Swing speed and driving distance is a hot topic in golf right now, so with many players searching for how to hit the golf ball further, we suggest a good starting point is looking at how to use the ground for power in your golf swing.
At Precision Athletica in Sydney, this is something that we have been working on for a long time now, and we’re seeing some outstanding results in golfers of all ages and ability.
To help you in your search for extra power in your golf swing, Precision Athletica’s Head of Golf – Matt Green, has provided a brief look at some of the important areas as we see them.
In order to answer this question I need to go all science geek for a minute.
Newton’s first law states that a body at rest will stay at rest until acted upon by an external force. Ok, so why is this important to golfers? Well, what this means, is that in order to move or accelerate, as well as stop moving or decelerate, to produce a golf swing, an external force needs to act on our body.
Newton’s third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Again, why is this important for golfers to understand?
Well, when a golfer pushes into the ground, the ground pushes back, and the resultant force is called the ground reaction force (GRF).
It is the effective control of these forces that produce body and club motions in the golf swing, in fact, this is the underlying basis of all movement, whether athletic or everyday.
The Swing Catalyst pressure plate we have at Precision Athletica measures the pressure exerted by the golfer’s feet into the ground, allowing us to infer the forces generated and their subsequent impact on the resultant golf swing.
The benefit of having such technology is that not only does it allow us to accurately measure forces that are invisible and previously under-appreciated, it also allows us to give feedback to coaches and golfers about how they are moving and what they might be able to do to improve their movement.
An added benefit is that by focussing on what is happening with their contact with the ground, something they can feel through their feet, golfer’s find it easier to implement changes as they have a solid reference point, rather than just a feel of what their body is doing in space.
So, from a performance perspective, the pressure plate helps us identify ground pressure inefficiencies underlying poor movement patterns. This information can then be delivered to your coach, or yourself, and provides a way to improve your movement patterns.
In a similar way this process can help with identifying movement patterns which result in injury and provides a clear pathway to address these patterns.
Our Swing Catalyst Assessment will provide you and/or your coach with a pressure trace and video from caddy view and down the line, as well as vertical pressure data which indicates how well you are pushing into the ground during your swing.
Although it may sound high tech and only for elite players, everyone can benefit from a Swing Catalyst assessment, as it provides a clear picture of what you need to do to improve.
If you are interested in understanding more about your movement and where you might find swing gains through mechanics, it’s possible to work with Matt Green and undergo our Swing Catalyst Assessment at Precision Athletica. To find out more, please contact us to arrange a session or ask questions.
We’re taking the health of our clients, members and staff very seriously and our preference would be for you to call to book an appointment so that we can make sure to explain our approach to keeping you safe. You can call our bookings team to schedule a session:
Evolving with the current environment, we are also now offering online appointments, meaning that we can support anyone who is unable to leave their home. Sessions are done via our state-of-the-art Telehealth system and as long as you have a laptop or tablet with an inbuilt camera, or a phone with camera, we can help! Whilst we can’t do a Swing Catalyst Assessment online, our online consultations have proven to be highly effective when it comes to Golf Mobility and subsequent exercise recommendations.
To learn more about online consultations, please call us on any of the numbers listed above.