Golf4uAlicante Blog

A recent article in the BBC News suggests that the key to the perfect golf swing is not to use full power from the start, but to build it up quickly. The wrists suprisingly, do not play as important a role as previously thought, according to a new model from the University of Surrey engineer Robin Sharp. This new analysis shows that bigger golfers might hit the ball further but not by much.

Speaking to a golfer they may tell you that swinging harder to get more distance for the ball is not as simple as it sounds, there are many more factors involved in carrying the ball further.

Professor Sharp uses a computer model first to fit the swing styles of three professionals whose swings were measured with high speed photography in 1968. The model showed that the club-head speed, and thus drive distance, of these professionals could have been improved by increasing the torque quickly to the maximum value and maintaining it throughout the rest of the swing.

It is a delicate balance however, and Sunday duffers may find it hard to implement Professor Sharp’s prescription.

“Generating too much arm speed too soon causes an early release, with the club-head reaching its maximum speed before it arrives at the ball” he says.

The key, Professor Sharp explains, is timing which torques are applied and when. And contrary to the old saying, it is not “all in the wrists”.

“In the expert swings studied, control of the arms and not the wrists appears to be the priority. The optimal strategy consists of hitting first with the shoulders while holding back with arms and wrists and, after some delay, hitting through with the arms. At release, the wrists should hit through.”

The model also shows that height is not much of an advantage in a long-distance shot.

“A 21% bigger player can be expected to have just a 10% advantage in club-head speed,” Professor Sharp said, which accounts for the fact that “good little ones are often not so far behind good big ones”.