Golf ball/Baseball questions

[sdimbert]

Since I can't hit a golf ball very well, I spend a lot of time wondering about them. The act of driving a golf ball is impressive. I mean, a pro-baseball homerun is what, 400 feet to dead center? A fair drive, for an amateur golfer is close to 300 yards - Thats almost a fifth of a mile!
Anyway, here are my golf ball/baseball questions:
What is the record for greatest distance hit with a golf club?
Which will hit a golf ball further, a golf club or a baseball bat?
Which is moving faster at point of impact, Sammy Sosa's bat, or a Tiger Woods' clubhead?

PS - How's that, manhattan? :p

[BobT]

Originally posted by sdimbert:
Since I can't hit a golf ball very well, I spend a lot of time wondering about them. The act of driving a golf ball is impressive. I mean, a pro-baseball homerun is what, 400 feet to dead center? A fair drive, for an amateur golfer is close to 300 yards - Thats almost a fifth of a mile!
Anyway, here are my golf ball/baseball questions:
What is the record for greatest distance hit with a golf club?
Which will hit a golf ball further, a golf club or a baseball bat?
Which is moving faster at point of impact, Sammy Sosa's bat, or a Tiger Woods' clubhead?

PS - How's that, manhattan? :p

I don't have the exact figure, but I do know that a golf club moves a lot faster than a baseball bat.
The clubhead on Tiger Woods' driver is travelling well over 100 mph. The best baseball players may get up to 90 mph with their bats.

Go read "The Physics of Baseball" by Adair and you get all the gory details.

[Satan]

Originally posted by BobT:

I don't have the exact figure, but I do know that a golf club moves a lot faster than a baseball bat.

True, but a golf ball is going zero MPH when it is struck, whereas a baseball is comiing at an opposite direction at speeds of up to 100 MPH. That's a lot of energy that needs to be released in an equal opposite direction...

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[samclem]

Even though it doesn't answer any of the OP questions, This link http://www.inwit.com/inwit/writings/dimpledgolfball.html answers some physics background questions-- i.e. That a dimpled golf ball can be hit up to four times farther that a smooth one!

[BobT]

But a golf club traverses a much longer arc than a baseball bat and is designed to travel through the air much faster than a baseball bat.

[Llardball]

I don't know what the record for longest drive is with a golf club, although I think it is in the upper 400's (there was an article in Sports Illustrated a while ago).

A golf club can definitely hit a golf ball further than a baseball bat because, as Satan pointed out, a baseball travels far when hit because it is moving at about 90 mph when hit.

The best baseball players (Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr.) can swing the bat 97 mph. This is the fastest at which ESPN's BatTrack has clocked any bat. Tiger Woods' club is moving close to 200 mph when he hits the ball. For comparison, Mark McGwire's golf club moves "well over 200" (this is what he stated in an interview when he was swinging a golf club in a test to see how fast his club was moving). McGwire and Woods both took a test to see how fast the club head was moving during their swings. McGwire won by quite a bit. So to answer your question about which is going faster, Sosa's bat or Woods' club, Woods' club is moving at almost twice the speed as Sosa's bat.

[aschrott]

A fair drive, for an amateur golfer is close to 300 yards - Thats almost a fifth of a mile!

Umm...No. Even most pro golfers do not hit 300 yards with any regularity. The average amateur golfer hits between 200-250 yards off the tee. 300 yards is a loooooong way to hit a golf ball.




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Ignorant since 1972

[sdimbert]

Originally posted by Llardball:
A golf club can definitely hit a golf ball further than a baseball bat because, as Satan pointed out, a baseball travels far when hit because it is moving at about 90 mph when hit.
I don't think you're following the question. The question is - which can hit a golfball further?

If I picked up a golfball and fungoed (self-hit) it, how far would it go (if I was McGgwire)?

[SINsApple]

I know there is atleast one golfer that hits amazingly long drives. His game isn't very good anymore because I think he had some drinking problems and he gained a lot of weight. But I know he is pretty famous for his drives. I wanna say John Daly, but I am probably mixing up sports and players there; I really can't remember his name. And I swear they said he hits like 300 yard drives.

(Wouldn't expect a 20 female year old college student to know all that wouldja?)

