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Posted on Fri, Feb. 03, 2006
Golf's holy grail
By Lisa M. Krieger
Mercury News
What makes a golf swing sing?
Stanford University scientists are getting closer to solving that age-old mystery. They believe that motion analysis of elite professional golfers can unlock the secrets of one of the most analyzed -- yet still most exasperating -- of sports.
``There are a lot of different opinions as to what creates power and how you can generate more speed,'' said Will Yanagisawa, a Stanford graduate and pro golfer whose swing the study will analyze.
``But there isn't much science,'' said the golfer, winner of last year's Hawaii Pearl Open. ``This should give a better idea of what is happening -- real data of exactly what is going on.''
In a study at the university's Motion and Gait Analysis Laboratory, Yanagisawa hit an imaginary ball off the lab's linoleum floor. He wore only shorts, goose bumps and dozens of silver light-reflecting balls the size of marbles.
The lab's eight cameras will make a digital record of his skeleton as it twists and releases, providing a three-dimensional picture of its motion and angles. Another tool will measure muscle activity, identifying the action of each muscle. A third tool will measure balance and the amount of body sway.
The resulting data will reveal essential elements of a top-notch golf swing, said investigator Jessica Rose Agramonte of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Amy Ladd, a fellow investigator who is also married to a golf pro, calls the search for the perfect swing ``the holy grail of golf.'' She asked: ``If you break it down, where are its key elements?''
Gait and motion analysis at Stanford traces its roots back to the pioneering photographer Eadweard Muybridge, who was hired by Leland Stanford to prove that a horse trotting at top speed has all four feet off the ground at one point in its stride.
The lab has prospered and now specializes in high-tech evaluations for children and adults with disabilities.
The golf study is one of several unique projects by Stanford undergraduates in an ``Anatomy of Motion'' class.
They are also studying the bowing techniques of violinist Barry Shiffman of the St. Lawrence Quartet as he plays J.S. Bach. Last year they measured the leaps and spins of modern dancers with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
So far, the golf study links ``club head speed at impact'' -- a measure of how hard a golfer is able to hit a ball -- to two factors. One is ``peak torque,'' the twisting and unleashing of the body's energy. Another is something called ``X-factor,'' which is the rotation of the hip to shoulder. The longest hitters in golf have their shoulders turn more than their hips at the top of the swing.
They also plan to measure something called ``the Y-factor,'' which relates to the movement of the left shoulder on the backswing. Golfer Tiger Woods is said to move his left shoulder a full 19 inches back from its starting point, while amateurs typically move theirs only 8 or 9 inches.
So far, wrist flexion and weight shift seem less strictly correlated with power.
``The motion of a good golf swing is debated. There are lots of theories,'' said Stanford grad and golf pro Casey Martin, another volunteer in the study.
``If we can understand the components of a good golf swing, then it can be shared with people to improve their games,'' he said.
Will he take the lab findings onto the fairway with him at his next big tournament?
``Less is more in golf,'' he said, laughing. ``You want to not think.''
Golf's holy grail
By Lisa M. Krieger
Mercury News
What makes a golf swing sing?
Stanford University scientists are getting closer to solving that age-old mystery. They believe that motion analysis of elite professional golfers can unlock the secrets of one of the most analyzed -- yet still most exasperating -- of sports.
``There are a lot of different opinions as to what creates power and how you can generate more speed,'' said Will Yanagisawa, a Stanford graduate and pro golfer whose swing the study will analyze.
``But there isn't much science,'' said the golfer, winner of last year's Hawaii Pearl Open. ``This should give a better idea of what is happening -- real data of exactly what is going on.''
In a study at the university's Motion and Gait Analysis Laboratory, Yanagisawa hit an imaginary ball off the lab's linoleum floor. He wore only shorts, goose bumps and dozens of silver light-reflecting balls the size of marbles.
The lab's eight cameras will make a digital record of his skeleton as it twists and releases, providing a three-dimensional picture of its motion and angles. Another tool will measure muscle activity, identifying the action of each muscle. A third tool will measure balance and the amount of body sway.
The resulting data will reveal essential elements of a top-notch golf swing, said investigator Jessica Rose Agramonte of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Amy Ladd, a fellow investigator who is also married to a golf pro, calls the search for the perfect swing ``the holy grail of golf.'' She asked: ``If you break it down, where are its key elements?''
Gait and motion analysis at Stanford traces its roots back to the pioneering photographer Eadweard Muybridge, who was hired by Leland Stanford to prove that a horse trotting at top speed has all four feet off the ground at one point in its stride.
The lab has prospered and now specializes in high-tech evaluations for children and adults with disabilities.
The golf study is one of several unique projects by Stanford undergraduates in an ``Anatomy of Motion'' class.
They are also studying the bowing techniques of violinist Barry Shiffman of the St. Lawrence Quartet as he plays J.S. Bach. Last year they measured the leaps and spins of modern dancers with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
So far, the golf study links ``club head speed at impact'' -- a measure of how hard a golfer is able to hit a ball -- to two factors. One is ``peak torque,'' the twisting and unleashing of the body's energy. Another is something called ``X-factor,'' which is the rotation of the hip to shoulder. The longest hitters in golf have their shoulders turn more than their hips at the top of the swing.
They also plan to measure something called ``the Y-factor,'' which relates to the movement of the left shoulder on the backswing. Golfer Tiger Woods is said to move his left shoulder a full 19 inches back from its starting point, while amateurs typically move theirs only 8 or 9 inches.
So far, wrist flexion and weight shift seem less strictly correlated with power.
``The motion of a good golf swing is debated. There are lots of theories,'' said Stanford grad and golf pro Casey Martin, another volunteer in the study.
``If we can understand the components of a good golf swing, then it can be shared with people to improve their games,'' he said.
Will he take the lab findings onto the fairway with him at his next big tournament?
``Less is more in golf,'' he said, laughing. ``You want to not think.''
