New Scaratings

In the many years I have wasted playing Buzztime trivia, I've seen many idiotic questions, but last night's SIX topped them all with "How many dimples on a [brand name, which I've forgotten] golf ball?" I learned from looking it up this morning that different brands actually have different numbers of dimples. I see by the scores that West Park Station must have answered this correctly, but I don't see how. (BTW, I guessed the correct answer, which I've forgotten, and I was embarrassed to finish first on my team of excellent players.)
XT

i did know that almost all golf balls have at least 300 dimples and there was only one answer over 300, so i was pretty sure about the answer.

Interesting. My recollection, which is far from perfect, is that the four choices were 5xx, 3xx, 2xx, and 1xx. One of our players called out, "There are a lot of them," which I think prompted others to choose the 5xx option. Since my practice is to pick neither the highest nor the lowest number when I am blindly guessing, I chose 3xx, and came up a winner.
XT

Well, for one who has played professionally for 25 years now, from those choices it's an easy answer. The reason they gave a specific brand is because a very few off brand balls these days have wildly different numbers of dimples, but 3xx is and has been standard for probably 50+ years.

The question also could have been asked, a typical golf ball has approximately how many dimples.

Many balls over the years have included the number of dimples in their name, such as the Titleist 392.

Now, if the choices were all between 300-400, it would have been a bad question because people can't be expected to know exact figures on stuff like that.

I'm kind of comparing it to the number of stitches on a baseball, a question I've seen many times over the years. Nobody is going to complain about that because it's standard. So if you can read this question as "a standard golf ball", it's not unfair. The question itself is difficult, the choices make it standard.

From the webpage of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana:

The number of dimples on a golf ball varies, depending on the manufacturer and may even be different for different models made by the same manufacturer. The dimples are usually the same size as one another, but some golf balls have several different sizes of dimple on the same ball. Any number between 300 and 500 dimples is reasonable, and 336 is a common number. Not just any number will do.

Not really sure how the above is relevant. It's a reply to a question by a presumed physics student. Not necessarily a golfer and judging from the complete reply almost certainly not a golfer.

As I already stated, 3xx is standard, the golf ball listed was almost certainly standard. With the choices given, it's a fair question.

Perhaps your team could use a sports expert who has been told he's mediocre in every other subject.

In other words, you're saying that a scientific investigation is inferior to your knowledge, simply because you're a golfer. How many times did you count the dimples on the ball you were playing with? I played golf too, but it never occurred to me to count the dimples. That must be why I was a duffer.

What scientific investigation? As far as I can tell, that's just from a physics page where people email random questions to be answered by random physics students/profs. But I could be wrong, please show me the meat of the investigation.

But regardless, you are totally missing the point. The entire question revolves around a standard golf ball. Standard. Typical. Normal. And the number of dimples on each and every one of these is 3xx. You are trying to reach way way out there to find some atypical golf ball that no reputable golfer would ever play that has 500 dimples. In my 30+ years of golf at the absolute highest level I have never seen or heard of a golf ball that has 500+ dimples. That doesn't mean they don't exist, but that shows just how far off the radar they truly are.

I remember a golf ball being marketed with "random hexagonal dimples" some years back. I have also seen balls with alternating sizes of dimples. I usually just buy three dozen of whatever is on sale at Golf Galaxy each spring and see whether they last the year.

All in all though, common wisdom in golf is 3xx dimples. I got it right, but teammates lost some points when I did not insist strongly enough. The question, while not inherently unfair, was a bit obscure. Also, listing a brand name (I think it was Calloway) somewhat misled by directing thought into what the brand did, rather than a general standard.

I am curious though, what is golf at the 'absolute highest level'? I will be in the gallery at Olympia Fields this week. Will you be playing?

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Merkin

Gender issues preclude me from competing in that event unfortunately.

Don't they know that gender is but a social construct?

Having played golf at an absolutely average level for over 30+ years, I did have one hole in one in 2013. I used a Nike ball with 436 dimples, which, in the name of science, I counted last night.

Still wondering what the absolute highest level is. I can eliminate Annika Sorenstam, I guess. Perhaps Homero Blancas? Kim Jong Il?

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Merkin

I think Alan Shepard holds that record, having golfed at some 1.32 billion feet above sea level. Hope that helps!

Indeed! A 6 iron that went a half mile by his account. Thanks!

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Merkin

Perhaps a Dock Ellis reference.

Now we're getting some work done!

Russell..

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Merkin

I guess Lorin hasn't found work yet.

RAY J

Living the life of an independent investor.

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Merkin