Modeling an Optimal Trajectory for a Certain Minigolf Station

Abstract

Usually a minigolf course comprises a station at which the ball is supposed to enter a net, which is installed about one meter above the ground. The minigolf player uses a ramp for giving the ball the right direction. One may ask, at which velocity the ball has to be driven off in order to enter the net. In this article, we present several ways to use GeoGebra for solving this problem. We will see that the features of GeoGebra can help to visualize the problem, to implement a mathematical model, to work in this model and to validate the results by comparing to empirical data.