A REVIEW OF GOLF SWING BIOMECHANICS

Timmy Phomsouvanh

INTRODUCTION
Golf can be played at most any age and is
experiencing a level of growth in many
locations worldwide. A golf swing is an
important part of the game, and can help
drive the ball closer to the target. The
game may come with injuries amongst
golfers. The most frequently injured body
part is the wrist. Many factors of the body
play a role in the golf swing which
includes the hands, arms, legs, and hips.
There is a widespread of information and
studies that describe the biomechanics of
a golf swing. This abstract will cover the
kinematics, kinetics, electromyography,
and ball projectory that takes place during
the golf swing with a right handed golfer.
To facilitate biomechanical analyses of
the golf swing it is divided into three
separate phases. These are: 1) the
preparation phase which consists of the
grip, posture, stance, and ball position, 2)
the execution phase (i.e.: backswing and
downswing) and 3) the recovery or
follow-through phase.

KINEMATICS
The golf swing is one of the most difficult
and complex of sport motions (Dillman
and Lange, 1994).There are many ways to
evaluate the golf swing and not everyone
has the same form or technique.
Barrentine SW, Fleisig GS, Johnson H, et
al. (1994) explain that during the stance,
50-60% of the golfers weight should be
on the back of the foot. For optimal
power and maintaining the swing, the
knees should be flexed to 20-50 degrees,
the trunk flexed to approximately 45

degrees at the hips, with a right lateral

shoulder tilt of approximately 16 degrees
bending in the spine and downward
rotation of the right arm and scapula. In
the backswing there are numerous
rotations of the shoulders and hips while
the arms move upward. The left elbow is
extended at the top of the backswing and
the right arm is abducted to
approximately 75-90 degrees. The
purpose of the downswing is to return the
club head to the ball with maximum
velocity. Okuda et al. (2002) has stated
that eccentric action of the trunk muscles
initiates the downswing sequence. Lastly,
with the follow-through phase the golfer
should finish in a balanced position with
the trunk facing the target and the head
should be rotated left due to this trunk
swinging momentum.
KINETICS
Previous studies have shown that only a
small percentage (20.2-26.8%) of the
energy developed by the body during the
downswing is transferred to the club
(Nesbit and Serrano, 2005). The path of
the hands, also known as the path hub, is
the point where the summation of the
forces, torques, energy, and momentum
developed by the golfer through the
various joint and body movements are
ultimately transferred to the club. Kinetic
analyses of the golfer have focused on
determining the forces and torques
generated during the downswing
(Dillman and Lange, 1994). It is possible

to increase club head velocity through

modification of the arm and wrist
torque. Golfers with a radial deviation
of 20 degrees can achieve a wrist-cock
ELECTROMYOGRAPHY
Muscle activity and timing can be used to
estimate the importance of various
muscles to the golf swing. Studies have
shown that both arms are active
throughout the entire swing and
contribute to the development of club
head speed during the downswing phase.
Other muscles that contribute to the
swing include the hip, knee muscles,
trunk muscles, scapular muscles, and
shoulder muscles (Hosea TM, Gatt CJ,
Galli KM et al., 2005). Electromyography
has also been used in combination and
videography to assess spinal loads in the
swing. A study done with six experienced
male golfers were analyzed using EMG
equipment attached to the body while
performing the backswing and
downswing. The golfers rotated their
shoulders at the top of the backswing
between 61-102 degrees, and rotated hips
between 23-54 degrees. The golfers
rotated less in their biacromial lines and
flexed more the right arm.

BALL PROJECTILE
Distance and accuracy of hitting the ball
is important and will be an advantage to
get closer to the target. When the ball is
flying through the air, it is considered to
be a projectile, so that the center of
gravity of the ball follows a parabolic
trajectory. Depending on the mass and
force of the golf club, the ball will
undergo a large change in momentum.
The path will be determined by the
angle, height and velocity. External

position with minimal wrist extension

and golfers that are limited will use more
wrist extension to gain the square hand at
the top of the backswing.
forces such as air resistance act to change
the motion of the ball, resulting in a
reduction in horizontal velocity and
reduce horizontal displacement.

MUSCLE STRENGTH
The golf swing is an explosive movement
and in order to improve distance, golfers
will need to improve strength and power.
Physical fitness including flexibility,
plyometric, and balance has shown
improvements related to swing
performance. Although some exceptions
do exist (Pinter, 1992; Reyes, 2002),
when an improvement in strength has
occurred, a subsequent increase in ball
speed has always been observed
regardless of the type of strength training
program undertaken. Training increases
club head speed and may increase driving
distance of 4-5%.
SUMMARY
The golf swing is crucial in the game of
golf and there is a plethora of ongoing
studies of biomechanics for better
improvement. Swing kinematics,
kinetics, electromyography, ball
projectile, and muscle strength have all
been observed. The downswing phase is
a critical part for distance and accuracy.
Strength training and physical fitness
are important factors that can help with
the rotation of the body to increasing
driving distance of the ball.
REFERENCES

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(2012). Journal of
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