe we can find a real life Happy Gilmore!

Do you know any other pro athletes who have tried to take on the greatest game ever played? Who do you think was the worst or Best?

~Scratch

P.S. Tony Romo had a chance to qualify for the Byron Nelson this weekend, but gave it up to go to football practice! Do you think He made the right choice?

So its no Secret. This Caveman loves golf, but I also love music. So I was digging around on the net and came across Golf Digests list of top 100 musicians who golf.

Kenny G, the Grammy winning saxophonist is a scratch golfer. And ranks #2.

A few other notables on the list are Alice Cooper, Justin Timberlake, and Lead singer of the News, Huey Lewis!

Can you guess who is #1?

Neither Could I. Its Rudy Gatlin, of the Gatlin Brothers. Larry and Steve also made the top 10.

If you could have your own personal golfin’ theme song what would be?

~Scratch

The 17th week of Caveman Golf Trivia has come to a close. Thank you all for playing! For those Rock Heads who are scorin’ at home, here are all the questions and their answers:

Who has made the most Players Championship cuts?
Tom Kite

Which golfer has the most Players Championship starts?
Jay Haas

Who was the oldest winner of the Players Championship?
Fred Funk

Who was the oldest to make the cut at the Players Championship?
Julius Boros

Who has the lowest total score at the Players Championship?
Greg Norman

What famous swing coach just cut ties with Tiger Woods?
Hank Haney

How many David Leadbetter Golf Academies are there worldwide today?
30

In 2008, John Daly’s swing coach quit, famously saying, “the most important thing in [Daly's] life is getting drunk.” Who was that swing coach?
Butch Harmon

Swing teachers Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett may be best known for developing a new swing technique known as what?
Stack & Tilt

Who is PGA pro Sam Saunders’ golf coach?
Arnold Palmer

When was the first Texas Open held?
1940

How many times in the history of the Texas Open has a non US golfer won?
7

Who holds the Texas Open record aggregate score?
Tommy Armour III

Which two golfers hold the record for most Texas Open Wins?
Arnold Palmer and Justin Leonard

How many golfers have won the Texas Open more than once?
8

Which 2 golfers have both spent 8 years on the top of the PGA Tours money List?
Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus

Which two golfers have the record 4 consecutive years on top of the PGA Tours money list?
Tom Watson and Tiger Woods

Which Golfer holds the PGA record for most years in the top 10 on the money list?
Jack Nicklaus

What is the PGA record for fewest putts over 9 holes?
6 putts by Stan Utley

Who is the youngest person to have made a cut at a PGA event?
Bob Panasik at 15 yrs 8 months and 20 days

In the past decade who are the only two golfers to have an end of the year #1 World Ranking?
Tigar Woods and Vijay Singh

Where were the World Golf Rankings Published from 1968-1985?
World of Prof Golf Annual

Who invented the World Golf Ranking system?
Mark McCormack

The first official Publishing of the World Golf Ranking Was right before the ’86 Masters. Who was ranked #1?
Bernard Langer

When was the official World Golf ranking switched from total points to average points earned?
1989

Congrats to Doug_stanley (twitter) and Javonn Bradley(Facebook) for winning the trivia contests this week. Remember you get 5 points for having the first correct answer, but can also gain points just by having the correct answer! Weekly winners receive $10 gift certificates to RockBottomGolf.com.

If I haven’t heard from you yet, why not come & play with me and the rest of the Rock Heads this week? Questions are posted between 2 and 4 pm EST on both Facebook and Twitter. To keep things fair, you can only win once per contest per month!

~Scratch

PS: If you have any great golfin’ trivia that you would like to see asked, send it over my way, or feel free to try and stump this caveman.

Tiger Woods is starting to let the #1 spot slip out of his hands. If Phil Mickelson doesn’t take it, somebody else definitely will. The recent events have made many fans dis-like the golfer, some even revel in the fact that Tiger could lose his spot.

Let this caveman remind you just how strong Tiger’s grip on the throne really was:

• The Mark H McCormack Award is given to the golfer who has the most weeks at #1 at each year. The first award was given in 1998 to none other than Tiger Woods. And can you guess who has received the award every year since? That’s right, Tiger!
• By the time he receive the award at the end of 2009, he had spent a record 592 weeks total in the #1 spot since the first time, June 15th, 1997. And with only 52 weeks in a year, that’s no small feat! Greg Norman was second with 331 weeks, just over half!
• In the past decade, he has only lost the spot 3 times. The only other golfer to have a year ending in the #1 spot was Vijay Singh.
• Tiger reached the top 10 within 33 weeks of turning pro and he has remained in the top 10 since then for 681 consecutive weeks. Both are records.
• Tiger Is still currently on top, and has been for more than 250 consecutive weeks. He may have the opportunity to beat his own record.

Golf needs a new leader, but that person will have some big shoes to fill.

Tiger’s average points have been dropping fairly rapidly and his next scheduled appearance isn’t until the US Open. Phil Mickelson is now just a few good rounds shy of the title and is scheduled to appear in the next two tournaments. Phil has the opportunity to take the throne while Tiger is having his neck massaged.

What do you think Rock Heads? Will you be happy or sad to see someone new in the #1 spot? Who do you want to see in #1?

~Scratch

P.S. Tiger reigned over golf without the aid of performance enhancing drugs according to Hank Haney!

Since Mother’s Day was shared with the Players Championship this year, I’m devoting this blog to my Lady Rock Heads. There’s been a lot of news in the world of ladies golf, so let’s get right to it!

