Question

A golf club continues forward after hitting the golf ball. Is momentum conserved in the collision? Explain, making sure you are careful to identify “the system.”

Short answer

The momentum is conserved.

Step-by-step solution

Given Information 

We need to find the momentum conserved in the collision after hitting the golf ball.

Explanation

Our system here contains the golfer, the golf club and the golf ball. The golfer moves the club vertically then horizontally before hitting the ball. We ignore the vertical motion of the club and the ball. Before hitting the ball, the club and the ball are in horizontal axis. In this case, the momentum is conserved for the horizontal motion

$p_{i,x}=p_{f,x}$

Before the collision and just after the collision, the momentum is conserved.