Mechanical Engineering student, Wian van Aswegen from Port Alfred, has designed and created a unique 3D metal printed golf putter.
Wian is a former youth national and provincial golf champion and a member of the Advanced Engineering Design Group (AEDG) in the School of Engineering at Mandela University.
In the middle of 2020, he discussed the possibility of designing a bespoke and re-configurable golf putter with his lecturer, Clive Hands of the AEDG, to use in various golf tournaments. The idea was to create a putter that would conform to a golfer’s specific desires in respect of the configuration of the club, be it weight, weight distribution, styling, balance, loft and material.
The project involved the use of metal 3D printing and composites. Working hand-in-hand with the AEDG’s established relationships with Akhani 3D Print Service and Custom Works, the project was completed.
Wian tackled the design of the club in addition to his academic loading, and was able to produce a prototype that could be additively manufactured and physically tested out on the greens. This prototype was tested on Saturday the 23rd January 2021 for the first time on the greens at the Royal Port Alfred Golf Club. The result was excellent.
“We are very proud of how the club came out in support. The 3D printed metal putter has already attracted envious attention within the local golfing fraternity. It is one of very few 3D metal printed golf putters, with forged carbon composite inserts, in the world. And to our knowledge, probably the only locally manufactured golf club, which is normally left up to the international big players like Calloway, Ping, etc.”
Clive Hands – Head of AEDG at Mandela University
The next step in the development of the club is to test it further, to enhance the design ,with the ultimate intention of registering the club with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews in Scotland (the curators of the rules and regulations of the game) for use in formal competition.
Contact information
Mr Clive Hands
Lecturer
Tel: 27 41 504 3375
Clive.Hands@mandela.ac.za
Source: https://news.mandela.ac.za/News/Engineering-student-designs-bespoke-golf-putter-R
