Golf Science Club introduces students to the sport of golf through an engaging, educational curriculum that connects athletic movement with real-world STEM concepts. Using age-appropriate golf clubs, targets, golf balls, measuring tools, and stopwatches, students will practice putting, swinging, aiming, and scoring while investigating the science behind the game.

Throughout the program, students will explore how gravity affects a golf ball, how swing speed and club angle influence distance, why golf balls have dimples, and how weather, water, and climate affect golf courses. Students will also apply engineering skills by designing a golf pushcart and use mathematics to measure distance, calculate scores, compare results, and analyze performance.

The club emphasizes safe participation, teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership, and problem-solving. No prior golf experience is required. Students will learn that golf is not only a sport, but also an exciting way to understand science and engineering in action.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

1. Develop basic golf skills, including safe club handling, putting, aiming, swinging, and scoring.
2. Apply STEM concepts such as measurement, force, gravity, potential energy, angles, aerodynamics, climate, and water conservation.
3. Strengthen mathematical thinking by measuring distance, recording data, calculating scores, and comparing results.
4. Build teamwork, leadership, communication, sportsmanship, and problem-solving skills through collaborative golf challenges.

Session 1: Golf Measurements

STEM Focus

Measurement, distance, units, estimation, and data collection

Golf Focus

Introduction to golf equipment, safe club handling, putting, and target accuracy

Activities

• Introduce irons, putters, targets, and golf balls.
• Review golf club safety rules and proper spacing.
• Practice estimating distances between starting points and targets.
• Use 25-foot tape measures to check estimated distances.
• Putt golf balls toward targets placed at different distances.
• Record the distance traveled by each ball.
• Compare estimated distances with measured distances.

Student Challenge

Which student or team can make the most accurate distance estimate before measuring?

Key Vocabulary

Measurement, distance, estimate, feet, inches, accuracy, putter, target

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Session 2: Force of a Golf Swing

STEM Focus

Force, gravity, motion, speed, potential energy, and kinetic energy

Golf Focus

Controlled swinging and understanding how swing strength affects ball movement

Activities

• Discuss how gravity pulls objects, including golf balls, toward the ground.
• Demonstrate soft, medium, and strong swings.
• Use digital stopwatches to measure how long a ball takes to reach a target.
• Measure the distance traveled after swings of different strengths.
• Compare how force changes speed and distance.
• Emphasize control and accuracy rather than maximum power.

Student Challenge

Can students use the correct amount of force to make the ball stop inside a target area?

Key Vocabulary

Force, gravity, motion, speed, energy, swing, control

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Session 3: Scoring in Golf

STEM Focus

Addition, subtraction, comparison, averages, and data recording

Golf Focus

Golf scoring, par, turns, etiquette, and sportsmanship

Activities

• Explain that lower scores are generally better in golf.
• Introduce the concept of par.
• Set up several short putting holes using targets.
• Have students count the number of strokes needed to reach each target.
• Record individual and team scores.
• Calculate total scores and compare results.
• Discuss honesty, patience, and respectful behavior during competition.

Student Challenge

Complete the course using the fewest controlled strokes while demonstrating excellent sportsmanship.

Key Vocabulary

Score, stroke, par, total, average, etiquette, sportsmanship

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Session 4: Engineering a Golf Pushcart

STEM Focus

Engineering design process, structure, balance, wheels, and transportation

Golf Focus

Understanding how golfers transport equipment around a course

Activities

• Discuss why golfers use pushcarts.
• Identify the important features of a successful pushcart.
• Ask students to sketch a pushcart design.
• Build a model pushcart using classroom construction materials.
• Test whether the design can hold or transport lightweight golf equipment.
• Evaluate stability, balance, ease of movement, and durability.
• Improve the design based on test results.

Student Challenge

Design a pushcart that is stable, easy to move, and capable of carrying golf equipment.

Key Vocabulary

Engineering, design, prototype, balance, stability, wheel, axle, improve

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Session 5: What Is a Golf Ball?

STEM Focus

Materials science, aerodynamics, drag, lift, spin, and ball construction

Golf Focus

Understanding how golf ball design affects performance

Activities

• Examine regular golf balls, Callaway Golf balls, and golf balls cut in half.
• Identify the outer cover, internal layers, and core.
• Discuss why golf balls have dimples.
• Compare how smooth and dimpled surfaces interact with air.
• Observe how the ball rolls, spins, and changes direction.
• Practice putting and controlled swings while observing ball movement.

Student Challenge

Explain how the design of a golf ball helps it travel through the air and across the ground.

Key Vocabulary

Dimple, core, layer, material, air resistance, aerodynamics, spin

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Session 6: Angles in Golf

STEM Focus

Angles, direction, trajectory, swing radius, and geometry

Golf Focus

Aiming, club position, swing path, and target selection

Activities

• Introduce acute, right, and obtuse angles using visual examples.
• Discuss how the angle of a club and swing path can affect the ball’s direction.
• Set up targets at different angles from the starting point.
• Ask students to identify the best direction for each shot.
• Practice putting and swinging toward angled targets.
• Measure and compare successful and unsuccessful shot paths.

Student Challenge

Use angles and careful aiming to reach targets placed in different directions.

Key Vocabulary

Angle, direction, trajectory, radius, geometry, aim, swing path

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Session 7: Water in Golf

STEM Focus

Water cycle, irrigation, conservation, drainage, and environmental responsibility

Golf Focus

Understanding how golf courses maintain healthy grass and playing conditions

Activities

• Discuss why golf courses need water.
• Introduce irrigation, drainage, and water conservation.
• Explore how too much or too little water can affect grass and soil.
• Design a simple environmentally responsible golf course.
• Decide where to place grass, water hazards, drainage areas, and targets.
• Discuss ways golf courses can reduce water use.

Student Challenge

Design a golf course that provides a good playing experience while conserving water.

Key Vocabulary

Irrigation, conservation, drainage, water cycle, soil, grass, environment

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Session 8: Climate and Weather in Golf

STEM Focus

Earth’s rotation, atmosphere, hydrosphere, climate, weather, and ecosystems

Golf Focus

Understanding how weather and climate affect golf courses and gameplay

Activities

• Discuss the difference between weather and climate.
• Explain how Earth’s rotation and environmental systems contribute to different climates.
• Explore how heat, rain, wind, and humidity affect golf balls, grass, and players.
• Compare golf courses in different regions and climates.
• Conduct a final Golf challenge that combines measurement, force, scoring, and angles.
• Reflect on how STEM knowledge can help golfers make better decisions.

Student Challenge

Complete a final golf course while adjusting strategy for simulated weather conditions.

Key Vocabulary

Weather, climate, atmosphere, hydrosphere, wind, temperature, strategy

Program Outcomes

By the end of Golf Science Club, students will have developed introductory golf skills while gaining a stronger understanding of how STEM concepts appear in sports. Students will be able to measure and analyze golf shots, explain how force and angles affect ball movement, describe the structure of a golf ball, calculate golf scores, and discuss how water, weather, and climate influence golf courses.