Game Like Training Radio co-host Matthew Cooke recently released a new book “Expert Golfer“.

Go pick up your copy!

The best golfers in the world have left their spectators in awe. Their high level of motor skill when executing fine movements in a game that breeds more frustration than inspiration makes it difficult to comprehend. The complexity of golf’s main aim (getting the little white ball in the hole and bypassing the obstacles presented around it) caused mathematicians to conclude that doing so more often than not is not probable.

How do they do it?

What makes them so special?

Why are they so good?

This book will guide you through scientific principles that reveal how the best became the best.

The post New Book “Expert Golfer” appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Do you know that feeling of when you find something really great… Really really great and all you want to do is share it with your best friends. You can’t wait for them to have that same AHA moment you just had.

I want every fellow golfer to read this book I stumbled upon because I honestly believe it will give you a holistic look at what the mental game is and the best steps you can take to improve your own performance.

We all know the mental game is super important.
But why does no one actually explain it in a way that makes sense. And to me that’s super important. I’m sick of ideas and teaching that doesn’t have any grounding in research… besides “hey it worked for me”. It’s the very reason I started the Golf Science Lab.

It’s hard because there are so many important components of the mental game and performance that every athlete (and really person) need to know.

• The Optimal State to hit a golf ball in.
• What your pre-shot routine should look like.
• How your brain works during performance.
• What to focus on and what to let go.

But it’s darn near impossible to learn everything without quite a bit of struggle.

For years I read as many books as I could get my hands on, looking for something that really covered everything on the mental game with a basis in research.

Then I found it.

And I couldn’t believe everyone wasn’t talking about this book.
It was just so good and the author had an incredible track record to cap it off.

> > Get all the details here

The authors name is Dr Debbie Crews and after many conversations she’s now one of my favorite people to talk to about everything performance. She’s been doing research on performance in golf for 30+ years and has one of the best perspectives on what’s going on the brain.
Her resume is ridiculous

• Awarded the “Science in Golf Prize” by Golf Magazine in 2001.
• Several studies on the “yips” in golf with the Mayo Clinic
• NBC Dateline and Scientific American Frontier have illustrated stories about Debbie’s research.
• #8 among America’s Top 50 Women Golf Instructors by Golf Digest.
• Research published in Golf Magazine, Golf Digest, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal.

So I reached out and luckily she agreed to work with us and ultimately we created this audio book and bundle so you learn these incredible insights into the brain and how to achieve peak performance.

The post One of my favorite books on the mental game (you probably haven’t read but should) appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

With so much hype about single length irons it’s hard to figure out what’s best for you the golfer and what might happen when you make the switch. That’s why we went right to the source… David Edel, founder of Edel Golf who just launched their new single length iron set.

The story of the Edel single length irons starts with David Edel’s work with a young Bryson DeChambeau. Bryson and his instructor at the time were having a hard time getting the weighting correct with the longer wedges in a single length set. David initially helped out with that until eventually creating the entire iron set for Bryson.

When you create a single length iron you run into a lot of issues: short clubs not going far enough, long clubs going to short, short clubs being to heavy when lengthened and so on.

David shares why he belives they’ve solved a lot of these problems single length iron producers have faced in the past by completely customizing not only the club head but shafts as well. Their partnership with Paderson golf shafts has allowed them to create graphite shafts that open up new possibilities for both the short and longer irons. David shares the tech behind the new shafts and why it actually works.

What club are you most comfortable with? Probably your 7 iron Let’s build a golf club around it.

Fitting is going to be key with single length as everything from length, weight, lie angle, bounce etc… needs to be crafted for each individual to make the transition process as smooth as possible. But as David shares, moving to a single length irons will take time to adjust to. You can’t expect to be comfortable from day one but stick with it and give yourself sufficient time to adjust and test.

Stick around to the end where we run through 4 common single length iron questions

• How do single length clubs function with uneven lies?
• How long does it take to adjust and transition to using single length irons?
• How do wedges work with single irons?
• What clubhead speeds will single length irons work for?

All the Details Straight from Edel:

HOLLOW BODY DESIGN Our hollow body design allows for a thinner, stronger face to deliver a longer, more forgiving iron design.

PROGRESSIVE FACE THICKNESS Our face inserts feature a varying face thickness throughout the set to maintain proper ball speeds for each specific iron; delivering optimal and consistent distance gapping.

PROGRESSIVE INTERNAL CAVITY We have done some impressive work under the hood of our Single Length System Irons. By progressively decreasing the size of our internal cavities as loft increases we can control the ball speeds; resulting in proper distance gapping throughout the set.

THERMOPLASTIC POLYMER INSERT Our hollow body iron is filled with a soft polymer material to provide improved feel, sound, and energy transfer. This also allows us to move the weight to the perimeter portions of the iron; increasing the size of the sweet spot.

5 STEP FORGING PROCESS Multiple step forging process allows for better grain structure in our carbon steel irons; providing superior feel.

CENTERED CG Through multiple design features we were able to locate the CG position in the center of the club face; improving shot dispersion and feel by maximizing head stability.

ADJUSTABLE WEIGHTING Adjustable weights allow for the ideal fitting process. Edel Certified Fitters can easily control the ideal weight to match the fitted length of the student. These weights allow for head weights ranging from 262 – 276 grams.

SHAFT SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR EDEL We have worked with the design team at Paderson Shafts to develop a shaft specifically for use with the Single Length System. This shaft counteracts the negative effect of playing all irons the same length with a traditional shaft. The new design allows higher launch and distance in low lofted irons transitioning to lower launch and distance in the higher lofted irons; all while maintaining the same weight and feel. This allows for a more linear ball flight throughout the set; allowing for proper distance gapping between clubs. Available in 3 weights, 4 flexes, and Short, Mid, and Long iron profiles.

IDEAL BOUNCE AND SOLE GRIND As the industry leader in bounce education and sole design we have developed an iron with the optimal sole width, bounce, and grind surface for Single Length System Irons.

The post The Truth About SINGLE LENGTH IRONS w/ David Edel appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

I had a great time down at the PGA show and wanted to share a few of the highlights from the trip from tech to education.

Arccos

I was blown away by what I saw at Arccos at this years show. You might have seen the video I did awhile back on my experiences playing with it for 9 holes and know that I really like the platform, but there were a few issues.

One of the negatives is the weight the sensor adds on the end of the club so I was happy to see the change with the latest version called Arccos 360. I’m going to be looking into it further and using the system on a fun project this summer.

But to be honest there was one thing that really BLEW me away. They partnered with Microsoft to create a predictive analysis software and when I saw it I couldn’t believe how cool it was.

You play some rounds with Arccos and it gathers data like the distance you hit clubs, the dispersion patterns, and other things. That fuels some of the smart distance data and their handicap’s which allow you to see where you’re at with each skill. Now this new software takes that data as well as data from a golf course (the other rounds people have played there) and tells you what clubs to hit and the prediction on what you will score.

So should you hit driver or 3 wood?
Should you go for the par 5 or not?

The Arccos Course Analyzer layers a user’s data on top of millions of data points for more than 40,000 golf courses mapped in the Arccos system. It then harnesses Azure’s cloud-computing services and machine learning capabilities to provide personalized recommendations for optimal strategies on nearly every golf hole in the world.

Keep it up Arccos! Check it out here.

K-VEST NEXT

If you don’t know K-VEST it’s 3D motion capture tool specializing in incredible training with biofeedback. (we’ll learn more about it as they’re sponsoring our 4th season of the Golf Science Lab)

They released something at the show that’s going to take working on the golf swing to the NEXT level. It’s biofeedback that can walk you through a progression, so no longer do you just have static positions with biofeedback.

NEXT turns static positional training into a complete movement to help players learn, and more importantly, retain the desired skills.

When you see this one in real life or have an experience on it you’re mind will be opened to a new way of working on the golf swing that really makes sense.

Check out K-VEST here

Will Robins Coaching Workshop

You might have seen me talking about this one before the show as I was helping Will host this event. Will brought the word on group coaching and had all the coaches mapping out revenue goals, planning their first program to launch, and then TAKING ACTION.

Before everyone left the event they had picked up the phone and contacted at least one person to join in their program.

Will is 100% a transformational coach and we saw that at the workshop. If you’re a golf coach watch for this workshop again as we’re excited to launch out more of these this coming year.

Learn more about Will here

Certified Golf Coach

If you haven’t heard of Dr Rick Jensen and Henry Brunton’s Certified Golf Coach program… Where have you been? They are two fantastic guys and leading minds in the industry.

I was able to check out their Mental Mastery program on Friday morning and see how they’re equipping coaches help their students with the mental game… HINT – it has less to do with the mental game as with better training.

Learn more about Certified Golf Coach here

Cameron McCormick at Teaching and Coaching Summit

One of the most well known coaches in the game Cameron McCormick brought an incredible message to wrap up the teaching and coaching summit. He talked about the role of a coach and gave insights into his practices/rituals that help him be a better coach.