Lorena Ochoa, the world’s reigning #1 women’s golfer, retired. Her spot was taken over by Jiyai Shin of Korea.

15-year-old Alexis Thompson is makin’ waves by aiming to be the youngest female golfer ever to go pro, just 4 months after her 15th birthday. That’s a full 7 months younger than Michelle Wie’s debut! Thompson’s been doin’ really well as an amateur and even earned Golfweek’s 2009 Woman’s Amateur Player of the Year. This Caveman will be keepin’ an eye out for her name on the leaderboard at her first pro tourney, the ShopRite LPGA Classic starting June 18th.

A couple rulings caught my attention recently. Grab your official rulebooks and see what YOU think of these situations:

Anne Brophy, a college golfer at Notre Dame, says she was just being funny when she told course officials false scores during the final round of her match. She claims her scorecard was correct and would have been 100% accurate when she went to sign it and turn it in, but she never got that chance. She was DQ’d on the back nine despite her protests and says she didn’t know it was such serious business.

Meanwhile, Yuko Mitsuka of the Japan LPGA Tour received a $21,590 fine for slow play. Sounds tough enough to me, but she apparently disagreed and added a self-imposed suspension of 11 tournaments! Yuko’s sacrifice may have been an effort to keep the JLPGA from adding an even harsher sentence to her fine. Remember, it was the JLPGA who banned golfer Ai Takinami from playing or even teaching for profit for an entire decade (10 years!) for altering her scorecard back in 2006. The JLPGA doesn’t mess around!

Care to share a time where you were punished, perhaps too severely, for something that you thought was a minor offense?

~Scratch

PS: Sorry to end on a sad note, but the LPGA just lost one of its most promising young golfers, Erica Blasburg, this week. The cause of her death is still under investigation, but her absence and influence on her fellow LPGA members is certain.

The 16th week of Caveman Golf Trivia has come to a close. Thank you all for playing! This Caveman has officially asked 400 trivia questions. Maybe I should Write a book! For those Rock Heads who are scorin’ at home, here are all the questions and their answers:

Who was the youngest PGA golfer to shoot his age or Better?
Sam Snead – 67

Who holds the record for oldest rookie on the PGA Tour?
Allen Doyle, 47 years, five months and six days.

Which golfer holds the PGA record for most consecutive top 10 finishes?
Byron Nelson, 65 consecutive times

Which golfer holds the PGA record for most top 10 wins in a single season?
Jug McSpaden with 31

Who are the only 2 golfers who have had over 30 wins while in their 20′s?
Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods

Who holds the PGA record for the most consecutive birdies?
Mark Calcavecchia

Which 6 golfers hold the PGA record for the 2nd most consecutive birdies?
Bob Goalby, Fuzzy Zoellr, Dewey Arnette, Edward Fryatt, J.P. Hayes, Jerry Kelly

Who holds the PGA record for most consecutive birdies til they won?
Bob Goalby and Fuzzy Zoeller

Who are the 2 Golfers Who Share the PGA Record for most birdies(32) in a tournament?
Mark Calcavecchi and Paul Gow

The top 3 Vardon Trophy averages are held by which golfer?
Tiger Woods

What is the PGA record for lowest score over 9 holes?
26 by Corey Pavin

Who holds the PGA record for lowest back to back rounds?
Troy Matteson (122 combined)

Who holds the PGA record for longest winning streak?
Byron Nelson with 11

Who holds the PGA record for winning the same tournament the most times?
Same Snead

Which golfer holds the PGA record for most wins after 40?
Vijay Singh with 22

The PGA record for most consecutive wins at a tournament is 4, and is shared by which 4 golfers?
Tom Morris Jr, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and Tiger Woods

Who holds the PGA record for longest time between first and last win??
Raymond Floyd

Whats the PGA record for most wins while in 20′s?
Tiger Woods

Who holds the PGA record for most wins in his 30′s?
Arnold Palmer

Who holds the PGA Record for largest comeback (in strokes) with one round to play?
Paul Lawrie

Which golfer holds the PGA record for most consecutive top 10 finishes?
Byron Nelson

Which golfer was the oldest to finish top 10 in a PGA Tour event?
Sam Snead

When was the first Players Championship held?
1974

When Was the Players Championship moved from March to May?
2007

How many Golfers have won the Players Championship more than once?
5

Congrats to Brewhaha (twitter) and Mike Matosiuk(Facebook) for winning the trivia contests this week. Remember you get 5 points for having the first correct answer, but can also gain points just by having the correct answer! Weekly winners receive $10 gift certificates to RockBottomGolf.com. Mike Matosiuk was also the high scorer on my golfin’ game so he will recieve a $25 gift certificate instead for winning both. Congrats Mike!

And Lastly, Congrats to Katpacha for getting the most points last week for the players championship in my Fantasy Golf Group. I will giving away gift certificates to the person who gets the most points on the US OPEN, British Open, PGA Championship, and most points for the whole season. If you want to join in on the fun, the group ID# is: 17146 and the password is: rockheads!

If I haven’t heard from you yet, why not come & play with me and the rest of the Rock Heads this week? Questions are posted between 2 and 4 pm EST on both Facebook and Twitter. To keep things fair, you can only win once per contest per month!

~Scratch

PS: If you have any great golfin’ trivia that you would like to see asked, send it over my way, or feel free to try and stump this caveman.