Linear relationships among the hand and clubhead motion characteristics in golf driving in skilled male golfers

Date

2021

Authors

Kwon, Young-Hoo
Tuttle, Noelle J.
Hung, Cheng-Ju
Levine, Nicholas A.
Baek, Seungho

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Human Kinetics

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the linear relationships among the hand/clubhead motion characteristics in golf driving in skilled male golfers (n = 66; handicap ≤ 3). The hand motion plane (HMP) and functional swing plane (FSP) angles, the HMP–FSP angle gaps, the planarity characteristics of the off-plane motion of the clubhead, and the attack angles were computed from the drives captured by an optical motion capture system. The HMP angles were identified as the key variables, as the HMP and FSP angles were intercorrelated, but the plane angle gaps, the planarity bias, and the attack angles showed correlations to the HMP angles primarily. Three main swing pattern clusters were identified. The parallel HMP–FSP alignment pattern with a small direction gap was associated with neutral planarity and planar swing pattern. The inward alignment pattern with a large inward direction gap was characterized by flat planes, follow-through-centric planarity, spiral swing pattern, and inward/downward impact. The outward alignment pattern with a large outward direction gap was associated with steep planes, downswing-centric planarity, reverse spiral swing, and outward/upward impact. The findings suggest that practical drills targeting the hand motion pattern can be effective in holistically reprogramming the swing pattern.

Description

Article originally published by Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 37(6), 619–628. Published online 2021. https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.2021-0303

Keywords

Functional swing plane, Hand motion plane, Planarity bias, Attack angles

Citation

This is the post-print version of an article that is available at https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.2021-0303. Recommended citation:Kwon, Y.-H., Tuttle, N. J., Hung, C.-J., Levine, N. A., & Baek, S. (2021). Linear relationships among the hand and clubhead motion characteristics in golf driving in skilled male golfers. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 37(6), 619–628. This item has been deposited in accordance with publisher copyright and licensing terms and with the author’s permission.

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