His honesty and authenticity was more than refreshing in an industry where most try to insist their always right and prove their methods. To say I’m a fan would be an understatement.

Cameron if you happen to see this. Thank you for sharing.

Open Forum

Always a great time, and definitely did not disappoint this time around. Few people you might know from the Golf Science Lab were there – Game Like Training Radio co-host Matthew Cooke, favorite guest David Orr, and most of the biomechanists we’ll be hearing from in the 4th season of the Golf Science Lab podcast coming soon.

Few of my Highlights:
Biomechanist panel with Dr Rob Neal, Dr Mike Duffey, Dr Phil Cheetham, Dr Scott Lynn, and Liam Mucklow

Performance panel with Dr Fran Pirozzolo, Dr Bhrett McCabe, Garrett Kramer, Scott Fawcett, Mark Blackburn, Grant Waite, and Brad Faxon.

David Orr bringing the word on putting and shifting paradigms in the industry.

They recorded the event and plan on releasing it in the next few months so definitely watch for that!

SMART 2 MOVE

We’ve seen the prominence of pressure sensors taking off over the last few years with Boditrak and Swing Catalyst but now that technology is going into shoe insoles. Haven’t had a chance to test this out yet but looks promising and can’t wait to see where this tech takes us.

SmartBalance Light is wireless, portable and easy-to-use, it measures the weight distribution between the right foot and the left foot, and the position of the center of pressure between heels and toes for each foot.

Check it out here.

Blast Motion

I can’t tell you how many coaches talked with me about this tool and picked one up to use with their students. Founded by Michael Bentley (founder at K-VEST as well) Blast Motion is a sensor you place on the grip of a putter which can give you data on tempo, speed, backswing length, and help you train your putting stroke.

The Blast Golf swing analyzer sensor captures your stroke metrics, helps you analyze your data, and provides drills to improve your timing. By improving your timing, you will make more putts.

They have some incredible ambassadors for the product, it seems to be an effective training device (don’t have personal experience with it), and it’s only $150.

Something to look into more. Check it out here.

Contributor Dinner

We got together some contributors from the podcasts for dinner and enjoyed mixing an eclectic group of golf coaches, psychologists, and biomechanists. It’s always fascinating to see what happens when you bring together folks who might not hang out on a regular basis.

The post 9 Highlights from my 2017 PGA Show appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Over this series we’re looking to explain what biomechanics is and make it as understandable as possible while we explore the golf swing and research going on around it. So you get a fundamental understanding of the golf swing from a correctly researched and sourced biomechanical perspective.

BIOMECHANICS – the study of the mechanical laws relating to the movement or structure of living organisms.

Why do we look at biomechanics?

It’s not to a word or study to make things endlessly complicated for no real reason. In fact I think the best coaches are the ones that have such a good understanding of this that they are able to make things VERY simple for students.

That’s a good coaches role. Taking all this info and understanding and making it very simple. Setting up a feedback device or learning environment that helps a student find that solution.

I think we’re still in our infancy. As the systems get easier to use, more and more research will be done and we’ll learn more and more. Dr Phil Cheetham

But understanding this study and research is a good thing. We’re simply trying to understand WHY. Although we might find some truths and concepts that help there’s always going to be some level of variability because we’re all unique from our body types to our golf swings.

What we’re finding is a lot of variability even if we have really good players.Dr Scott Lynn

2 Purposes of Biomechanics

#1 – To improve performance
Biomechanists are trying to figure out what are some of the keys to improving performance for players. This is where we’ll spend most of our time looking at the golf swing whether it’s teaching players to use the forces in the ground more effectively or looking at the optimal kinematic sequence to maximize power efficiently.

#2 – To reduce injury
This aspect is definitely difficult to look at and follow through with in real the world. Telling players to reduce their performance potential to decrease likelihood of injuries is a line most players are willing to cross.

They want to be powerful and they want to be effective and so they’ll do what it takes and sometimes that crosses the line between performance and injury risk. Dr Phil Cheetham

There’re just so many factors that go into injury. It’s subjective to the individual in terms of their body’s tissues ability to repair itself, to sustain multiple repeated forces over and over again. It becomes really, really challenging to predict… Dr Sasho Mackenzie

Kinetics

Kinetics is the study of forces that produce motion.

We’ll look at the three forces that act on the golf club during the swing. Gravity which acts at the balance point, or center of mass of the golf club. It’s always equal to the weight of the club and it’s always acting straight down.

The second one would be air resistance that resist the motion of the club. The faster the club moves the bigger they get, but have a very small overall impact

The third one are the forces that the golfer applies at the grip with their hands. Those by far and away are the major determinants of how the club moves. Gravity and air resistance pretty small in comparison to the forces the golfer’s applying to the grip.

Also the forces occurring between the interaction between the golfers feet and the ground. All of these are examples of kinetics at play in the golf swing.

Kinematics

Kinematics is the description of the actual motion without regard to the forces producing it.

One aspect of kinematics you might have heard of is the kinematic sequence which is a measurement of the rotational speeds over time (for example – how fast the pelvis rotates).

So by optimizing this sequence we’re looking at getting the most power or energy to the ball as possible. So we go from big muscles to small and release them in a sequential order to get the most effective transfer of energy.

Links / Resources:

• TPI Article mentioned in episode
• Dr Phill Cheetham – the 3D guy
• Dr Sasho MacKenzie – check out all his research here
• Dr Scott Lynn – Great video he produced with Swing Catalyst here
• Podcast in Itunes

This Episode’s Sponsor

K-VEST is the industry’s only human motion learning system. The all-in-one wireless system that instantaneously measures players’ power signatures and 3D data. The system that assesses player characteristics and generates insightful reports. The system that automatically flows those reports into a powerful coaching and training program builder.

But that’s just the beginning. K-VEST doesn’t only provide you with an extensive library of pre-built training programs and drills, but also with the tools to customize them. And these pre-loaded resources always put real-time auditory and visual feedback front and center—making it possible for clients to feel new movement patterns. Supporting this state-of-the-art wearable technology are turnkey marketing programs that empower professionals to grow their businesses. In fact, it’s everything today’s pro needs to achieve greater success… a human motion learning system.

Watch a video with Martin Hall as he uses K-VEST biofeedback to illustrate side bend at address

Music Included in this episode:
Drop of water in the Ocean by Broke for Free
Vault by Jahzzar
Bodies by Jahzzar

The post Getting Started with Biomechanics and the Golf Swing appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

I was thinking of some interesting ways we could get the podcast out to more people and came up with a plan. But I need your help!

Getting reviews in Itunes helps more folks find the show.

I’ve been working on some Golf Science Lab shirts and posted them up in the Facebook group awhile back and they seemed to go over well.

So if you leave a review and shoot an email to freeshirt@golfsciencelab.com with a screenshot of your review, your address, and size we’ll pick 10 people to send a shirt to after we get 100 total reviews in Itunes.

THE MISSION:

#1 – Grab your phone hop on your computer.
#2 – Leave a honest review of what you think of the show here.
#3 – Snap a screenshot of it.
#4 – Send an email to freeshirt@golfsciencelab.com with you screenshot, address, and size.
#5 – Message a friend and tell them to do the same so we get to 100 reviews and we can send these out to the winners

Thank you so much for helping us out!

The post Podcast Review Giveaway appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

In this episode you’ll learn about one of the most commonly referred to measurements of the golf swing, the kinematic sequence. Learn from Dr Phil Cheetham, leader in the industry of 3D analysis and kinematics as he explains what it measures, what it means, how it relates to performance, and the story of the development.

The kinematic sequence looks at the sequence of movements that is most effective and efficient for increasing the speed at distal segment of the body or an implement.

From hitting a golf ball to hitting a baseball to kicking a soccer ball, to create maximum speed the body rotates from the large segments to smaller more distal segments.  Energy is transferred first through the big muscles, through the part of the body such as the pelvis then the thorax, then to the arm, and then to the club. It’s a sequence of accelerations and decelerations, transferring energy.

By optimizing this sequence we’re looking at getting the most power or energy to the ball as possible. So we go from big muscles to small and release them in a sequential order to get the most effective transfer of energy.

One benefit of optimizing the sequence is, you’ll get the highest club head speed possible while the other benefit is for the less amount of work you can generate just as much energy. It’s a way of maintaining high club head speed without killing yourself or without working too hard on every single swing.

What’s measured in the kinematic sequence?

The kinematic sequence we’re talking about the majority of the time is the rotational kinematic sequence which measure rotational velocity of body segments.

If I would have jumped up and spin around 360 degrees in a full twist jump and it took me a second to do that then my rotational velocity or rotational speed would have been 360 degrees per second so that’s what we’re measuring in the kinematic sequence, how fast the pelvis is turning, how fast the thorax is turning and then how fast the arm and the club are actually swinging like a pendulum.

