When the amateur golfer Bryson DeChambeau shot a five-over-par 72 at the US Masters in April this year, his score – good enough to tie for 21st place – wasn’t the only thing that attracted the media’s attention. DeChambeau, it transpired, is a physics graduate who took the unusual step of cutting all of his irons and wedges to the same length, so that he doesn’t have to adjust the plane of his swing when he changes clubs (see “Physics at the Masters”, May p3). Most golfing physicists are not so dedicated (and few, if any, are as talented – DeChambeau has since turned professional and currently ranks in the top 150 in the world), but those with a serious interest in the science of their sport will definitely want to get their gloved hands on The Science of the Perfect Swing.

In the book’s introduction, author Peter Dewhurst notes that “the general theory of impact, the science of flight, and the mechanics of motion…are among the most fascinating of the physical sciences” and they are also, of course, integral to the game of golf. Dewhurst is an emeritus professor of theoretical and applied mechanics at the University of Rhode Island, US, and his book goes into an impressive amount of detail on nearly every aspect of golf, from the ridiculousness of “low friction” tees (which, he notes, “magically add 80 pounds” to a maximum impact force of nearly 3000 pounds) to the benefits of the high-performance drivers introduced in the mid-2000s.

Most of the book is written at the level of a beginning undergraduate mechanics course, but each chapter also contains a lengthy section on the “supporting physics”, which reads more like a scientific review article. Whether it actually moves you closer to a “perfect swing” is an exercise best left to the reader, but there is, at least, some support in the book for DeChambeau’s single-length clubs. For a player “on Tour”, Dewhurst writes, “the major requirement is not ultra-long hitting, so it can only be consistency of ball striking”.

• 2016 Oxford University Press £22.99/$35.00hb 288pp