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Rather, I was in the position of a spore which, having finally accepted its destiny as a fungus, still wonders if it might produce penicillin.
--Ayi Kwei Armah

[CurtC]

Llardball wrote:
Tiger Woods' club is moving close to 200 mph when he hits the ball.You sure about that? When I had my swing measured, I was swinging my driver in the high 80's. If I get all of it, I can hit a golf ball 270 yards. Of course, like most lousy golfers, it rarely goes straight.

If Tiger can smack the ball 325 yards, I'd expect that his club head speed is maybe 1.4 times mine, which would put him around 125 mph.

Of course, the real difference in my game and Tiger's is control more than it is distance.

[BobT]

According to "The Physics of Baseball", an average baseball player will get his bat up to a maximum velocity of about 75 mph.

The book also states that a 90-mph fastball met by an optimum swing will leave the bat at a speed of 140 mph.

Does anyone know what is longer a baseball-bat impact or a golf ball-club impact? Also does a golf ball deform more or less than a baseball does when it gets hit? I would assume that a golf ball doesn't deform as much, which is another reason why it goes so much further than a baseball.

[sdimbert]

aschrott:
Umm...No. Even most pro golfers do not hit 300 yards with any
regularity. The average amateur golfer hits between 200-250 yards off
the tee. 300 yards is a loooooong way to hit a golf ball.

I hit the ball over 300 yards all the time. From the rough! With a mid-iron! (I just lean back, center my weight on the balls of my feet... and click the left button until the little line hits the top of the swing meter, then, when it comes back down... :D )

You're right. I said "Close to 300 yds" because I was rounding. A good drive off the tee is 230 or so. I once read a vaguely pornographic sounding book (called something like How to Hit It Long and Straight) that talked exclusively about hitting long tee shots. The author said that, if an amateur golfer practiced what he taught, he (the golfer) coulr regularly hit the ball 275 - 325 off of the tee. Who knows?

BobT:
Does anyone know what is longer a baseball-bat impact or a golf
ball-club impact? Also does a golf ball deform more or less than a
baseball does when it gets hit? I would assume that a golf ball doesn't
deform as much, which is another reason why it goes so much further than
a baseball.

Good! Examine things scientifically. That is just the kind of approach I need in order to succesfully get a post onto GQ without manhattan booting it off!

I don't know any of the info you asked about though. :( That's why I posted the question in the first place!


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"I was not making fun of you personally; I was heaping scorn on an inexcusably silly idea -- a practice I shall always follow."
-Robert A. Heinlein

[WillGolfForFood]

Ooh - Ooh! Golf questions!

What is the record for greatest distance hit with a golf club?

I watched the finals of the US "Long Drive" competition a year or so ago, and the winner won it with something like a 370 yard drive.

Note that this competition involves hitting a golf ball from aways back onto a football field (which has the total yards marked off for easy TV viewing), and hitting it wide of the field disqualifies the shot, so accuracy counts - IE, the contestants have to hit a drive that would in effect land in the fairway.

The winner (who has won something like the last three years in a row) has hit 400+ yard drives, but he backs off some in competition because of that accuracy requirement.

Which will hit a golf ball further, a golf club or a baseball bat?

The surface of the golf club promotes the backspin that makes a golf ball go further. (It's a hard surface that the golf ball can deform against long enough to pick up its backspin.) The baseball bat is designed to hit baseballs, is made of softer material, and isn't designed for backspin, so I'd imagine that the golf club is a better tool for this particular purpose. (If it wasn't, you'd start seeing infomercials on the Golf channel for baseball bats.) :)

Which is moving faster at point of impact, Sammy Sosa's bat, or a Tiger Woods' clubhead?

As it happens, one of the networks has recently introduced a machine that simultaneously measures the speed of the clubhead as it hits the ball and the speed of the ball as it leaves the clubhead. They call the latter divided by the former the "smash factor", and the larger that number is the better (IE, more centered and straighter) the ball was struck.

They were using this machine at a pro tournament earlier this year, and the pros were generally hitting drives with a clubhead speed of 100-110 MPH and a "smash factor" of 1.4.

- - -

BTW, if the golf ball was perfectly smooth (IE, no dimples) so that backspin wasn't a factor, the club you'd use to hit your longest shots would be whichever one was lofted closest to 45 degrees - probably your nine iron - and your longest shots would go about 90 yards. Those dimples are important!

[WillGolfForFood]

What is the record for greatest distance hit with a golf club?