The four primary segments measured in the kinematic sequence are pelvis, thorax, lead arm, and club.

60% of the total pros have pelvis, ribcage, arm, club sequentially
74% have pelvis then upper body or ribcage
89% turn the pelvis first in transition

What are the two most important phases of the kinematic sequence?   You’ll have to listen in below to find out. 

It’s truly amazing when I look at a kinematic sequence signature graph, I can immediately tell whether that’s a tour pro or an amateur. The signatures are just so consistent. Dr Phil Cheetham

The first 3 degrees are linear motion including forward, back, left, right and up and down. You can move your hips towards the target, away from the target (sway and slide). You can push your hips forward and backwards towards the ball and away from the ball(thrust). You can drop your hips up or down so (drop and lift). Those are all three degrees of freedom of motion but that’s only three of six.

Let’s take the head, for example, you can move your head from side to side, up, down, forward, back but that doesn’t tell me what direction I’m looking. I can look down, I can look up, I can look left, I can look right, and I can tilt my head to the right side and to the left side. That’s another three degrees of freedom.

When we’re referring to the pelvis or the ribcage we call that forward bend, side bend, and turn. There’s your rotational degrees of freedom, angular degrees of freedom and that’s measured in degrees.

We have three degrees of freedom that are measured in feet and inches or meters and centimeters and then we have another three degrees of freedom that are measured in degrees. One’s linear, one’s angular.

About Dr Phil Cheetham

Dr. Phil Cheetham is currently the senior sport technologist and biomechanist for the United States Olympic Committee at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. He currently works primarily with athletics and golf, but has also worked with many sports including gymnastics, swimming and diving. He has been a member of the US Olympic Team staff for both the London (2012) and Rio (2016) Olympic Games. In Rio several of the athletes he works directly with won gold and silver medals.

Phil is also two-time Olympian himself at Montreal (1976), and Moscow (1980), in gymnastics for Australia. He was also three times gymnastics all-around champion of Australia in the 1970’s.
He has been an inventor and developer of sport motion analysis systems and sensors since the early 1980’s. He has been a co-founder of several biomechanics and motion analysis companies including: Peak Performance Technologies, Skill Technologies, Advanced Motion Measurement, and Skilled Motion Concepts. He is considered a pioneer in the motion analysis industry and his biomechanics methods have become a de-facto standard in 3D golf swing analysis.

He is a board member for the World Scientific Congress of Golf and the Titleist Performance Institute. In golf his research publications include; “The X-Factor Stretch”, “The Kinematic Sequence” and a PhD dissertation on “Club Handle Twist Velocity in the Golf Drive”.

He has an Honors Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, a Master of Science and a PhD in Exercise Science and Biomechanics from Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.

If you want to learn more make sure to check out Dr Phil Cheetham’s FORCES AND MOTION workshop starting soon.

Links and Resources:

Dr Phil Cheetham’s Website
Forces and Motion Online Workshop (starting soon)
BOOK – Search for the Perfect Swing: The Proven Scientific Approach to Fundamentally Improving Your Game
Titleist Performance Institute

This Episode’s Sponsor

K-VEST is the industry’s only human motion learning system. The all-in-one wireless system that instantaneously measures players’ power signatures and 3D data. The system that assesses player characteristics and generates insightful reports. The system that automatically flows those reports into a powerful coaching and training program builder.

But that’s just the beginning. K-VEST doesn’t only provide you with an extensive library of pre-built training programs and drills, but also with the tools to customize them. And these pre-loaded resources always put real-time auditory and visual feedback front and center—making it possible for clients to feel new movement patterns. Supporting this state-of-the-art wearable technology are turnkey marketing programs that empower professionals to grow their businesses. In fact, it’s everything today’s pro needs to achieve greater success… a human motion learning system.

Watch a video with Martin Hall as he uses K-VEST biofeedback to illustrate side bend at address

Music Included in this episode:
I Believe in You by Lee Rosevere
Simple Hop by Broke for Free
Solitude by Jahzzar

The post Understanding the Kinematic Sequence w/ Dr Phil Cheetham appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

In today’s episode we’re taking a look at the research around X-Factor and X-Factor Stretch done by our guest Dr Phil Cheetham.  X-Factor, first popularized in the 90’s by Golf Magazine and Jim McLean, was the focus of some of Dr Cheetham’s research in kinematics.  Today we learn –  Is it relevant?  Does it hold up under research?  Listen into the episode below to find out.

X-Factor is the difference or separation between the rotation of the shoulders and pelvis.

Typically X-Factor is referred to as the separation of shoulders and pelvis at the top of the backswing, however there is some level of X-Factor throughout the entire swing. Smaller at address than top of backswing but nonetheless measurable throughout the swing.

X-Factor in the swing creates tension with your core muscles and provides energy (power) for the downswing. However in research Dr Cheetham and team didn’t find a direct correlation with amount of X-Factor.

After contrasting the X-Factor at the top of the backswing and at its maximum early in the downswing for highly skilled and less skilled golfers, we found that the X-Factor at the top of the backswing was not significantly larger for the highly skilled players than less skilled players. [1]

What they did find though was a stretch early in the downswing (because of the pelvis rotating first in the downswing) as different between highly and less skilled golfers.

X-Factor Stretch is the increase in X-Factor when the pelvis starts the downswing before the shoulders.

For most highly skilled golfers just prior to the transition from the backswing to the downswing, the pelvis slows down and changes direction to rotate forward while the upper body continues to rotate backwards. 

This head start of the pelvis moving towards the ball causes an increase in the stretch of the large and powerful rotating muscles of the trunk. Early on in the downswing, the pelvis has a higher rotational velocity than the upper body and so will “outrun” the upper body toward the ball.

Because of this initially higher velocity of the pelvis, the X-Factor increases, and in some highly skilled golfers it grew by as much as 15 degrees. [1]

When you look at this in reference to what you can see in efficient kinematic sequences it makes a lot of sense. Make sure to review that episode to get the full picture.

I don’t want the confusion between the X-factor and the X-factor stretch. They are two different things. X-factor is simply the separation. X-factor stretch is very specific to the transition phase and it’s the increase in stretch created by the pelvis turning before the shoulders into the downswing. Dr Phil Cheetham

A great resource is the paper Dr Cheetham authored on this topic. The importance of stretching the“X-Factor” in the downswing of golf: The “X-Factor Stretch”

About Dr Phil Cheetham

Dr. Phil Cheetham is currently the senior sport technologist and biomechanist for the United States Olympic Committee at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. He currently works primarily with athletics and golf, but has also worked with many sports including gymnastics, swimming and diving. He has been a member of the US Olympic Team staff for both the London (2012) and Rio (2016) Olympic Games. In Rio several of the athletes he works directly with won gold and silver medals.

Phil is also two-time Olympian himself at Montreal (1976), and Moscow (1980), in gymnastics for Australia. He was also three times gymnastics all-around champion of Australia in the 1970’s.
He has been an inventor and developer of sport motion analysis systems and sensors since the early 1980’s. He has been a co-founder of several biomechanics and motion analysis companies including: Peak Performance Technologies, Skill Technologies, Advanced Motion Measurement, and Skilled Motion Concepts. He is considered a pioneer in the motion analysis industry and his biomechanics methods have become a de-facto standard in 3D golf swing analysis.

He is a board member for the World Scientific Congress of Golf and the Titleist Performance Institute. In golf his research publications include; “The X-Factor Stretch”, “The Kinematic Sequence” and a PhD dissertation on “Club Handle Twist Velocity in the Golf Drive”.

He has an Honors Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, a Master of Science and a PhD in Exercise Science and Biomechanics from Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.

If you want to learn more make sure to check out Dr Phil Cheetham’s FORCES AND MOTION workshop starting soon.

Links and Resources:

1 – The importance of stretching the“X-Factor” in the downswing of golf: The “X-Factor Stretch”

Dr Phil Cheetham’s Website

Forces and Motion Online Workshop (starting soon)

TPI article from Dr Cheetham “The Difference Between X-Factor And X-Factor Stretch”

TPI article – “X-Factor Essentials: What It Is And How To Train It”

Dr Rob Neal info on X-Factor – “X-Factor Ranges of PGA Tour Players”

Dr Rob Neal related info on X-Factor Stretch “Rate of Recoil in the Golf Swing”

This Episode’s Sponsor

K-VEST is the industry’s only human motion learning system. The all-in-one wireless system that instantaneously measures players’ power signatures and 3D data. The system that assesses player characteristics and generates insightful reports. The system that automatically flows those reports into a powerful coaching and training program builder.

But that’s just the beginning. K-VEST doesn’t only provide you with an extensive library of pre-built training programs and drills, but also with the tools to customize them. And these pre-loaded resources always put real-time auditory and visual feedback front and center—making it possible for clients to feel new movement patterns. Supporting this state-of-the-art wearable technology are turnkey marketing programs that empower professionals to grow their businesses. In fact, it’s everything today’s pro needs to achieve greater success… a human motion learning system.

