Comparing Flight Characteristics of Golf Balls from Different Eras on a Trackman 4

[Elm Man]

How accurate is the Trackman 4 indoors in determining the carry distances of a pre-1900 gutta percha golf ball? The ball is lighter and uses a series of cut-in lines rather than dimples. If it is not accurate, do you think the distances would be more or less in the real world?

 

Details:

In an effort to learn more about the history of golf before 1900, I have been testing golf balls made of synthetic gutta percha both outside and using a Trackman 4 in a golf simulator. 

 

The ball weighs only 37.5 grams, compared to a modern ball that weighs up to about 45 g. This diminished weight has do with the synthetic gutta percha being less dense than the original natural gutta percha. The original balls did weigh about the same as modern balls 

 

The balls I use have a line cut pattern, which is just a series of lines cut into the ball at set intervals to create protruding squares. See photo.

[storm319]

All of the calculations pertaining to the ball flight are modeled based on a solid core ball with modern aerodynamics, so I would say that those results may not be very accurate. Also I would not count on the measured results (ballspeed, spin, launch angle) being an accurate representation of a gutta percha from 100+ years ago given the density differences of the modern synthetic (an original would likely be very degraded by now), so I don’t think an accurate side-by-side comparison that is really possible.