Croquet Mallet Design - Part 2 Weight

Part 2 of our discussion on mallet design is about weight. Why it's important and where it belongs. Over the course of this multipart series on mallet design, I'll be sharing my knowledge of various aspects of mallet design, including weight, head lengths, mallet heights, handle types and shapes. I'll also discuss why various materials are used,

Understanding Mallet Weight: A Guide to Designing the Right Mallet

Choosing the right mallet can feel like a balancing act, especially when it comes to weight. Whether you’re aiming for long-distance accuracy or precise touch shots, the weight and design of your mallet can significantly affect your performance. In this guide, we'll break down how mallet weight works and why it matters.

Heavy vs. Light Mallets

When it comes to mallets, the weight you choose can influence different aspects of your game:

• Long and heavy for long-distance accuracy
  • A heavier mallet with a longer head provides more momentum, making it easier to strike the ball further with greater control. The extra weight helps stabilize the swing, ensuring that your shots stay true over longer distances.
    
    
• Light and short for stop shots and touch shots
  • For more delicate shots, like stop shots, a lighter mallet with a shorter head offers greater precision. With less weight to manage, it's easier to control the smaller movements required for these kinds of shots.

However, rules prohibit players from using multiple mallets for different types of shots. So, we settle on a single mallet that does everything - though this does require a bit of compromise. 

Balancing the Design for Versatility

If you’re looking for one mallet that can handle a variety of shots, you’ll need to strike a balance:

• Longer heads can be lighter
  • This helps prevent the mallet from becoming too cumbersome, making it easier to handle while still offering the accuracy you need for longer shots.
• Shorter heads should be heavier
  • A heavier head on a shorter mallet gives you the weight and stability required for precision shots, without feeling too bulky.
• Mallet height
  • This is a subject covered in one of our earlier blog posts

Weight Placement Matters

While head weight is important, where that weight is placed also plays a critical role in performance.

• Shaft weight should be minimal

Ideally, the shaft should be as light as possible since it doesn’t directly affect how the ball moves. The less weight you have in the shaft, the more you can control the head.

• Concentrate weight in the head

The weight in the head is what actually moves the ball, so it’s best to focus on this area. For greater control, the weight should be concentrated at the ends of the head. This design feature, known as “peripheral weighting”, increases the mallet’s Moment of Inertia (MOI).

• Higher MOI (Moment of Inertia)

MOI refers to how resistant the mallet head is to twisting when you strike the ball. The higher the MOI, the less likely the head is to twist in your hands. Twisting can be traced back to your left and right hands not ‘playing nicely together’. By extension higher MOI helps you get the ball to where it’s aimed.

MOI Explained in Simple Terms

MOI may sound technical, but it's easy to understand with a quick experiment (see below). This phenomenon is the same reason why figure skaters spin faster when they bring their arms (weight) closer to their body (center of rotation).

A mallet with a low MOI will spin easily, while one with a high MOI will resist those movements. In practical terms, a high MOI mallet makes it harder for you to unintentionally twist the head during your swing.

Testing MOI at Home

You can test MOI at home with a simple experiment: Place the mallet handle between your palms and rub them together to spin the mallet back & forth. If the mallet changes direction easily, it has a low MOI. A mallet that’s harder to change direction has a higher MOI. This slows down unwanted twisting during your swing, leading to more accurate shots.

Weight is a matter of material Selection

The materials used in a mallet affect its weight, feel, and performance. Different materials can be used in the design of a mallet. Selection is determined by cost and performance choices. Each offer unique benefits, depending on what you're looking for.

• Lighter materials - These make it easier for mallet designers to place weight where it’s needed most, typically in the head.
• Heavier materials - Heavier materials like lead, brass, or stainless steel allow designers to concentrate weight more effectively, giving the mallet more heft where it's needed. The closer to the striking face that the weight is placed, the more effective is becomes.

Common materials used in mallet construction:

Wood

• Traditionally used for both handles and heads, wood is a classic choice for mallet design.
• It comes in a wide variety of densities, colors, and grain patterns, making it highly customizable.
• Wood is easy to work with, requiring only basic woodworking tools and machines.
• It has natural sound-deadening qualities, reducing the sharp “clanks” and “tings” that can come with carbon fiber or metal mallets.

Carbon Fiber

• Carbon fiber offers the best strength-to-weight ratio, making it a popular choice for high-end mallets.
• It’s an expensive material and requires specialized equipment to shape into shafts or heads.
• The flexibility of carbon fiber can also be engineered, meaning you can have handles with varying degrees of stiffness, depending on your needs.

Aluminum

• Aluminum is a lightweight material commonly used in tube form for mallet shafts and solid form for heads.
• It can be machined into many different shapes, offering versatility in design.
• In tube form, aluminum is often used for mid-priced handles, offering a good balance of weight and durability.

Conclusion

When it comes to selecting the perfect mallet, weight and material choices make all the difference. Whether you're prioritizing distance, accuracy, or versatility, understanding how these factors influence your performance will help you make a more informed decision. Balancing the right head weight, shaft weight, and material is a personal choice and one that will lead to a mallet that suits your style and improves your overall game.

 

For an indepth read on Moment of Inertial, check out the Wikipedia article by clicking below

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_of_inertia