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Effects of vision on head-putter coordination in golf
David Antonio Gonzalez1, Stefan Kegel, Tadao Ishikura
1Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Motor Control
|May 31, 2012
Summary
Low-skill golfers achieve better putting coordination and performance by focusing on the ball, not the target. This ball focus strategy enhances head-putter coupling, unlike target focus which disrupts it.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Motor Control
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Low-skill golfers exhibit distinct head-putter coordination (allocentric, isodirectional coupling) compared to experts.
- Understanding visual conditions' impact on this coordination is crucial for skill improvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how different vision conditions affect head-putter coupling in low-skill golfers.
- Determine which visual strategy optimizes both coordination and putting performance.
Main Methods:
- Low-skill golfers performed putts under four vision conditions: full vision, no vision, target focus, and ball focus.
- Head-putter coordination patterns and performance outcomes were analyzed for each condition.
Main Results:
- No vision and full vision conditions showed similar high isodirectional coupling.
- Target focus and ball focus (restricted view) significantly decoupled head-putter coordination.
- Target focus led to poorer putting performance compared to other conditions.
Conclusions:
- A ball focus strategy enhances head-putter coordination and improves putting performance in low-skill golfers.
- Reduced visual tracking and altered focus of attention may explain the observed decoupling effects.
