3-D kinematic analysis of the golf swings of expert and experienced golfers

Abstract

An investigation of the kinematic components of the golf swing was undertaken to identify strategies of seven expert and seven experienced male French amateur golfers to assess why some golfers are more successful than other players, ie. that their movements could produce optimal swing parameters. The measurements of kinematic data during swing were obtained with the optoelectronic system VICON™ (Oxford's Metrics™, Oxford, UK) with five cameras operating at 50 frames per second. This study showed that although the two golfer groups tested had a good skill level, statistical analysis revealed some significant differences. One of the expertise parameters was the relationship between flexibility with the maximal amplitude and the stability of the lower limbs in order to produce a weight transfer. Moreover, the duration of the backswing for the high skill level was shorter when compared to the lower skill level. Therefore, our results suggest that the spatio-temporal patterns of the golf swing were influenced by the skill level.