I just looked it up, and Jason Zuback is the four-times-in-a-row winner of the RE/MAX World Long Drive championship that I was referring to above. There's a blurb about him by Pinnacle (because he uses their golf balls to hit his monster drives) here (http://www.pinnaclegolf.com/pages/zuback.htm).

His longest drive in that championship series according to that web page is 412 yards, set in 1997.

[sdimbert]

Originally posted by WillGolfForFood:
Note that this competition involves hitting a golf ball from aways back onto a football field (which has the total yards marked off for easy TV viewing), and hitting it wide of the field disqualifies the shot, so accuracy counts - IE, the contestants have to hit a drive that would in effect land in the fairway.
This makes sense - a straight drive will fly farther anyway, right? It wastes none of its force moving in any direction not directly away from its point of origin.

The surface of the golf club promotes the backspin that makes a golf ball go further. <snip, snip> ...so I'd imagine that the golf club is a better tool for this particular purpose.
But aren't you ignoring the sheer mass of the baseball bat which is far greater than the golf club?

I mean - a club head weighs what, 10 ounces? A baseball bat weighs pounds! If I remember my physics, f = m*a, so, if the clubhead moves about twice as fast as the baseball bat (see above), and the bat weighs at least twice what the clubhead does (which it does), then bat should still send the ball further, no?

They were using this machine at a pro tournament earlier this year, and the pros were generally hitting drives with a clubhead speed of 100-110 MPH and a "smash factor" of 1.4.
Anyone care to figure smash factors for major leaguers?

BTW, if the golf ball was perfectly smooth (IE, no dimples) so that backspin wasn't a factor, the club you'd use to hit your longest shots would be whichever one was lofted closest to 45 degrees - probably your nine iron - and your longest shots would go about 90 yards. Those dimples are important!
I've heard this before. I don't understand it, but I have heard it. You mean to say that my nine-iron will his a smooth superball further than my driver? Anyone else think this seems counter-intuitive?

[CurtC]

WillGolfForFood wrote:
BTW, if the golf ball was perfectly smooth (IE, no dimples) so that backspin wasn't a factor...A smooth golf ball wouldn't cancel the lift from backspin - on the contrary, it would emphasize it. The problem with a smooth golf ball would be the drag - the dimples create a turbulent layer around the ball, which reduces the drag and lets the ball fly farther. A smooth ball would quickly slow down as if you're hitting it through molasses....the club you'd use to hit your longest shots would be whichever one was lofted closest to 45 degrees - probably your nine iron - and your longest shots would go about 90 yards.The 45-degree figure would be if there is no air, and the golf ball gets a fixed speed independent of takeoff angle, neither of which applies to what we're talking about. Even with a smooth ball, the longest club would be a long wood, because more of the club head speed is transferred to ball velocity. A nine iron just doesn't send the ball away with as much speed as a driver.

[BobT]

Normally nine-irons are 43 degrees of loft. Pitching wedges are 48 degrees and sand wedges are 53 degrees. Some people also carry something called a flop wedge that is usually 60 degrees.

John Daly sometimes uses a driver that has 0 degrees of loft in it.

[KarmaComa]

Originally posted by sdimbert:

But aren't you ignoring the sheer mass of the baseball bat which is far greater than the golf club?

I mean - a club head weighs what, 10 ounces? A baseball bat weighs pounds! If I remember my physics, f = m*a, so, if the clubhead moves about twice as fast as the baseball bat (see above), and the bat weighs at least twice what the clubhead does (which it does), then bat should still send the ball further, no?
No. Absolutely not. The kinetic energy (which is the relevant factor in this instance) is K=mv^2 (m * v * v), and while a baseball bat would probably have more kinetic energy because of its much greater mass, not all of the energy is transferred to the ball (otherwise the bat would stop when you hit the ball). In this case it comes down to momentum, which is kind of irrelevant because the bat doesn't slow down very much on impact. Neither does a golf club. Screw the physics: The bottom line is that baseball bats are not designed to hit baseballs a long way. Metal baseball bats hit much farther. Too far, in fact, which is why they don't allow them in any real leagues.

I've heard this before. I don't understand it, but I have heard it. You mean to say that my nine-iron will his a smooth superball further than my driver? Anyone else think this seems counter-intuitive?
(this quote is about the 45 degree arc thing). The lateral distance an unresisted projectile flies is proportional to the product of the sine and the cosine of the trajectory, which is maximum at 45 degrees, where the sine and cosine are equal. Even with a smooth ball, you will be able to hit it much further with a lower trajectory because of air resistance. The dimples on a golf ball give it its own lift, which means that you should be spending your time sending the ball forward, not up. The optimum trajectory for a golf ball is much lower than it is for a baseball.

