Abstract
This study investigated the effect of increased core temperature on the performance outcome and movement kinematics of elite golfers during a golf putting task. The study aimed to examine individual differences in the extent to which increased temperature influenced the rate of putting success, whether increased temperature speeded up the timing of the putting downswing and whether elite golfers changed their movement kinematics during times of thermal stress. Six participants performed 20 putts to each of four putt distances (1, 2, 3, and 4 m) under normal temperature conditions and when core body temperature was increased. There was no significant difference in the number of successful putts between the two temperature conditions, but there was an increase in putterhead velocity at ball impact on successful putts to distances of 1 and 4 m when temperature was elevated. This reflected an increase in swing amplitude rather than a reduction in swing duration as hypothesized. There were individual differences in the motor control response to thermal stress as three of the golfers changed the kinematic parameters used to scale their putting movements to achieve putts of different distances at elevated temperatures. Theoretical implications for these findings and the practical implications for elite golfers and future research are discussed.
Highlights
The number of successful putts at each body temperature was recorded and a paired samples t-test revealed that there was no difference in the percentage success rate between the normal temperature and elevated temperature conditions [t(5) = 0.34, p = 0.74]
It was hypothesized that if a rise in core body temperature sped up the timing mechanism responsible for motor control, under high temperature conditions swing duration would decrease, swing amplitude would remain constant and the velocity of the putterhead would increase as a consequence
The results revealed no significant difference in the number of putts that were successfully holed between the normal temperature and elevated temperature
Summary
They found that within these six golfers two different methods were used to achieve putts of various distances; one method was to systematically vary the swing amplitude and duration, and the other was to systematically vary amplitude, duration and the proportion of the swing duration before the ball was struck Whilst this was not predicted by Craig et al (2000) these individual differences were not unexpected given the variability of the neuro-physiological system and the range of possible strategies used to hole short to medium length putts (i.e., a higher impact velocity with less allowance for the natural contours of the green, or a slower impact velocity that allows the ball to embrace the slope of the green into the hole) (Newell and Corcos, 1993; Pelz, 2000). These differences in movement kinematics used by the near elite golfers during fatigue suggest that the skilled behavior of expert performers might best be examined on an individual basis (Hammond, 2007; Park et al, 2015)
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