The biology of Tiger

Biology is the study of life and we like to separate the different disciplines of science by the way we explain certain phenomena. But if we are studying life and what happens in it, then all disciplines must be used to fully explain phenomena that we see every day. With this in mind, I will observe a commercial featuring Tiger Woods in a biological way.



Here we see Tiger Woods standing at what seems to be a driving range on a very clear day. He is wearing a black hat, black slacks, black shoes, and a red, white, and blue shirt with black sleeves and collar. His clothing material appears to be cotton, a fibrous material produced by cotton plants to protect the seeds. Fiber cells in plants are usually long cells that contain cellulose and the protein lignin, which both give it their strong yet flexible properties.

The club he is using is a sand-wedge, the club with the greatest loft angle so it is easier to position his hand while he bounces the ball. The ball bounces because there is a rubber insert inside. Rubber, now artificially synthesized in labs, was first discovered as a product of trees in their sap. The latex that was produced by the trees is a form of protection if their dermal (skin) layer is broken. This prevents infection for the tree along with protection from predation.

The ball also bounces because his arm provides the club head with a counter force to gravity. When the ball hits the clubhead, an upward force is applied projecting the ball in the direction of the force. In order to create this force, Tiger’s muscle fibers must use up stored chemical energy (ATP) to actively pull his hand and, as a result, the club upward to provide an upward force to the ball. His muscle fibers contract and shorten at a speed that moves his whole arm upward with a force strong enough for the ball to go against the downward pull of gravity.

Biology can explain how cotton is made and how our arms are able to move the way they do, but other explanations are just as valid. Chemistry can explain the make up of the dyes in the cotton clothing, or the make up of the cotton fibers used. Physics can explain how a ball can be moving up when gravity is pulling down. Even in my own explanations I couldn’t help but use chemistry and physics to explain Tiger Woods’ clothing and the bouncing ball. Biology is the study of life, and since every phenomenon we see or experience is in life, aren’t all science disciplines one in the same? Or at least inseparable when used for explanation?