Watch a video with Martin Hall as he uses K-VEST biofeedback to illustrate side bend at address

Music Included in this episode:
Under Suspicion by Lee Rosevere
In a Moment by Lee Rosevere

The post What the Research Says about X-FACTOR w/ Dr Phil Cheetham appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We’ll look at the role of forces in the golf swing, from definitions to a practical application you’ll get an overview of kinetics with Dr Sasho Mackenzie.

Kinetics is the study of forces that produce motion.

We’ll look at the three forces that act on the golf club during the swing. Gravity which acts at the balance point, or center of mass of the golf club. It’s always equal to the weight of the club and it’s always acting straight down.

The second one would be air resistance that resist the motion of the club. The faster the club moves the bigger they get, but have a very small overall impact

The third one are the forces that the golfer applies at the grip with their hands. Those by far and away are the major determinants of how the club moves. Gravity and air resistance pretty small in comparison to the forces the golfer’s applying to the grip.

To learn more about how the hands apply forces to the club watch this fantastic video from Dr Sasho below.

Intro to Club Kinetics from Sasho MacKenzie on Vimeo.

Dr. MacKenzie completed a PhD in Sports Biomechanics at the University of Saskatchewan, which focused on 3D forward dynamics simulation of the golf swing.

He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Human Kinetics at St. FrancisXavierUniversity and his research interests lie in the optimization of human movement with a strong emphasis on sport performance.

His research encompasses both optimal sport movement patterns as well as the most advantageous training techniques. He has conducted, presented, and published research on putting, shaft dynamics, 3D mechanics of the swing, shoe fitting, and the role of center of pressure in the golf swing.

My research interests are centered on the optimization of human movement in sport. My current research endeavors range from optimizing the biomechanics of athlete training techniques to customizing the properties of the golf club to a player’s swing.

My approach to solving problems on the optimization of human movement is founded on the development of forward dynamic models. Recently I have been programming genetic algorithm routines to determine the optimal timing of muscle activation patterns in my human models.

Links / Resources

Forces and Motion Workshop he hosts with Dr Phil Cheetham.

Dr Sasho MacKenzie’s website

Instrumented Handle study mentioned by Koike

All of Dr Sasho’s research

This Episode’s Sponsor

K-VEST is the industry’s only human motion learning system. The all-in-one wireless system that instantaneously measures players’ power signatures and 3D data. The system that assesses player characteristics and generates insightful reports. The system that automatically flows those reports into a powerful coaching and training program builder.

But that’s just the beginning. K-VEST doesn’t only provide you with an extensive library of pre-built training programs and drills, but also with the tools to customize them. And these pre-loaded resources always put real-time auditory and visual feedback front and center—making it possible for clients to feel new movement patterns. Supporting this state-of-the-art wearable technology are turnkey marketing programs that empower professionals to grow their businesses. In fact, it’s everything today’s pro needs to achieve greater success… a human motion learning system.

Watch a video with Martin Hall as he uses K-VEST biofeedback to illustrate side bend at address

Music Includes

Breakfast With Tiffany by Broke For Free
Curiousity by Lee Rosevere
Modulation of the Spirit by Little Glass Men
Making a Change by Lee Rosevere
Kelp Grooves by Little Glass Men

The post What You Need to Know About Kinetics and the Golf Swing w/ Dr Sasho MacKenzie appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

With all the buzz about “GRF” and “center of pressure” what do the different terms mean and what does the research say about the golfers interaction with the ground? In this episode we learn from Dr Mike Duffey and Dr Scott Lynn about the forces going on with the ground and talk about what ground reaction forces actually are.

Ground Reaction Forces is the force exerted by the ground on a body in contact with it.

So when you are trying to move in the golf swing, you have to push on the ground and the ground then pushes back on you at the opposite direction which causes your body to move.
Dr Scott Lynn

It’s simply the reaction force to what we are doing to our bodies against the ground. If you like, Newton’s law for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction so every force that we apply against something, there is an equal force pushing back. Dr Mike Duffey

If you take away the ground and loose ground reaction forces you can see that things go haywire pretty quickly.

Listen into the entire episode and learn more below

Dr Scott Lynn

Dr. Scott K. Lynn, PhD was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and has been involved with sport, physical activity and exercise throughout his life. He played on the varsity ice hockey, baseball, golf and football teams during high school and also had a keen interest in science which brought him to Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontatio, Canada to pursue a dual undergraduate degree in both Physical and Health Education (BPHE) and Life Sciences (BSc). During his time at Queen’s he was also a member of the varsity golf, football and lacrosse teams.

Following his playing days, he continued his involvement in varsity athletics as an assistant coach of the men’s and women’s varsity golf teams. After his undergraduate degree, he continued on to do an MSc followed by a PhD in orthopedic biomechanics at Queen’s University.

His research concentrated on examining the mechanical factors that are involved with the development and progression of knee osteoarthritis and how this process may be slowed through exercise and modifications to basic activities of daily living. He then went to the University of Waterloo to do a six month post doctoral fellowship that concentrated on examining whether those with knee osteoarthritis make compensations in their movement patterns that may put their back at an increased risk of injury.

Also, during his doctoral and post-doctoral studies, he worked in several clinical and fitness settings doing exercise prescription for a variety of clients from the frail older adult to the elite athlete.

Dr Mike Duffey

Dr. Mike Duffey is a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University and Biomechanist for the Golf Teaching & Research Center (GTRC).

Mike completed his Master’s in Exercise Science at Wake Forest University; his thesis examined how lower body 3D kinematics and ground reaction forces influence running injuries. He completed his PhD in Biomechanics at Penn State where his research focused on upper body kinematics and muscle activity during resistance exercise.

In 2006, Dr. Duffey returned to Penn State University as a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology and began collaborating with the Professional Golf Management Program. That collaboration has led to the development of the Golf Teaching and Research Center. Dr. Duffey’s roles in the GTRC include detailed swing assessment, instructor education, and conducting research. The research focus of the center is to develop a better understanding of the mechanics of the golf swing with the goals of improving performance at all playing levels as well as reducing the injury in golf.

Links / Resources

Article on Vertical Forces mentioned in episode

Penn State online biomechanics course

Scott Lynn’s level 1 certification with Swing Catalyst

This Episode’s Sponsor

K-VEST is the industry’s only human motion learning system. The all-in-one wireless system that instantaneously measures players’ power signatures and 3D data. The system that assesses player characteristics and generates insightful reports. The system that automatically flows those reports into a powerful coaching and training program builder.

But that’s just the beginning. K-VEST doesn’t only provide you with an extensive library of pre-built training programs and drills, but also with the tools to customize them. And these pre-loaded resources always put real-time auditory and visual feedback front and center—making it possible for clients to feel new movement patterns. Supporting this state-of-the-art wearable technology are turnkey marketing programs that empower professionals to grow their businesses. In fact, it’s everything today’s pro needs to achieve greater success… a human motion learning system.

Music Includes

Simple Hop by Broke for Free
Drop of Water in the Ocean by Broke for Free
It’s a Mystery by Lee Rosevere

The post Ground Reaction Forces and the Reason to Pay Attention appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

In this episode we look at the pressure + center of pressure and how it can be used by coaches and golfers to optimize their performance.

Pressure is the amount of vertical force acting over a surface area.

If you took a pen and you applied 10 pounds of force and push that through your hand, it would hurt a lot. But if you took a hammer and pushed it with 10 pounds of force it wouldn’t hurt as much because even though you are applying the same 10 pounds of force, it’s being distributed over a much larger area instead of just the tip of the pen.

Pressure is just a function of force and it just tells you how much area that force is being applied to.

For understanding the swing, I like to work with forces. They’ll tell us how much acceleration is going to be created in all three directions and actually rotations as well. Pressure is actually what people feel.

Going back to the pen versus hammer examples, both times 10 pounds of force is being exerted but one version hurts a lot and one version doesn’t really hurt at all. In golf, when we feel like we’re pushing with one side or the other side, what we typically interpret is that pushing feel is the amount of pressure underneath that foot. So as far as interactive tool, pressure is at least in some ways better than just the force.

From Dr Mike Duffey

A lot of golf teachers have talked about weight shift or said something like “get your weight on your back foot, in the backswing”. We have always used that term weight but biomechanically that is not the correct term.

Weight is basically your body segments and so your form has a mass to it and where your weight is your body segments are located. Let’s say in the downswing have your weight (your body segments) on top of your front foot which means your weight is to the left but if we look at what’s happening between your feet and the ground, the pressure is still to the right.

Pressure is how hard you are pushing down into the ground with each foot and when you’re moving at speed, it may not correlate with where your weight is. You can’t see pressure with your eyes, you can see where people’s weight is, but you can’t see where their pressure is.

