Swing Catalyst - Force Plate session

[Dan44GT]

Yesterday, I had a session on a product called "Swing Catalyst". It is a user friendly swing analysis system that integrates video, launch monitor (any kind), and their force plate. The system I used did not have a launch monitor attached, but did have the force plate. Using the force plate you can measure weight distribution through 7 zones of each foot while seeing where the center of mass is between the feet; heel toe, left right; similar to DBS. Also measuring % of weight left and right. Beyond that, it measures rotational force dynamically in a graph. It gives you 3 numbers, Force Factor, Maximum Force in Nm, and Timing of the force. Finally, it measures swing tempo and rhythm and gives you the ratio of backswing to downswing and the time of backswing and downswing in ms.

What did I learn about my own swing?

At impact with 7 iron I had on avg. 90% weight left, at the top I was 80% right.
With Driver I was only 67% left at impact, and 75% right at the top.

The instructor that has the unit thought that I had a too early and abrupt transition to the right side in comparison to models on the system (Appleby, Goggin, Ogilvy).


Also my max rotational force was .86 Nm compared to tour models all over 1.00 and the timing of my rotational force was 60 ms before impact and tour models were closer to 20 ms before impact.

I was fairly impressed with the system but feel that it has to integrate a Trackman to see how your improvement in creating force will lead to more distance. As for my weight distribution I was pretty happy, I do know that i tend to get ahead early with a lot of hip slide probably resulting in the 90% left number. As for heel/toe, I had a nice fishhook pattern with weight a few inches inside my left ball of foot at impact. I was amazed to see how tight Appleby's center of mass dispersion was, it literally did not get to within 3 inches of either foot from address to top to impact.

If there is anything I should be aware of, or you would like me to check next time I'm on it, let me know. I'm curious to hear what was discussed at the Symposium about weight distribution and dynamic kinematic sequencing.

 

[Jared Willerson]

That sounds very interesting.

 

[Ringer]

Based on what Dr. Neal was saying I think the combination of knowing where the mass is going combined with sheer force could really be the source of serious power increases. The technology still needs some development but it's certainly getting there.

 

[natep]

I read an article a while back in Golf Digest that said good players only had 25% of their total weight registering on force plates at impact, and had 110% on the left foot at the start of the downswing. Did your results have any changes similar to this as far as total weight/force throughout the swing?

 

[Dan44GT]

I will try to get on it again Thursday or Friday and take down some specific numbers. My max force of .86 Newton-metre's (Nm) was created 60 milliseconds (ms) before impact. I dont know enough about the system or it's readings to tell you about percentage of weight. From what I learned yesterday, I would doubt that top players would have 110% of their weight in force on the front foot at the start of DS, I think that would be much too early. From the models graphs I saw (Goggin, Ogilvy, Appleby) the inclination of the force starts about halfway down and peaks about 20 ms before impact.

The models had very smooth graphs with one peak, less accomplished players tend to have a more jagged graph, never really building to a crescendo.

Ringer, did Dr. Rob share the systems that he has used?

 

[natep]

That pretty much confirms the opposite of what the article says. That's also what I intuitively thought. I couldnt figure out how a person could have only 25% of their weight registering on the force plates unless they were jumping up through impact, and while some good golfers do this, I wasnt convinced that all or most did.

Thanks for the reply. I'd be interested to know the details if you get on that thing again.

The article was from Golf Digest, March 2007, by David Leadbetter in case you want to check it out.

 

[spktho]

I will try to get on it again Thursday or Friday and take down some specific numbers. My max force of .86 Newton-metre's (Nm) was created 60 milliseconds (ms) before impact. I dont know enough about the system or it's readings to tell you about percentage of weight. From what I learned yesterday, I would doubt that top players would have 110% of their weight in force on the front foot at the start of DS, I think that would be much too early. From the models graphs I saw (Goggin, Ogilvy, Appleby) the inclination of the force starts about halfway down and peaks about 20 ms before impact.

The models had very smooth graphs with one peak, less accomplished players tend to have a more jagged graph, never really building to a crescendo.

Ringer, did Dr. Rob share the systems that he has used?

Is it possible to get the graphs for the tour pros and post it? and the center of gravity graph?

 

[Ringer]

I don't know Dan. I didn't ask. Brian probably knows.

 

[natep]

here's a link to the Golf Digest article if anyone's interested.

https://sites.google.com/site/natep513/

Check out the right side of the picture for the little chart.

 

[Dan44GT]

Thanks for the article Nate. I will do my best to see if I can get some reports off the "Swing Catalyst", esp. of Tour Pro Models. I dont doubt the 25% at impact for some players (the Jump), but I think what this system is saying is that you want to create as much force as close to impact as possible so you can spring through the ball.

 

[Dan44GT]

I went back on it today and unfortunately I do not have a whole lot of new information...

I certainly have improved my max force and did it by getting a bit wider from 16" width to 19" with 7 iron. My focus was to push off my right foot and dig my left ball of foot Not only did my numbers improve, my pivot was clearly better on video (video from dtl and fo are integrated for each swing). Again, I would love to integrate Trackman to see how this force benefits my ball speed/distance. I also wanted to hit some chips and pitches on it to see exactly what I have for weight distribution and I was surprised how similar it is to what I thought/felt. At address for a standard square faced 30 yard pitch I have 71% left, at impact I'm 95% left. Remember this is weight distribution, not center of mass. Unfortunately, no graphs yet, I'm working on it. The program does have e-mail capabilities but this particular system is not wired. If possible, I will have my friend forward my report file.

Finally, I know that this Swing Catalyst has made it's way through some of the major Academies in Florida and Dr. Rob has been presented it. I will try to get his take on it.

 

[billmckinneygolf]

I'd bet a fair amount of money that the 110% measurement is faulty. If anything, it flicks into the right foot at start down.

 

[natep]

I've found several research papers on different universities' websites but there seems to be no consistency at all in any of the results of the research done using force plate measurements.