[sdimbert]

Originally posted by KarmaComa:
Screw the physics: The bottom line is that baseball bats are not designed to hit baseballs a long way. Metal baseball bats hit much farther. Too far, in fact, which is why they don't allow them in any real leagues.

WTF?!? :confused:

KarmaComa, what the hell are you talking about?

What are baseball bats designed to do?

Oh, I know. They were designed to fill those funny holes in the batracks - the whole hitting the ball thing was just a lucky coincidence!

Sheesh. :rolleyes:

[zut]

The question is: What hits a golf ball farther, a golf club or a baseball bat?

Of course, kinetic energy and momentum have something to do with it:

Originally posted by KarmaComa:
The kinetic energy (which is the relevant factor in this instance) is K=mv^2 (m * v * v), and while a baseball bat would probably have more kinetic energy because of its much greater mass, not all of the energy is transferred to the ball (otherwise the bat would stop when you hit the ball). In this case it comes down to momentum, which is kind of irrelevant because the bat doesn't slow down very much on impact. Neither does a golf club.

In addition, though, when a golf ball is hit, *potential energy* is stored in the bending of the shaft of the club and the deformation of the ball. Then, as the swing is carried through, the ball and club spring apart, (hopefully) imparting extra velocity to the ball. There's an optimum "springiness" for the club, not so stiff that it doesn't deform, and not so springy that it takes too long to bounce back ("impedance matching", it's called). Since a baseball bat is *not* impedance matched to a golf ball, I'd be enormously surprised if a bat would propel a golf ball farther than a golf club could.

[KarmaComa]

Originally posted by sdimbert:
WTF?!? :confused:

KarmaComa, what the hell are you talking about?

What are baseball bats designed to do?

Oh, I know. They were designed to fill those funny holes in the batracks - the whole hitting the ball thing was just a lucky coincidence!

Sheesh. :rolleyes:
Well obviously baseball bats are designed to give the ball a nice whack. They design the bats to hit the ball as far as possible, keeping within league limitations. Baseball games would be ridiculous if major leaguers used aluminum bats. I should have said, "there are things that can hit a baseball further than a major league baseball bat". You don't see anyone using wooden golf clubs, do you? A pine shaft (or whatever wood they're made of) is not the crowning achievement of human ballistics technology.

[Duck Hook]

Sounds like Karmacoma is refering to the properties of a wooden bat compared to a metal bat. Wood compresses reducing the energy transferred to the ball.

Titanium drivers and metal bats don't compress.

I wonder if a bat would transfer so much energy to a normal (dimpled) golf ball, its aerodynamics would become unstable making its flight inaccurate and unpredictable similar to a wiffle (sp?) ball.

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*sigh* Pulled it again!

[KarmaComa]

By the way, Zut is right about what he says.

[tanstaafl]

The people you need to ask this question to are the people behind Balf.

"Balf" is a combination of BAseball and goLF. It is played on a golf course using a golf ball and a "Clat" (CLub/bAT). The ball is tossed into the air and hit with the club like a baseball. (BTW, Clats are actually manufactured by Louisville Slugger!)

I checked through their site and couldn't find anything about distances, but I'm sure its there somewhere. You can find out all about Balf at http://www.balf.com .

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"Sometimes I think the web is just a big plot to keep people like me away from normal society." --- Dilbert

[Omniscient]

Ugh, this has gotten convoluted, and alot of generally correct physics applications have been thrown out there some of which aren't correct for the situation presented.

I'll try and clarify as succinctly as possible.

First, about the flex of the shaft. This action has no effect on the actual impact of the golf ball. To explain, a golf club flexes an exceptional amount, and each club flexes differently depending on the swing of the golfer, material of the shaft and the length of the shaft. Now, it does contribute to the driving distance. More flex is not always better. The ideal flex condition is one where the club releases all its potential flexed energy at the precise moment before impact with the ball. A club with alot of flex will release that energy at the right time for a golfer with a slower swing. A stiff club will have less flex, but release at the correct time during a fast swing. So, two different clubs in the hands of two different golfers can result in having the same head speed at impact. A long driving golfer is one who has the swing acceleration to force a stiff shaft to flex alot, but still release at the correct point, coupled with a high overall swing speed. The idea of using a club with alot of flex could be bad if the golfer out swings the release of the club flex, causing it to release its potential enegry after the ball is impacted. In short, zut is incorrect. The stored potential energy is not transfered into the ball at impact. It releases its potential energy into swing speed. Ergo, if one is able to accurately deduce the swing speed at impact (as we must assume the mentioned technologies do) the club flex and potential energy has already been transfered into work and is included in the speed reading for a physics analysis.

