Overview
- University of Bristol scientists published an analytical mechanics study in Royal Society Open Science that explains the golf lip out.
- They classify two cases: a rim lip out, with the ball’s center of mass staying above the green, and a hole lip out, where it dips below before escaping.
- On the rim, a family of degenerate saddle equilibria makes the result exquisitely sensitive to tiny disturbances such as spin, sand or a puff of wind.
- In the rarer hole lip out, the ball can descend, convert potential energy into spin in a pendulum-like motion, then climb back out if it never touches the bottom.
- The team notes lip outs often follow a firm, slightly off-center putt that sets competing angular momenta, and advises aiming near the center with low arrival speed while stressing the findings are theoretical rather than prescriptive coaching guidance.