It’s a whole different story to have your weight left and your pressure left or to have your weight left and your pressure right. You can’t see pressure with the standard ways of watching golf swings and that’s something golfers and teachers need to start understanding.

From Dr Scott Lynn

Dr Scott Lynn

Dr. Scott K. Lynn, PhD was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and has been involved with sport, physical activity and exercise throughout his life. He played on the varsity ice hockey, baseball, golf and football teams during high school and also had a keen interest in science which brought him to Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontatio, Canada to pursue a dual undergraduate degree in both Physical and Health Education (BPHE) and Life Sciences (BSc). During his time at Queen’s he was also a member of the varsity golf, football and lacrosse teams.

Following his playing days, he continued his involvement in varsity athletics as an assistant coach of the men’s and women’s varsity golf teams. After his undergraduate degree, he continued on to do an MSc followed by a PhD in orthopedic biomechanics at Queen’s University.

His research concentrated on examining the mechanical factors that are involved with the development and progression of knee osteoarthritis and how this process may be slowed through exercise and modifications to basic activities of daily living. He then went to the University of Waterloo to do a six month post doctoral fellowship that concentrated on examining whether those with knee osteoarthritis make compensations in their movement patterns that may put their back at an increased risk of injury.

Also, during his doctoral and post-doctoral studies, he worked in several clinical and fitness settings doing exercise prescription for a variety of clients from the frail older adult to the elite athlete.

Dr Mike Duffey

Dr. Mike Duffey is a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University and Biomechanist for the Golf Teaching & Research Center (GTRC).

Mike completed his Master’s in Exercise Science at Wake Forest University; his thesis examined how lower body 3D kinematics and ground reaction forces influence running injuries. He completed his PhD in Biomechanics at Penn State where his research focused on upper body kinematics and muscle activity during resistance exercise.

In 2006, Dr. Duffey returned to Penn State University as a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology and began collaborating with the Professional Golf Management Program. That collaboration has led to the development of the Golf Teaching and Research Center. Dr. Duffey’s roles in the GTRC include detailed swing assessment, instructor education, and conducting research. The research focus of the center is to develop a better understanding of the mechanics of the golf swing with the goals of improving performance at all playing levels as well as reducing the injury in golf.

Links / Resources

Penn State online biomechanics course

This Episode’s Sponsor

K-VEST is the industry’s only human motion learning system. The all-in-one wireless system that instantaneously measures players’ power signatures and 3D data. The system that assesses player characteristics and generates insightful reports. The system that automatically flows those reports into a powerful coaching and training program builder.

But that’s just the beginning. K-VEST doesn’t only provide you with an extensive library of pre-built training programs and drills, but also with the tools to customize them. And these pre-loaded resources always put real-time auditory and visual feedback front and center—making it possible for clients to feel new movement patterns. Supporting this state-of-the-art wearable technology are turnkey marketing programs that empower professionals to grow their businesses. In fact, it’s everything today’s pro needs to achieve greater success… a human motion learning system.

The post Let’s Talk About Pressure Shift Instead of Weight Shift appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We’ve all heard a lot of tips and tricks about putting, but what actually makes a good putter good. Today we talk with leading biomechanist Dr Rob Neal as he shares his research and experience working with the best players and putting coaches in the world.

The key to being a successful putter is to deliver the putter head with the right energy at impact and the club face pointing in the right direction and do that consistently well.

You cannot on one stroke be perfect and on the next, nowhere near the mark. What you will see with expertise in putting is really high levels of consistency with putter head delivery.

If you measure them on a SAM or a GBD system you will find that the standard deviations of face angles, dynamic loft, etc are approximately 0.3 of a degree. That is very low and that might be over 10 or 15 putting strokes. The levels of variability or the standard deviations as you move proximally at expert players, increases a little bit and this is their mechanism of coordinating the stroke.

Good putters are also able to coordinate their movement and compensate if need be.

Good putters are also able to coordinate their movement and compensate if need be. If they pull a little bit too hard with the lead arm they can compensate by doing something different with the forearm and the hand in order to deliver the club or the putter, with the precision necessary to make the putt. If you didn’t have this subtle coordination amongst the body segments involved in a stroke, then if one part of the body made an error on the stroke, then that would be it. It will be all over.

All of the putting coaches that Dr Rob Neal works with (David Orr, Paul Hurrion and Phil Kenyon) strongly argue that this coordination of the body segments is one of the things that separate the good putter from the really good putters.

Really good putters have the ability to compensate or modify what they are doing within the stroke in order to produce the right outcome in the putter head.

The process that I would typically go through is examine what someone does with the putter first. What the stroke mechanics look like,face angle, dynamic loft, putter path, rise angle, etc and then work my way from the putter back to what the body was doing in order to produce that particular pattern of movement.

The process that I would typically go through is examine what someone does with the putter first.

The challenge then is to find good elements in anyone’s putting stroke and then be able to modify those things and maybe disruptive in their technique and really make a difference for them putting reasonably well, and putting poorly.

There is no one solution that we would dictate is right for everyone because it’s to change a motor pattern, so we are looking for things that have the maximum impact with the minimum change.

Sometimes, that might be changing the putter or changing the loft and lie on the putter. If the stroke itself is really consistent but there is too much dynamic loft, at impact then the simple solution would be to change the loft on the putter, reduce it by a couple of degrees or if there is not enough dynamic loft at impact, then maybe the ball needs to be put further forward in the stance so that you could make the same stroke but catch it at a different point during the arc that the putter is making.

I can tell you as opposed to what some people think, “try to keep the hands out of your putting stroke”, every person we have measured has hand action during their stroke. So it’s not like you can get rid of it, in fact, it’s probably a good thing to have in there.

Dr Rob Neal

Dr Robert Neal, CEO, established golf biodynamics (GBD) in 2000 with the intention of providing the best possible biomechanics service available to golfers and teaching professionals alike. A unique skill set has made this a reality.

Today, the GBD philosophy towards performance enhancement has not changed, we are proponents of an integrated approach to supporting “the golf athlete”. That is, we combine a scientific approach with the practical skills necessary to bring about technical change, all of which is performed in conjunction with the teaching professional and athlete’s own support network (which may include the athletic development specialist, physical therapist, podiatrist, nutritionist etc).

The diverse nature of our clientele reflects the extensive skill set that rob and others in our GBD team bring to the table. While GBD regularly works with golfers of all playing abilities (playing professionals and recreational golfers) we also consult to teaching professionals and organizations such as the Jim McLean golf schools, the Titleist Performances Institute (TPI), the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), various PGA’s worldwide (Australia, New Zealand, US, UK, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland), The Danish Golf Union, The German National Team and more.

Links / Resources

Golf Biodynamics

This Episode’s Sponsor

K-VEST is the industry’s only human motion learning system. The all-in-one wireless system that instantaneously measures players’ power signatures and 3D data. The system that assesses player characteristics and generates insightful reports. The system that automatically flows those reports into a powerful coaching and training program builder.

But that’s just the beginning. K-VEST doesn’t only provide you with an extensive library of pre-built training programs and drills, but also with the tools to customize them. And these pre-loaded resources always put real-time auditory and visual feedback front and center—making it possible for clients to feel new movement patterns. Supporting this state-of-the-art wearable technology are turnkey marketing programs that empower professionals to grow their businesses. In fact, it’s everything today’s pro needs to achieve greater success… a human motion learning system.

Music Includes

Only Instrumental by Broke for Free
Let’s start at the beginning by Lee Rosevere
Simple Hop by Broke for Free
Something Elated by Broke for Free
Drop of Water in the Ocean by Broke for Free

The post What makes a good putter good? w/ Dr Rob Neal appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

I’ve been using the Blast Motion device for the past few weeks to train putting and have some thoughts…

Getting Started with BLAST MOTION

First off it’s dead simple to get started with. Just throw the sensor on the charger (which is cool you never have to plug anything in), wait an hour and get started. To capture data all you have to do is put the sensor on the end of the putter and start putting. It automatically captures data and syncs with the phone.

You can then browse through your data as averages or dive into specific strokes and look at specific metrics.

The biggest question you’ll face is what do I work on?

Training

I’m not 100% sure where everyone should start training as it’s always different depending on the person, but here’s what I did. I had heard a lot of people mentioning training the tempo metric in Blast so that’s where I decided to start.

I wasn’t trying to hit a magic number every time (they suggest 2:1 ratio). Instead seeing if I could control the tempo and vary what I was doing. I’ve heard from a lot of golf coaches share that training that incorporate an old or “bad” move and what might be good is a much better way to build awareness and skills vs always trying to do the same thing over and over again.

I started at around a 1.8:1 ratio with tempo before training and was able to gain enough awareness to go from a 2:1 to a 1.3:1 and back at will. It took a couple days of training to get this new skill but eventually it became somewhat “easy”. So now as a golfer I have an idea of what tempo means and have figured out what works best for me.

