퍼터헤드 회전중심점 위치 관점에서 본 남자프로골퍼의 10.94 m 퍼팅동작의 진자운동 여부

Abstract

Putting score counts about 43 % of the golf score. The dominant idea of the putting motion to amateur golfers as well as to many professional golfers is a pendulum-like motion. If a golfer's putting stroke motion is a pendulum-like motion, the putting motion should be straight-back-and-through, the same backswing, downswing, and follow through length and period, and a swing with a fixed hinge joint. If the putting motions of the human are different from the pendulum motion, there could be confusion in understanding and teaching golf putting. The purpose of this study was to examine the center of rotation(COR) of the putter head to reveal whether professional golfers really putt like a pendulum. Thirteen male professional golfers were recruited for the study. Each golfers executed 10.94 m putts six times on an artificial grass mat. Putter head position data were collected through a 60 Hz three-dimensional motion analysis system and low pass filtered with cut-off frequency of 6 Hz. COR of the putter head was mathematically acquired. Each golfer's last five putting motions were considered. The results show that the COR of the putter head was neither fixed nor located inside of the golfer. The medio-lateral directional component of the COR of the putter head fluctuated in the range of 10 cm during downswing and follow through. The anterior-posterior directional component of the COR of the putter head was fixed from the beginning of the downswing through impact. Just after impact, however, it moved to the target up to 60 cm. The superior-inferior directional component of COR of the putter head moved in a superior direction with the beginning of the downswing and showed peak height just prior to impact. During the follow through, it moved back in an inferior direction. The height-normalized peak value of the COR of the putter head was <TEX>$1.4{\pm}0.3$</TEX> height. Technically speaking, male professional golfers' 10.94 m putting motion is not a pendulum-like motion. The dominating idea of a pendulum-like motion in putting might come from the image of the flawless, smooth motion of a pendulum.