Using Principal Components Analysis to Determine Differences in 3D Loading Patterns Between Beginner and Collegiate Level Golfers

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Traditionally, golf research and instruction have focused on the kinematics of the golf swing; while relatively little attention has been paid to the three-dimensional (3D) golf ground reaction forces (GRF). These GRF profiles are waveforms representing the change in these forces throughout the golf swing. If they are just represented by a few discreet variables, much of the variability is lost. Therefore, this study used Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to determine 3D GRF differences between the golf swing of 23 beginners and 18 NCAA collegiate golfers. Six GRF waveforms were analyzed (3D GRFs for the lead/trail legs) and each waveform required 5 principal component (PC) scores to represent at least 90% of variability in the curves. Of the 30 PC scores analyzed, 6 of them were found to be significantly different between the Collegiate and Beginner golfer. The differences which represented the most variability occurred in the vertical forces, but there were also key differences in the shearing forces. GRF data could potentially help in developing better golf instructional techniques.