Definitely check it out – Blast Golf 360 Swing and Stroke Analyzer

The post Blast Motion Review for Putting appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We’ve learned a lot about biomechanics and gone through a lot of important concepts and ideas, but what now? How is this info applied and what do we do about it? That’s what we talk about in this podcast.

Biomechanics can seem complicated. And maybe that’s one of the most common myths is that biomechanics is just a complex method of teaching golf. It’s definitely not!

It’s the study of what’s going on in the golf swing and why. However we run into issues when people try too quickly to apply something they’ve learned without really looking at the biggest picture.

Because biomechanics is somewhat of a new field one of the challenges that we run into is that it can seem somewhat intimidating in the beginning because there are so many terms that are not commonly used in golf instruction.

I see a tendency of instructors who want to learn the minimum so they feel like that have something of an understanding but then immediately want to know what the drill to fix it is.

So if I could improve or get sort of one wish out of this is to allow for little patience so the people are going to understand just a little bit deeper. It doesn’t have to be a degree in kinesiology but a little deeper understanding and I think that will actually allow instructors to better understand which category of drill or practice session is likely to result an improvement for different types of swings.

From Dr Mike Duffey.

(on biomechanics) So it just helps me to get there quicker. – John Dunigan

Mark Bull

Mark is 39 years old and has been a full member of the PGA since 1996, currently holding AA status.

Starting his career in the Westcountry, Mark qualified second in the annual PGA trainee of the year award, gaining a Titleist scholarship.

Mark is currently studying for his PhD in Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Science through Birmingham University. His areas of research focus on the impact of exercise on golf swing biomechanics and kinematics. As part of his ongoing personal development programme, Mark also regularly undertakes further study, such as the Thomas Myers Anatomy Trains Myofascial Slings course which he completed recently.

Mark Bull provides 3D analysis, biomechanics and golf services to a range of leading players and golfing organisations and is the contracted biomechanist for ProGolf Health, serving over 20 leading tour professionals. See our clients page for more details or check out our testimonials page to see what they’ve had to say about our services and expertise and how we’ve helped them improve their game.

Mark presents regularly to leading conferences and sporting organisations and is a contributor to magazines on golf biomechanics and exercise. He runs the highly successful ‘train like a tour pro’ camps, where he worked alongside world-leading golf physio Ramsay McMaster. Mark is also an ambassador for Nike.

Learn more at Bull3D.co.uk

Dr Mike Duffey

Dr. Mike Duffey is a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University and Biomechanist for the Golf Teaching & Research Center (GTRC).

Mike completed his Master’s in Exercise Science at Wake Forest University; his thesis examined how lower body 3D kinematics and ground reaction forces influence running injuries. He completed his PhD in Biomechanics at Penn State where his research focused on upper body kinematics and muscle activity during resistance exercise.

In 2006, Dr. Duffey returned to Penn State University as a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology and began collaborating with the Professional Golf Management Program. That collaboration has led to the development of the Golf Teaching and Research Center. Dr. Duffey’s roles in the GTRC include detailed swing assessment, instructor education, and conducting research. The research focus of the center is to develop a better understanding of the mechanics of the golf swing with the goals of improving performance at all playing levels as well as reducing the injury in golf.

Penn State online biomechanics course

About Dr Phil Cheetham

Dr. Phil Cheetham is currently the senior sport technologist and biomechanist for the United States Olympic Committee at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. He currently works primarily with athletics and golf, but has also worked with many sports including gymnastics, swimming and diving. He has been a member of the US Olympic Team staff for both the London (2012) and Rio (2016) Olympic Games. In Rio several of the athletes he works directly with won gold and silver medals.

Phil is also two-time Olympian himself at Montreal (1976), and Moscow (1980), in gymnastics for Australia. He was also three times gymnastics all-around champion of Australia in the 1970’s.
He has been an inventor and developer of sport motion analysis systems and sensors since the early 1980’s. He has been a co-founder of several biomechanics and motion analysis companies including: Peak Performance Technologies, Skill Technologies, Advanced Motion Measurement, and Skilled Motion Concepts. He is considered a pioneer in the motion analysis industry and his biomechanics methods have become a de-facto standard in 3D golf swing analysis.

He is a board member for the World Scientific Congress of Golf and the Titleist Performance Institute. In golf his research publications include; “The X-Factor Stretch”, “The Kinematic Sequence” and a PhD dissertation on “Club Handle Twist Velocity in the Golf Drive”.

He has an Honors Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, a Master of Science and a PhD in Exercise Science and Biomechanics from Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.

If you want to learn more make sure to check out Dr Phil Cheetham’s FORCES AND MOTION workshop starting soon.

This Episode’s Sponsor

K-VEST is the industry’s only human motion learning system. The all-in-one wireless system that instantaneously measures players’ power signatures and 3D data. The system that assesses player characteristics and generates insightful reports. The system that automatically flows those reports into a powerful coaching and training program builder.

But that’s just the beginning. K-VEST doesn’t only provide you with an extensive library of pre-built training programs and drills, but also with the tools to customize them. And these pre-loaded resources always put real-time auditory and visual feedback front and center—making it possible for clients to feel new movement patterns. Supporting this state-of-the-art wearable technology are turnkey marketing programs that empower professionals to grow their businesses. In fact, it’s everything today’s pro needs to achieve greater success… a human motion learning system.

The post The Practical Application of Biomechanics appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We have another incredible virtual summit coming up. This time we’re talking about the golf swing and looking at what the very best instructors are teaching and why.

The Golf Science Lab virtual summit series is an elite gathering of presenters and attendees who are truly searching for the truth about golf and golf improvement.

It’s the practical application of research so you can learn how you can actually improve what you’re doing. It’s not theoretical. It’s real life.

Coaches say this is not only some of the best content they hear during educational seminars but also the most affordable.

Golfers have talked about improvement in a matter of weeks that has revolutionized how they play and practice golf.

In this virtual summit we’re looking at the golf swing, looking at what the best are teaching and why. From the mindsets and frameworks they use for improvement to the specific body movements and changes they see students needing to make, we’ll get live examples and case studies for you to get a better understanding.

Previews from the Golf Swing Summit

The post What You Need to Know About the Golf Swing Virtual Summit appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

In this episode we’re looking at launch monitors; how they’re used, how the technology works, and what they’re role is in golf at the moment with our guest Liam Mucklow.

First and foremost, no launch monitor is going to tell you what to do. It only tells you what happens.

Secondly you have to make sure that you train patterns, not incidents. Too many times, coaches and golfers react to a single shot instead of basing an intervention on a pattern. You should never base an intervention on a single shot.

The last thing is to always determine a key performance indicator before an intervention. Drill it down to the lowest common denominator, what is the one thing that I want to change and focus on that piece of data. If you’re constantly using tons of data points and start hitting shots you are going to be distracted by a whole bunch of figures that have little correlation to performance.

AVOID THESE 2 COMMON LAUNCH MONITOR MISTAKES

#1 – Always displaying and working on too many data points.

#2 – Trying to zero golfers out.

To often people see all the data points from a launch monitor and try to make a whole much of zeroes flash up on the board. Basically no players on the PGA tour have zeroes across the board and it’s not something to necessarily be working toward.

One launch monitor measurement method is doppler radar which evolved from missile tracking technology. The unique advantage of radar is that it can typically measure the full flight of the golf ball or if you want certain devices have a function called normalize so you can measure the launch conditions of the golf ball and extrapolate full flight to essentially eliminate things like wind conditions and environment.

Camera based technology measures the golf ball after the strike as it passes through the first 12 to 24 inches of flight depending on the system. High speed cameras take multiple images of the ball during that launch and use software in order to calculate the spin rates, launch trajectory, launch direction and velocity of which the ball is traveling. From there, it uses an algorithm to extrapolate what the full ball flight would be.

Launch Monitor Companies:

Trackman Golf: Radar based technology, Trackman was one of the first companies in the market place and arguable one of the most well known and widely used throughout the industry.

Flightscope: Another radar based launch monitor, Flightscope has been around for years, initially working in the defense industry before moving to golf and other sports. Great technology used by lot’s of instructors and club fitters all over the world.

Check out the image below of how a Flightscope collects data to get a better understanding.

Foresight Sports: One of the hottest launch monitors over the past few years Foresight creates camera based launch monitors starting with the GC2 and now the GCQuad

Ernest Sports: With the ES12 and ES14 Ernest Sports focused on the personal launch monitor category, providing a product and price point any golfer could afford. They’ve recently released the ES16 which captures more data and makes them a contender beyond just personal launch monitors.

Review: Ernest Sports ES14 Personal Launch Monitor by GolfWRX

Skytrak: SkyTrak is a Photometric, or camera-based system, similar to commercial systems of this type that take high-speed pictures of the golf ball right after impact.

