Isogolf - Golf Analysis Software

Mechanics of the golf swing

Biomechanics is the study of body mechanics utilizing the physic laws of motion that describe human body position and displacement regarding to time, velocity, acceleration, forces, torque, inertia, and impulse. However, it is not always necessary to use all the above variables to define the main factors that contribute to a particular motion.

The biomechanics of the golf swing aim is to provide evidence that helps the golf player execute a golf swing to produce maximum distance, accuracy, control, and consistency in each shot. Mostly, it is difficult to be consistent with each golf swing sequence, but when you start understanding and improving your golf swing technique, consistency will come and you will perform well like a natural.

Research on the biomechanics of the golf swing has found three major factors that distinguish between expert and novice golfers. These factors are:
The club head velocity during impact with the golf ball.
Sequence of limb segments and club.
Six key angles formed by body segments and the club head.

The club head velocity during impact with the golf ball.

Club head velocity is the velocity with which the club head is travelling. The speed at impact influences the distance the ball will be propelled, as well as the trajectory and shape of the resulting shot. It can be assumed; therefore, that greater club velocity closer to the time of impact leads to greater ball distance.
Research showed that high skill level players in comparison to leaser-skilled have greater acceleration during the downswing and the club head achieve greater velocity closer to the time of impact. Data obtained from several studies showed that at ball impact PGA players reach ~50 m/s, low handicap 35-45 m/s, and high handicap less then 33 m/s.

Sequence of limb segments and club.

The complex system of the downswing in golf is approximated by the motion of a double-pendulum consisting of an upper segment (the arm and the shoulder) pivoted at the shoulder and hinged at the wrist to the lower segment (the club). For a normal right-handed golfer, the left arm sets the plane of the swing and reproduces the action of the two-segment model.

Shoulder (blue) and wrist (red) angular, displacement, velocity, and acceleration during the downswing are presented in the graphs on the left. It can be seen that at initial movement (0.075s) the angle at the wrist remain constant, while the angle at the shoulder joint increases. During the transition stage (initiation of wrist uncock, ~0.125s) the angle at the wrist increases at a greater rate than the angle at the shoulder until it brings the club in line with the hands.

Biomechanics of the golf swing

Angular velocity graphs shows that after uncock (~0.125s) angular velocity at the shoulder decreases while angular velocity at the wrist rapidly increases. This creates a greater linear velocity of the club head before ball impact.

The delay in the uncocking of the wrist towards the transition phase would be advantageous to produce maximum segmental velocity. Failure to initially resist this uncocking force would allow the transition stage to begin too early and result in a loss of clubhead speed.

Six key angles formed by body segments and the club head.

In an attempt to understand the complex movements contributing to the golf swing, scientists generally break-down the movement into a series of clearly Identifiable Events occurring during the golf swing, and determine the values of the swing characteristics for each event from the recorded data.

More information on the crucial angles that distinguish between scratch and poor golfers can be found in the Knowledgebase section that comes with the Isogolf software.