EP #226 THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS - MIKE YAGLEY - VP OF INNOVATION/ AI - PUMA GOLF

THE KELLY CARDENAS PODCAST PRESENTS

MIKE YAGLEY has worked on several programs including: the Patriot ATM warhead, the AMRAAM missile warhead, the CATFAE mine clearing projectile, and armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot (APFSDS) projectiles.  I learned a tremendous amount of information about very high speed impacts and supersonic aerodynamics.

My Masters research thesis at Iowa State was a continuation of work started at Chamberlain on unsteady spin rates of APFSDS projectiles in supersonic flow.   I utilized a Mach 4 supersonic wind tunnel for empirical studies.

After graduate school I joined the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group working on the high speed civil transport, the next generation Concorde, designed to fly 300 passengers at Mach 2.9.   I worked in the low speed, high lift aerodynamic group designing and analyzing wing slats, flaps and vortex fences.

I also worked in the 737 and 757 aerodynamic sales and production support group.   In that role I was fortunate to have been assigned to a project commissioned to safely fly the first commercial airliner into the world’s highest operating airport in Bangda, China.  I flew in the jump seat of a 757 as we approached the 14,219 ft. altitude airport situated in a valley between 20,000 ft peaks.

I made the switch from airplanes to golf in 1994.   I started out at Maxfli Golf testing golf balls in South Carolina and then I joined Callaway golf as one of the first members of the R&D group assigned to make the world’s best golf ball.  Over the next 13 years I progressed from being the Testing Engineer, to leading R&D, to being the Vice President of the Golf Ball business category.

I am now the VP of Innovation / AI at Cobra PUMA Golf and my team is responsible for innovating constructions, material applications, aerodynamics, and player experiences of Cobra Golf clubs from drivers through putters that deliver better performance, improved feel or whatever is missing in the golfer’s experience.  Our company internal motto is to make “cool stuff that works”.