BUYER’S GUIDE: PERSONAL LAUNCH MONITORS by My Golf Spy

Voice Caddie:Very affordable personal launch monitor, the SC200 and SC100 from Voice Caddie have gotten some pretty good reviews over the years and a good option if you’re looking for

[$350] SWING CADDIE 2 (VS) TRACKMAN [$25,000] from My Golf Spy

Liam Mucklow

Liam joined the PGA of Canada in 2001, one year prior to graduating from the University of Alberta in 2002 with a Bachelor’s of Physical Education. At University Liam was on the varsity golf team, an All Star volleyball player and a medalist in badminton.

After spending nearly a decade with the World Long Drive Tour, California Mini Tours and various Professional Tours in Asia Liam dedicated his full focus to coaching. His innovative programming that combines student accountability and deliver quantifiable results have remain unique in the industry.

More recently Liam has refocused his energy on Education and Research. He has been working with the PGA of Canada to provide the highest level Golf Coaches in Canada with support on analyzing performance with technology. Liam also helped the Titleist Performance Institute launch its worldwide Power Coach Certification program in May of 2013. In 2014 Liam presented at the World Scientific Congress of Golf in Australia, and the World Golf Fitness Summit in California. This year he has been confirmed for to host a 3 hour workshop at the WSCG in St Andrews, Scotland. Liam will be demonstrating his Speed Set Driver Fitting protocol. This process has been consistently delivering golfers of all levels and addition 4-7% total distance through equipment optimization.

Rick Cuellar – Foresight Sports

Joined Callaway Golf in Carlsbad CA in 1996 as a wax and shell operations manager in Callaway Golf’s Prototype foundry. Managed state of the art investment casting shell and wax operations for metalwood, Iron and putter prototypes and production. Then as a product analyst researched COR for the characterization of prototypes, competitor and production metalwoods. Continued responsibilities included being in charge of all competitive club analysis to include the performance measurement and characterization of mass and physical properties, metallurgy, construction and materials, player and robot analysis and durability. In 2005 joined TaylorMade Adidas Golf as an engineering technician measuring all aspects of mass and physical properties for club materials and equipment. Then as a product analyst, conducted performance prototype, competitor and production player club comparative analysis to include DOE for robot and player club research.

In 2010 joined Foresight Sports prior to the launch of the GC2, responsibilities included GC2 product technology specialist and sales rep. Current title – Director of sales, responsibilities include management of all major corporate accounts, global distribution and the creation and founding of the PEAK program and Advisory Board.

Located in San Diego, California, Foresight Sports develops the most advanced—and most trusted—performance analysis solutions in the golf industry. Since its start in 2010, the company has experienced meteoric growth to become a global leader in launch monitors, golf simulators, gaming and professional software, and custom solution development.

Recognizing the advantages of camera-based launch monitors, Foresight Sports began as a collaborative effort between top industry engineers and a business-savvy executive team with a deep passion for the game. The result was the company’s first product, the GC2 “Game Changer” Smart Camera System.

In its six short years on the market, the GC2 has lived up to its name—leveraging its unmatched accuracy and indoor/outdoor ease of use to become the best-selling professional grade launch monitor ever created. Two years later, Foresight Sports released an advanced clubhead tracking solution called HMT—Head Measurement Tracking. Paired with the GC2, the combination proved to deliver the most comprehensive ball and club data ever seen in the industry and quickly became preferred technology of top fitters, instructors, club makers and Tour Pros alike.

The company quickly expanded its golf simulation and software solution offerings, including its own true-to-life gaming software, FSX, along with advanced fitting and instruction apps—all powered by its game-changing line of launch monitors.

Today, Foresight Sports is a total technology provider, with more than 10,000 GC launch monitors and golf simulation solutions in use in retail stores, driving ranges, commercial facilities, and homes worldwide. With engineering, manufacturing, and quality-assurance teams all located under one roof, Foresight Sports offers complete, vertically integrated solutions for players, professionals, and industry leaders.

This Episode’s Sponsor

K-VEST is the industry’s only human motion learning system. The all-in-one wireless system that instantaneously measures players’ power signatures and 3D data. The system that assesses player characteristics and generates insightful reports. The system that automatically flows those reports into a powerful coaching and training program builder.

But that’s just the beginning. K-VEST doesn’t only provide you with an extensive library of pre-built training programs and drills, but also with the tools to customize them. And these pre-loaded resources always put real-time auditory and visual feedback front and center—making it possible for clients to feel new movement patterns. Supporting this state-of-the-art wearable technology are turnkey marketing programs that empower professionals to grow their businesses. In fact, it’s everything today’s pro needs to achieve greater success… a human motion learning system.

Music Includes

Something Elated by Broke for Free

Let’s start at the beginning by Lee Rosevere

Only Instrumental by Broke for Free

The post The Essentials of Launch Monitors appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Motion capture is a critical tool to get accurate data on what the body is doing in the golf swing and a piece of technology that’s helping biomechanists do better research and golf instructors make better informed decisions. In this episode we talk about how they work and learn about a few companies.

If you’re a coach and you’re serious of making people better, 3D is the most important tool you get to get in your toolbox. It’s the only thing that truly measures how the body is moving. Liam Mucklow

Inertial Sensors

An inertial sensor is a combination of magnetometers, gyroscopes, and accelerometers that can create a very accurate representation of what the body’s doing; looking at bend, rotation, and velocity (3 Degrees of Freedom).

Inertial Sensor Systems are the most common type of motion capture system in the marketplace because of their price point, ease of use, and accuracy of the technology. Systems can range in sensors from 1 to 15+ depending on what needs to be measured and trained for each student.

Electro Magnetic System

An electromagnetic field is generated from a small box sitting on a tripod behind the golfer which captures data from sensors placed on the body. The big benefits of an electromagnetic system is the high level of precision and accuracy while measuring 6DOF worth of data.

Optical System

An optical motion capture system uses high speed cameras to capture different angles of a golfer to create a full capture.

GEARS is powered by eight 1.7 megapixel cameras running at 360 frames per second which look at over 600 images per swing to track everything that’s going on with the golfers body and the club.

Optical movement is widely regarded as the most accurate way to capture movement. Michael Neff

Motion Capture Companies:

K-VEST: One of the most mature companies in the industry, K-VEST produces a 2 and 4 sensor 3DOF system plus a 6DOF electromagnetic system. They’re software, reliability, technology, and biofeedback training are second to none as they’ve made dramatic improvements over the last couple of years. Highly recommend trying out their biofeedack if you’ve never been on it… Incredible!

Gears: The main player in the optical system arena in golf, Gears is featured in over 40 facilities across the world. Fascinating info and data to be learned from getting on or working with an optical system.

My Swing: Using 17 inertial sensors MySwing captures a lot of data and gives instructors a detailed look at what’s going on in the body. The angles, speeds and velocities of the golf swing is vital to a full understanding of the motion.

4D Motion: One of the newest companies in the marketplace 4D Motion has a really lightweight hardware that integrates with an iOS and Android app. Sensors smaller than a poker chip capture your movements in 3D for analysis right on your smartphone or tablet.

Liam Mucklow

Liam joined the PGA of Canada in 2001, one year prior to graduating from the University of Alberta in 2002 with a Bachelor’s of Physical Education. At University Liam was on the varsity golf team, an All Star volleyball player and a medalist in badminton.

After spending nearly a decade with the World Long Drive Tour, California Mini Tours and various Professional Tours in Asia Liam dedicated his full focus to coaching. His innovative programming that combines student accountability and deliver quantifiable results have remain unique in the industry.

More recently Liam has refocused his energy on Education and Research. He has been working with the PGA of Canada to provide the highest level Golf Coaches in Canada with support on analyzing performance with technology. Liam also helped the Titleist Performance Institute launch its worldwide Power Coach Certification program in May of 2013. In 2014 Liam presented at the World Scientific Congress of Golf in Australia, and the World Golf Fitness Summit in California. This year he has been confirmed for to host a 3 hour workshop at the WSCG in St Andrews, Scotland. Liam will be demonstrating his Speed Set Driver Fitting protocol. This process has been consistently delivering golfers of all levels and addition 4-7% total distance through equipment optimization.

Tony Morgan – K-VEST

Tony Morgan is a PGA professional focused on teaching through better body biomechanics. As a managing partner for K-VEST, he is focused on providing feedback systems to golfers looking to improve.

K-VEST creates human motion learning systems for the golf, fitness, and medical industries. Their solutions are used by elite professionals and athletes around the world.

Michael Neff – Gears

Michael Neff is currently the Director of GEARS Golf and Sport Development. Michael has worked with and trained over 100 PGA professionals, Senior PGA professionals, LPGA professionals and mini tour players over the years on GEARS GOLF and the TaylorMade MAT-T system. Michael Neff has been a Class-A member of the PGA of America since 1991 and is also the author of the book Drive Like the Pros.

