Fancy Golf Clubs May Lead to Hearing Loss

By Alex in Health, Sports on Jan 5, 2009 at 3:57 pm

We’ve always known that golfers are particularly blind to fashion, but now, it turns out that the sport may also cause hearing loss:

Players who use a new generation of thin-faced titanium drivers to propel the ball further should consider wearing ear plugs, experts advise.

Ear specialists suspect the "sonic boom" the metal club head makes when it strikes the ball damaged the hearing of a 55-year-old golfer they treated. [...]

The doctors trawled the web for reviews of the King Cobra LD club and said they found some interesting comments.

One player reported: "Drives my mates crazy with that distinctive loud ‘BANG’ sound." Another said: "This is not so much a ting but a sonic boom which resonates across the course!"

The doctors decided to recruit a professional golfer to hit shots with six thin-faced titanium clubs from manufacturers such as King Cobra, Callaway, Nike and Mizuno.

All produced a louder noise than standard thicker stainless steel drivers. The worst offender was the Ping G10 at over 130 decibels.

Tags: deafness, golf, golf clubs, hearing loss, titanium drivers

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James Joyce
Jan 5th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
A sonic boom is achieved when an object breaks the sound barrier (340.29 m/s or 761.207051 mph at sea level).

Unless these are really strong golfers, I don’t want to hear anyone talking about sonic booms.

Hell, why don’t they go home and ground their kids for a lightyear.

Idiots.
James Joyce
Jan 5th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
(The above was directed at the original author, not you, Alex).
I C Kook
Jan 5th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
This is Kooky. Totally Kooky I tell ya!
Idil
Jan 5th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
well, James, it’s only a hyperbole in quotations.
Golf Blog
Jan 5th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Golfers are not “blind to fashion.” They dressed like that because golf originated from Scotland.
Alex
Jan 6th, 2009 at 3:45 am
Scots are blind to fashion!
Rocky Rook
Jan 7th, 2009 at 11:22 am
I hear ‘sonic booms’ on golf courses after lunch.
ray
Jan 7th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
wow, this has to be untrue, there is no way that it could damage your ears, its a ting of a little piece of metal hitting a little golf ball, even if it is 130db, its not painful or long lasted, to get the exposure to do damage it would take thousands and thousands of hits every day for years to add up long enough to cause hearing loss

anyone consider the fact that hes just old?

This is like saying using a screwdriver can break your ankle, because one guy fell off a ladder reaching for one.
Chris W
Jan 12th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Just because it’s small that makes it none damaging?? if the sound is 130db, it’s 130db whether it is made by a huge gong or a tiny golf ball.
Is like a bullet from a gun, it’s only a tiny explosion of gun powder but some can make very loud sounds and it can only take one loud bang to burst your ear drum.
Hearing Aids
Jan 14th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I was at the golfing range in Chelsea piers last week and couldn’t believe how loud one driver in particular was hitting the balls: The Bridgestone J33R. Trust me when I believe that all of the newer generation drivers are quite loud, but this one was a step above them. I found it unsettling because I’m usually quite fine driving a ball alongside my peers, but this one (as good of a club as it is) hit in such a way that a sheering clanging sound pierced my ears just a bit more than the others. Is there some way that these clubs can be made with some soft of muffler-effect without sacrificing quality?
lovehearing
Dec 18th, 2009 at 4:18 am
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