Effects of the golfer–ground interaction on clubhead speed in skilled male golfers

Date

2019

Authors

Han, Ki Hoon
Como, Christopher
Kim, Jemin
Lee, Sangwoo
Kim, Jaewoong
Kim, Dae Kyoo
Kwon, Young-Hoo

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to characterise the golfer–ground interactions during the swing and to identify meaningful associations between the golfer–ground interaction force/moment parameters and the maximum clubhead speed in 63 highly skilled male golfers (handicap ≤ 3). Golfers performed shots in 3 club conditions (driver, 5-iron and pitching wedge) which were captured by an optical motion capture system and 2 force plates. In addition to the ground reaction forces (GRFs), 3 different golfer–ground interaction moments (GRF moments, pivoting moments and foot contact moments) were computed. The GRF moment about the forward/backward (F/B) axis and the pivoting moment about the vertical axis were identified as the primary moments. Significant (p < 0.05) correlations of peak force parameters (all components in the lead foot and F/B component in the trail foot) and peak moment parameters (lead-foot GRF moment and trail-foot pivoting moment) to clubhead speed were found. The lead-foot was responsible for generating the GRF moment, while the trail foot contributed to the pivoting moment more. The instant the lead arm becomes parallel to the ground was identified as the point of maximum angular effort, and the loading onto the lead-foot near this point was critical in generating both peak moments.

Description

Article originally published by Sports Biomechanics, 18(2), 115–134. Published online 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/14763141.2019.1586983

Keywords

Foot–ground interaction, Ground reaction force, Ground reaction moment, Centre of pressure, Moment arm

Citation

This is the post-print version of an article that is available at https://doi.org/10.1080/14763141.2019.1586983. Recommended citation:Han, K. H., Como, C., Kim, J., Lee, S., Kim, J., Kim, D. K., & Kwon, Y.-H. (2019). Effects of the golfer–ground interaction on clubhead speed in skilled male golfers. Sports Biomechanics, 18(2), 115–134. This item has been deposited in accordance with publisher copyright and licensing terms and with the author’s permission.

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