Learn more about Gears here

Music Includes

Here’s the Thing by Lee Rosevere
Modulation of the Spirit by Little Glass Men
Biolumina L2 by Little Glass Men

The post 3 Types of Motion Capture Systems and Why You Should Use Them appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We’ve seen pressure mats and force plates take off over the last handful of years and become and essential tool for many golfers and golf instructors. Today we’re talking about what they are and hearing from two companies in the industry.

You can’t ever tell someone what to feel… It allows them to feel it in their own way. Liam Mucklow

Pressure Mat and Force Plate Companies:

Swing Catalyst: Producer of pressure plate and force plate, Swing Catalyst is used by a lot of top coaches and has become a mainstay in academies all over the world.

Boditrak: A great portable tool, Boditrak can been seen on ranges at tour events, golf instructors studios, and fitness pros gyms. A versatile tool with a great advisory board and coaches using it, definitely something to look into.

Smart2Move: A new company in the space, Smart2Move is offering portable pressure plates and insoles that a student could use for training on their own. Great idea and hope to see more devices for students to use in their own training!

SAM BalanceLab: The same company that produces the SAM PuttLab also produces a pressure plate. SAM BalanceLab is an ultra-high resolution pressure plate to evaluate balance and weight transfer during a golf swing.

John Thorp – Boditrak

Boditrak is a leading-edge sports technology company, focused on the interaction between an athlete and the ground. BodiTrak Sports is a sister company to Vista Medical, who developed the pressure-sensing technologies used in our products. Vista has been active in the pressure sensor production business since 1995.

Jean Paul Fernandez – Smart2Move

Smart2Move is a Swiss company specialized in wearable sensors technology for health and sport motion analysis. S2M develop solutions and devices to analyse, improve and optimize motion performance. Based on biomechanical knowledges, we propose wireless and easy to use system conceived to optimize your motion and analyse your swing.

Liam Mucklow

Liam joined the PGA of Canada in 2001, one year prior to graduating from the University of Alberta in 2002 with a Bachelor’s of Physical Education. At University Liam was on the varsity golf team, an All Star volleyball player and a medalist in badminton.

After spending nearly a decade with the World Long Drive Tour, California Mini Tours and various Professional Tours in Asia Liam dedicated his full focus to coaching. His innovative programming that combines student accountability and deliver quantifiable results have remain unique in the industry.

More recently Liam has refocused his energy on Education and Research. He has been working with the PGA of Canada to provide the highest level Golf Coaches in Canada with support on analyzing performance with technology. Liam also helped the Titleist Performance Institute launch its worldwide Power Coach Certification program in May of 2013. In 2014 Liam presented at the World Scientific Congress of Golf in Australia, and the World Golf Fitness Summit in California. This year he has been confirmed for to host a 3 hour workshop at the WSCG in St Andrews, Scotland. Liam will be demonstrating his Speed Set Driver Fitting protocol. This process has been consistently delivering golfers of all levels and addition 4-7% total distance through equipment optimization.

Music Includes

Drop of Water in the Ocean by Broke for Free
Kelp Grooves by Little Glass Men

The post Why Are Pressure Mats and Force Plates so Popular? appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

Dr Anders Ericsson is one of the foundational researchers in the field of learning and joins us today to talking about what it takes to achieve peak performance.

We talk about this balance of time spent and quality of time. It’s not necessarily about how many thousands of hours one is putting in but the quality of that practice and making sure it hits on the attributes of deliberate practice.

Instead of just making a movement and repeating a task, the athletes that see the most growth are the ones that put in the thought and planning stage of each shot.

Dr Ericsson talks about the role of a great teacher and some of the traits to look for when trying to break through the next level.

We hear the story of how pieces of music that were once though unplayable have now become common place just a hundred years later as training and teaching has improved. As training and teaching quality and methods become more effective so will the performance and quality of students.

Should we push ourselves and be fully concentrated during practice? We see some athletes in practice just going at 50% and not going at “game speed”. If you’re going to be 100% during training during the week you’re going to get tired and face exhaustion.

You can really only focues and give 100% for a couple hours in a day. Elite level of performers don’t necessarily practice for 12 hours a day. Instead looking to get a couple hours of highly focused and effective training.

We also learn some guidelines on how long kids and adults can focus and get quality training in.

If you want to change how well you do during competition you need to recreate the challenges you face during competition

If you’re looking for a GREAT book to start to understand learning and how elite performers become elite Dr Ericsson’s recent book PEAK is a must read. The way it’s presented is 100% approachable and practical no matter your knowledge level.

Links and Resources

Dr Ericsson’s fantastic new book PEAK.
Game Like Training Course
Enter to win a copy of Expert Golfer by Matthew Cooke

ABOUT DR ANDERS ERICSSON:

ERICSSON, K. ANDERS, is Conradi Eminent Scholar and Professor of Psychology at Florida State University. In 1976 he received his Ph. D. in Psychology from University of Stockholm, Sweden, followed by post-doctoral fellowship at Carnegie-Mellon University. In 1980 he moved to University of Colorado at Boulder, where he remained until 1992 with the exception of a two-year leave during 1987-89 at the Max-Planck Institute for Human Development and Education in Berlin. His dissertation (Ericsson, 1976) examined how verbal reports on cognitive processes provided insight into the structure of problem solving on the 8-puzzle. In collaboration with Herbert Simon he proposed a model of the processes involved in verbalization of sequences of thought and showed how some verbal report requirements, such as generations of explanation, have reactive effects on the studied cognitive processes whereas other reporting procedures, such as think-aloud and retrospective reports, valid data on thought processes. This work was initially published in Psychological Review (Ericsson & Simon, 1980) and then expanded into a book “Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data” (Ericsson & Simon, 1984) which was subsequently revised (Ericsson & Simon, 1993). With Bill Chase he studied the acquisition of a vastly improved digit-span in college students (Ericsson, Chase, & Faloon, 1980) and they developed the Theory of Skilled Memory (Chase & Ericsson, 1982; Ericsson & Chase, 1982) to explain their findings and other data on exceptional memory performance. With Walter Kintsch he extended this theory into Long-Term Working Memory (Ericsson & Kintsch, 1995) to account also for the superior working memory of expert performers and memory experts (Ericsson, 1985; Ericsson & Polson, 1988). His current research concerns the structure and acquisition of expert performance and in particular how expert performers acquire and maintain their superior performance by extended deliberate practice (Ericsson, 1998; Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-R�mer, 1993; Ericsson & Charness, 1994; Ericsson & Lehmann, 1996; Krampe & Ericsson, 1996, Lehmann & Ericsson, 1998a). He has edited books on the structure of expertise “Toward a General Theory of Expertise: Prospects and Limits” (Ericsson & Smith, 1991) and the acquisition of expert performance “The Road to Excellence: The Acquisition of Expert Performance in the Arts and Sciences, Sports, and Games” (Ericsson, 1996). For some recent reviews of the continuing work on expert performance (see Ericsson, 1998, 1999, in press), on Long-term working memory (LTWM) (see Ericsson & Delaney, 1998, 1999; Ericsson & Kintsch (in press); Ericsson, Patel & Kintsch, 2000) on protocol analysis (see Crutcher & Ericsson, 2000; Ericsson & Simon, 1998) and expert performance in music (see Lehmann & Ericsson, 1998a, 1998b, 1999).

The post Biggest Misconceptions around Learning Exposed w/ Dr Anders Ericsson appeared first on Golf Science Lab.

We start a 4 part series with Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson of Vision54 talking about how to BE A PLAYER. We kick off with a conversation about the human skills, what they are, what you need to know, and some ideas for you to better understand them.

Learn about the HUMAN SKILLS of the game and why they remain mostly untaught yet are some of the most important pieces of the puzzle in golf performance.

When you walk onto the golf course to play a round of golf you can’t change your fitness, equipment, or technique, but you can change your human skills. It’s the one thing you can work on and improve on the golf course.

Know someone who has “a lot of potential”? They might be lacking in some of the human skills and in this conversation we talk about what they need to work on and how it impacts their performance.

Make sure to hang around to the end of the show where we answer the question of the week and give you a handful of explorations to get an experience of what we talked about in the episode.

About BE A PLAYER

I’ve really enjoyed going through this book and can honestly say it’s something I’d hand to someone just starting the game and an experienced pro. The lessons and approach to improving your golf game through things like the human skills, performance states, and frameworks for improved thinking make it a timeless manual.

You’ll be guided through the research, stories of Lynn and Pia’s experiences working with PGA and LPGA players, and then given tons of great explorations to go through.

Be a Player: A Breakthrough Approach to Playing Better ON the Golf Course

LINKS / RESOURCES:

vision54.com
Vision54 App (HIGHLY recommend!)
Dr Robert Bjork on learning
Golf Science Lab review of Vision54 Golf School

The post Human Skills x Technical Skills = Performance w/ Vision54 appeared first on Golf Science Lab.