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Golf Grip Design:Natural Golf

Burkhart, JamesChristopher, Steven

Schmidt, AndyThomas, Art

Natural Golf & IUPUINatural Golf

Natural Golf Swing (Moe Norman)

100,000 Customers

Think out-of-box

Quality Products

Localized Training

Natural Golf & IUPUIIUPUI

Leader in engineering education

Capable Senior Engineers

Current project with IUPUI Fort Wayne

Scientific Design

Why a New Grip?Increase Sales

Need story to tell

Need features to sell

Meet customer desiresIncrease distance

Increase accuracy

Increase Comfort

Reduce Vibration

Reduce Slip

Reduce Torque

BenchmarkingNo Industry DataNo Standard TestingNo Specific Engineering SpecsMeasurable Specs

Distance (Yd)

Accuracy (Ft)

Slip Resistance (G)

Vibration (Hz)

Torque (Ft. lb.)

How to Measure?Distance traveled

Accuracy from the pin

Vibration test

Slip Resistance

Torque

Weight Verification

Distance & AccuracyThree identical clubs

Three different grips

One Natural Golf Expert

Laser and Tape Measure

VibrationFixture & Layout

Don’t Slip (Dry or Wet)

Fixture & Layout

TorqueAnalysis & Formula

•T = F*rperpendicular

Improvement GridBenchmarks

Engi

neer

ing

Requ

irem

ent

Dir

ecti

on o

f Im

prov

emen

t

Uni

t of M

easu

re

Lam

kin

(Bus

ter)

Scut

i (Bi

g Li

te)

Enlo

w

Nat

ural

Gol

f (Pa

lm G

rip)

Des

ign

Targ

et

Distance Traveled = Yards 114 111 n/a 115 110+

Distance from Pin = Feet 19 24 n/a 20 20-

Vibration < Hz 0.0093 0.006 n/a 0.008 0.006-

Torque* < In-Lb 36.4 47.7 n/a 39.9 50.0+

Weight =Industry Standard

D3 E0 n/a D2 D1 or D2

Slip Resistance (Dry) > Grams n/a 339 180.5 281 300+

Slip Resistance (Wet) > Grams n/a 175.5 156.5 175 175+

Constraints to Creativity

USGA RulesCan’t be shorter than 7”

Can’t have bulges or waist

Can’t have ribs or indentations greater than .04”

Experts OpinionRealistic Improvements

Reduce Vibration

Reduce Slip

Reduce Torque

Guaranteed SustainmentDistance

Accuracy

Materials to be Tested

Material Hardness Density (g/cm3)

Silicone 60A 1.34

Polyurethane (High-Density)

60A 1.32

Polyurethane (Low-Density)

40A 1.26

Neoprene 75A 1.29

Nitrile, Buna-N 75A 1.26

Results (Vibration)Able to reduce to nearly 500 Hz

with Low-Density PolyurethaneMaterial Frequency (Hz)Silicone 1167Polyurethane (High-Density) 633Polyurethane (Low-Density) 533Neoprene 1267Nitrile, Buna-N 1633

Results (Slip Resistance)

Low-Density Polyurethane Demonstrated Best Results

Silicone Low-Density Polyurethane

High-Density Polyurethane

Nitrile (Buna-N)

Neoprene

Dry (g) Wet (g)

Dry (g) Wet (g)

Dry (g) Wet (g)

Dry (g) Wet (g)

Dry (g) Wet (g)

1 171 153 200 145 80 79 125 102 170 122

2 170 157 210 135 85 81 120 108 168 124

Results (Torque)Oversized Design Reduces

Torque from the Shaft by Over 60%

Results…Benchmarks

Engi

neer

ing

Requ

irem

ent

Dir

ecti

on o

f Im

prov

emen

t

Uni

t of

Mea

sure

Lam

kin

(Bus

ter)

Scut

i (Bi

g Li

te)

Enlo

w

Nat

ural

Gol

f (Pa

lm

Gri

p)

Des

ign

Targ

et

Expe

cted

Res

ults

Distance Traveled

> Yard 114 111 n/a 115 110+ 110

Distance from Pin

> Feet 19 24 n/a 20 20- 20

Vibration < Hz 667 767 n/a 867 600- 533-

Torque < % (In-Lb) 36.4 47.7 n/a 39.9 50.0+ 61.2

Weight =Industry Standard

D3 E0 n/a D2 D1 or D2 D1 or D2

Slip Resistance (Dry)

> Grams n/a 339 180.5 281 300+ 205++

Slip Resistance (Wet)

> Grams n/a 175.5 156.5 175 175+ 140++

Final Design

Questions?