Three models of a golf ball and a golf clubhead are created to investigate the efficiency of the collision with respect to the theory of mechanical impedance matching, normally derived from oversimplified models. While the results obtained from a lumped-parameter model do validate the mechanical impedance matching theory, the results obtained from a finite element model used to investigate this phenomenon with more fidelity by varying the clubface flexibility disagree. Therefore, a distributed-parameter model is developed. In this model, the clubface is modelled using the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation with clamped-clamped boundary conditions, and the golf ball is modelled using a 3-piece rod with piecewise constant material properties representing the multiple layers of a real golf ball. The number of modes considered in the calculations is varied to determine the influence of the complexity of the model. The results obtained from this model are compared against those from the previous approaches and from the mechanical impedance matching theory.

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