Question

During his first golf tournament (at age 2). Tiger Woods actually had to four putt one of the holes. His putts were as follows: 10 meters SW, 3 meters N, 4 meters SE, and 0.5meters W. HOw far was the hole from his original putting position. In what direction?

Answer 1

Distance = 8.37 meters. Direction = 55.5 degrees. Let's work backwards from the described putts. The 4 putts were 1. 10 meters SW 2. 3 meters N 3. 4 meters SE 4. 0.5 meters W So from the hole, let's go 0.5 meters E Ball at (0.5, 0) Now let's go 4 meters NW, leaving the ball at (0.5 - 2sqrt(2), 2sqrt(2)) Now go 3 meters S, leaving the ball at (0.5 - 2sqrt(2), 2sqrt(2) - 3) Finally, go 10 meters NE, leaving the ball at (0.5 +3sqrt(2), 7sqrt(2)-3) x = 0.5 + 3sqrt(2) = 4.74 meters y = 7sqrt(2)-3 = 6.90 meters Using the Pythagoras's theorem, the distance of the ball from the hole was d = sqrt(4.74^2 + 6.90^2) = 8.37 meters The tangent of the angle is 6.90/4.74 = 1.455. The arc tangent (or inverse tangent) of 1.455 = 55.5 degrees