Designing a more effective golf club is the goal of an industrial design class this quarter.The class is working with Dynacraft, a golf club manufacturer based in Newark, Ohio, said Lorraine Justice, chair of the Department of Industrial, Interior and Visual Communications Design. Students will redesign the grip, head shaft and shape for drivers, Justice said.”We’re looking for feedback from the manufacturer,” she said. “We feel as though we represent the user.”Students began the project by conducting in-depth research about the game of golf and golf clubs.”First, students must learn how to play golf, and how to handle the club,” Justice said. “Then they decide what they can improve in the golf club.”About half the students in class had no golf experience, said Wayne Chung, an assistant professor in the department.”The students knew of the project before classes started, so they had a chance to practice,” Chung said. “They help each other and work in teams.”Students are graded in four different areas, including presentation, concepts, the final model and documentation, Chung said.”Students aren’t graded on their golf score,” Justice said. “We look at their problem-solving ability and thoroughness of research.”Portfolios and finished projects could land the designers jobs and recognition, Chung said.”In design, grades aren’t of great importance,” he said. “It depends on whether the end-result is deliverable and tangible.”Students agree the final product is important for their future job search.”I hope this project will help me to build my portfolio so I will have some decent products to showcase for interviews,” said Luther Little, a junior majoring in product design.In addition to landing jobs, free-lance designer Doug Marshall said he hopes students will learn something about the game of golf itself.”Hopefully they’ll learn about production processes, and the design styling of golf clubs,” said Marshall, who is co-teaching the class with Chung. “There’s a lot of complex areas of expertise, including aesthetics, and the knowledge of color and how it affects the product.”Yennas Chandra, a junior majoring in product design, said he appreciates the hands-on experience of working with a corporation.”You can get more experience with outside information, in addition to that from faculty,” Chandra said. “It is a real-life project that will help me gain a lot.””This project is original, and we want to please our client but be happy with it ourselves as well,” said Elizabeth Serraglio, a junior majoring in product design. “I want to do something completely different and exciting.”