The term biomechanics refers to the musculoskeletal actions in the human body that create a physical movement, such as lifting an object or performing a sports movement like a throw, jump or swing. Sport biomechanists have analyzed the movements made during a golf swing for decades, giving you a more complete understanding of how to execute and improve your swing.
Reactive Power
One of the biomechanics that occurs during a golf swing is the coordinated downward knee bend during the start of the stroke, followed by an upward push off the ground. This two-part movement generates what is known as reactive power and helps you create more power than if you started with straight legs and tried to jump off the ground with no downward movement. A single-direction movement like that, called explosive power, while helpful in some sport movements, such as a runner leaving the blocks at the start of a sprint, is not appropriate for golf. Other occurrences of reactive power during a golf swing would be the torso stretch during the backswing, followed by the forward movement of the hips.
Energy Creation
The golf swing is a specific application of the general sport skill of striking, used to bat a baseball, hit a forehand, make a slapshot or hit a tee shot. The human body generates approximately 4,000 watts of power during a world-class tennis stroke. This energy creation is directly related to the size of the body parts involved in the swing—the larger the body part, the greater the number of watts of energy produced. During a golf swing, most of the energy produced is created by the upper legs, hips, core and trunk. This is why the phrase "swing easy, hit hard" holds true for golf. Because so little power is generated in the arms and hands, golfers should relax their grip on the club and let their legs and trunk do the work, rather than trying to swing hard with their arms.
Internal Shoulder Rotation
Dr. Bruce Elliot of the University of Western Australia measured the contributions of the various parts of the body during golf and tennis swings. He found that the single-largest contribution to racket head speed at impact came from internal shoulder rotation, at 55 percent. The so-called "wrist snap," which many tennis instructors teach to increase power on a serve, actually only contributed 6 percent of racket head speed at impact. Using this type of research on sport swing movements, golf instructors have been able to teach golfers that opening the hips during the beginning phase of the golf swing accelerates the upper body, creating the internal shoulder rotation that generates most of the power during a golf stroke.
Push-Me, Pull-You
Dr. Ben Kibler of the Lexington Clinic Sports Medicine Center noted the difference in swing biomechanics between male and female athletes. Due to a lack of core strength, women tend to propel their hips backward, or out of their shots, creating a pull-through motion, while men drive their hips forward, into shots, creating a push-through mechanic. While both are efficient enough to create beneficial results, only the push-through motion generates top club, bat or racket speeds while simultaneously requiring less energy expenditure.
References
- "British Journal of Sports Medicine"; Muscle Activity During the Golf Swing; A McHardy, H Pollard; 2005
- "British Journal of Sports Medicine"; Biomechanics and Tennis; Dr. Bruce Elliott; 2005
- "The 4,000 Watt Tennis Player"; W. Ben Kibler; 2009
- Athletic Quickness: Golf -The Anatomy of the Forward Swing
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