The effect of upper body sprint interval training on golf drive performance

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Golf Performance

Background:

• Golf fitness enhancement is crucial for improving club head velocity and overall golf performance.
• Upper-body power is a key component influencing club head speed in golf.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a three-week upper-body sprint training (SIT) program on power output.
• To assess the effects of SIT on golf performance variables.

Main Methods:

• Eleven golfers with a handicap of 5.5±2.8 participated in a self-controlled study.
• Intervention involved a three-week upper-body sprint training (SIT) program.
• Testing included ballistic bench press, upper-body Wingate tests, and golf performance assessments at pre-control, post-control, and post-intervention phases.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements (13.3-15.5%) in peak and mean power output were observed during the Wingate test post-intervention.
• Ballistic bench press showed significant improvements in peak power (6.1-8.5%) and mean power post-intervention.
• Golf performance showed mixed results: significant increases in Carry Distance (2.2%) and Ball Velocity (1.4%), but no significant change in 7-iron performance.

Conclusions:

• While SIT effectively enhances upper-body power, the direct transfer to golf performance may be limited.
• Potential reasons for limited golf performance improvement include session variability or difficulty utilizing power gains in the golf swing.
• Longer SIT interventions might be necessary to achieve significant improvements in golf performance.