Second, it is important to mention that neglecting air resistance a club w/ 45° loft and the same club head mass and shaft length will provide the longest drive. But since we aren't dealing with a air-free environment, and the properly lofted clubs are shorter and weighted differently we can't say what club would work ideally for a non-dimpled ball. It really is off topic anyways.

Third, wood is not an ideal material for impacting a ball. Golf clubs have stopped being made using it, and baseball bats would as well if you were to ignore MLB regs.

Fourth, a straight drive isn't neccesarily going to be the longest. The reason being wind and roll. If we assume a still day, which we'll need to do since the variety of effects on both baseballs and golf balls are too many to discuss, you can assume that a straight drive will be the best for air travel. A draw (slight hook) is ideal for the longest drive condition. The reason being the a draw imparts a slight top hand english onto the ball giving it a tendancy to roll after landing farther than a perfectly straight ball. This is however a razor edge depending on conditions because the amount of backspin effects flight distance. More is not always better. So we'll neglect this effect for discussion.

Fifth, I have seen baseballs hit 800-900 feet quite often. Where? Well, Wrigley field of course. Often balls that leave the park (eg. beyond the bleachers) hit Sheffield Rd. and roll down Kenmore Avenue. I say this to make a point. We usually consider baseball distances based on strictly flight distance to a point higher than the altitude of impact. So, we rob the homerun hitters of a little distance that we grant golfers.

So from the OP: [list]
We know the longest officially driven golf ball 412 yards
To be discussed further
Well, it depends on the athlete, but we'll say some impressive batters manage 100mph, and some impressive golfers likely reach club head speeds (at the precise point of impact) of 125 mph. Neither of these speeds are average of course.

For point two, lets set some ground rules. We're going to only consider flight distance, and ignore ground roll. So we'll subtract 30-50 yds from your general drive. Two, we need to figure out if we want to discuss if the golf ball is pitched, or if its hit of a stationary tee. Or do we hit a pitch golf ball w/ the bat, and off a tee for the golf club?

Some things to consider. A bat is round, and a pefectly hit ball will recieve a higher impulse than a ball hit off a flat surface. A bat typically weighs 30-40 ozs, a golf club 10-15 ozs. The entire weight of the bat is not applied to the ball, only a percentage one can figure using the center of mass, the center of rotation and the parallel axis theorum. More TAM than I plan on doing.

Have at it.

[samclem]

tanstaafl said[quote]I checked through their site and couldn't find anything about distances, but I'm sure its there somewhere. {/quote]

I used their search engine and came up with a long drive of 225 yards. http://www.balf.com/news.htm#Swing

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"Education is a method whereby one acquires a higher grade of predjudices." Laurence J. Peter

[SINsApple]

Oh man, check that out. I even had his name right, and no one is gonna reward me for talking sports with the big boys??? Damn, what is the point.

I was able to give an actual name for a player who hits incredible drives, it was on topic for the thread, and it was something that your average 20 year old female college student does not know. And no one is gonna give me a little congratulatory pat on the back?!?! Man, I wish my dad was here, he would atleast be mildly impressed.

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Rather, I was in the position of a spore which, having finally accepted its destiny as a fungus, still wonders if it might produce penicillin.
--Ayi Kwei Armah

[sdimbert]

SINsApple:

You bet I was impressed. I just didn't want to get flamed for flirting. ;)

That said, wanna go somewhere and flirt?

[sdimbert]

Originally posted by KarmaComa:
A pine shaft (or whatever wood they're made of) is not the crowning achievement of human ballistics technology.[/B]

Anyone else read this and think of people flying through the air? "Human ballistics?" Wheee! :)

tanstaafl:
Thanks for the link to Balf - good legwork!

Omniscient (as far as the physics of golf and baseball are conserned):
Thanks for setting the record straight - that is the kind of analysis I was hoping for. Let's invite in some more geeks to help you! Let's hear it for the geeks!

