Are golf-shots distinguished by power control? Or it is just individual differences?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare individual shots by different players in terms of control of power as a biomechanical aspect. This study expected that there might be similarity in power of golf shots irrespective of individual players. For the study, 5 different powers of golf shots (70%, 80%, 90%, Max and round style) were measured by 10 Vicon cameras, 2 AMTI force plates and the Flightscope analysis system (Kudu). Biomechanical indicators for the measurement were 10 indicators that were measured in 5 events during golf-swing such as address, top of backswing, middle of downswing, left foot GRF peak and impact. The Self-Organising Map, which is an artificial intelligence technique, was used to compare how each individual is able to be distinguished from others. The Self-Organising Map was designed and applied to the data analysis with a batch learning algorithm in order to update weight vectors between nodes in the Self-Organising Map. As a result, golf shots were distinguished by each individual player, but not by power of shots in terms of biomechanical factors. Consequently, this study was found variability of individual performance (with lower handicap golf players).