Do Higher Swing Speeds Correlate With Lower Handicaps.

A study was recently conducted at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia to study the relationship between a golfer’s club head speed and his handicap to determine if club head speed is a valid measure of golfing performance.

Forty-five male golfers aged 18-80 years, all with registered golf handicaps between 2 and 27, participated in this study. Each golfer performed 10 golf swings captured by a high-speed camera.

The study found that golfers with a lower handicap (i.e., a better skill level) had faster club head speeds than higher handicap golfers, regardless of their age. The very strong relationship between club head speed and handicap suggests that the average golfer could potentially improve their handicap by generating more club head speed.

Summary: More Power = Better Scores

References
Fradkin AJ, Sherman CA, Finch CF. (2004). How well does club speed correlate with golf handicaps. The Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 7(4):465 - 472.

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A Golf Specific Warm Up Can Improve Your Performance on the Course

Researchers at Monash University in Australia set out to determine whether a golf specific warm up program (both immediately prior to play and after performing it five times a week for 5 weeks) improved performance in 10 male golfers compared with 10 controls matched for age, sex, and handicap.

The twenty male golfers were matched for age (±2 years) and handicap (±1 stroke). Ten men performed a three part warm-up 5 times a week while the control group of ten men performed no structured warm-up.

The three part warm-up protocol was structured like so:

four exercises such as windmills and trunk twists that were intended to raise body temperature

a series of nine static stretches which targeted the muscle groups activated in golf (lateral trunk/lower torso, hamstrings/lower back, chest, wrist, and forearm)

30 seconds of air swings with increasing intensity and range of motion.

Performance was assessed by measuring club head speed at impact prior to and after five weeks of training with these warm-ups. Results of this study showed that the subjects who performed the golf specific warm-up realized a 24% increase in their club head speeds while the control group that did not perform any warm up program had a negligible increase in club head speed.

Summary: Proper Golf Specific Warm Up = More Power = Better Scores

References
Fradkin A, Sherman C, Finch C, Improving golf performance with a warm-up conditioning program, British Journal of Sports Medicine, Aug-03, Published, 2004: 38:762-765

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Current Warm Up Practices of Golfers: Are They Sufficient to Enhance Performance.

Researchers at Deakin University in Australia have researched the benefits of a golf specific warm up and have proven how a properly designed warm up can improve performance (2), but they were unsure of what percentage of golfers actually undertake such warm up procedures.

To answer this question, researchers set out to collect information about the proportion of golfers who actively warm up and to determine the types of warm up behaviors.

The study was conducted over three weeks at three different golfing venues: a private golf course, a public golf course, and a golf driving range. Golfers’ warm up behaviors, defined as any form of preparative exercise, were recorded by direct observation by two independent observers.

The sample consisted of 1040 amateur golfers (852 men and 188 women) aged at least 18 years. Only 54.3% performed some form of warm up activity. Air swings on the tee were the most commonly observed warm up activity, with 88.7% of golfers who warmed up performing these (3).

Knowing of the performance enhancement benefits of warming up, the same researchers set out to understand why most golfers do not perform some kind of warm up. The aim of their next study was to determine the self-reported behaviors and attitudes of adult golfers towards warming-up. A survey of 1040 randomly selected golfers was conducted over a 3-week period. Information about golf participation, usual warm-up habits and reasons for these warm-up behaviors was obtained by through interviews.

Over 70% of the surveyed golfers stated that they never or seldom warm-up, with only 3.8% reporting warming-up on every occasion. The most common reasons why golfers warmed-up included to play better (74.5%), to prevent injury (27.0%), and because everyone else does (13.2%).

Common reasons for not warming-up were the perception that they don’t need to (38.7%), don’t have enough time (36.4%) and can’t be bothered (33.7%).

These two studies discovered that only a small proportion of amateur golfers perform appropriate warm up exercises. To improve on this, golfers should be educated about the possible benefits of warming up, such as improved performance and injury prevention and be shown how to perform an appropriate warm up routine.

References

Fradkin, A., Finch, C. and Sherman, C. (2001) Warm up practices of golfers: are they adequate., British Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol 35, pp. 125-127, BMJ Publishing Group, United Kingdom

Fradkin, A., Finch, C.* and Sherman, C. (2003) Warm-up attitudes and behaviors of amateur golfers, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Vol 6, No 2, pp. 210-215, Sports Medicine Australia, Australia

Article Summary

The studies mentioned above should illustrate to you the importance of warming up in achieving maximum golfing performance, power, distance and injury prevention. A proper warm up prepares you for your best performance right off the first tee. Never forget that the golf swing is an athletic action with little margin of error. Warming up ensures that you are sharp right from the start.

As a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) by the NSCA, Jason Krantz’s focus is on significantly improving the power levels and injury resistance of all golfers. He specializes in power enhancement and all related components of improved golf performance. For more information on how Jason can help your game visit http://www.sonicboomgolf.com

You can also try out the Virtual Launch Monitor at http://www.sonicboomgolf.com/virtual_launch_monitor2.php This tool will show you how altering different variables involved in producing distance will affect how far your ball will travel and will show you how you can maximize your distance off the tee.