:D

[zut]

KarmaComa mistakenly gives me a vote of confidence:

Originally posted by KarmaComa:
By the way, Zut is right about what he says.

just before Omniscient correctly points out:

Originally posted by Omniscient:
The idea of using a club with alot of flex could be bad if the golfer out swings the release of the club flex, causing it to release its potential enegry after the ball is impacted. In short, zut is incorrect. The stored potential energy is not transfered into the ball at impact. It releases its potential energy into swing speed.

All of which is, of course, correct. Thanks for learnin' me one, Omniscient.

[Guy Propski]

Howcum everyone (other than one poster) ignored the biggest difference between hitting a golf ball and hitting a baseball--a baseball is moving! When you hit a baseball, you've got to expend some energy just cancelling its momentum towards you. This is bound to reduce the potential distance that a baseball can be hit.

A golf ball, on the other hand, is stationary. Apart from overcoming some small intertia, almost all the energy of the club swing is transmitted to the ball. Result--longer distance, EVEN IF THE CLUB IS MOVING AS SLOW AS A BASEBALL BAT.

[Lance Turbo]

Guy Propski,

There are three questions at the start of this thread.

1. What is the record for greatest distance hit with a golf club?

Answer: 412 yds

Which will hit a golf ball further, a golf club or a baseball bat?

Answer: A golf club will hit a golf ball farther or golfers would use baseball bats.

Which is moving faster at point of impact, Sammy Sosa's bat, or a Tiger Woods' clubhead?

Answer: Tiger Woods clubhead

All the questions have been answered, and the fact that a baseball is moving when a baseball player hits it does not figure into the answer of any of them. Baseballs could be made of pudding and it would not change the answers to these questions as there are questions about baseball bats but not baseballs.

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Am I supposed to believe that all this rain was suspended in mid-air until moments ago?

[KarmaComa]

There's an optimum "springiness" for the club, not so stiff that it doesn't deform, and not so springy that it takes too long to bounce back ("impedance matching", it's called).

You're right about me being wrong about you being right, zut. I skimmed this and mistook it for a reference to shaft flexing, not the impedence of the club head.

[Guy Propski]

Lance--True, those are the questions, but as you'll notice in the original poster's preamble, he is pretty amazed that golf balls go farther than baseballs. Later posters came up with weak explanations, but only one poster (the currently smoke-free Satan) nailed it with the moving vs stationary arguement.

The stationary vs moving arguement also covers relative speed, rather than absolute (the real answer to question #3). A golf club head is moving much faster than baseball bat, especially relative to the object it's hitting.

[Omniscient]

Guy, that reason is 100% wrong.

I garauntee very few MLB players could consistently hit baseballs out of the ballpark off a batting tee. The same is illustrated in Home Run Derbys where the balls are pitched at very slow speeds, the hitters are able to take full out swings and still cannot match the distance of the typical game condition homerun. Those game situation hits are frequently w/ controlled swings on breaking pitches and mediocre contact, yet they still clear the fence.

The point I'm belaboring is that an object moving towards the batter will ~double its energy output when struck. The physics are as follows, that speed of the ball is kinetic energy. The kinetic energy of the bat works in the opposite direction. When they meet, the ball deforms around the bat (and the bat around the ball to a lesser extent) in a amount reflecting the sum of those two energies. While deformed the two velocities energy combine into potetial energy. That potential energy is transfered into the ball. You see the ball speed doesn't cancel the energy of the bat, it adds to it.

[CurtC]

Omniscient wrote:
Guy, that reason is 100% wrong.Omniscient is right!

I had a gut feel that the pitch speed adds to the distance, but then I came up with a thought experiment that clinched it.

Imagine throwing a baseball at a wall, wanting it to bounce off of the wall the greatest distance. You'd throw it as hard as you could. Now imagine that the wall is coming at you at 50 mph. You'd still want to throw it as hard as you could. Now imagine that the wall is shaped like a bat, and is moving at 80 mph. Same thing. The speed of the pitch increases the distance.

Now if I can just convince my golf buddies to stand near the ladies' tee and pitch golf balls to me.

[WillGolfForFood]

I've always been told that in baseball "the faster it comes in, the faster it goes out". In particular, that most home runs are hit off of fastballs.

[Guy Propski]

Omniscient, et al--I stand corrected. Thanks for the well explained information. I was guilty of trying to intuit the answer, rather that research it.