ABSTRACT
Golf is a sport where the co-ordinated movements of the body dictate how well a person will perform. In spite of this, very little research has investigated the relationship between fitness parameters and golf performance. Thus, it was the purpose of this investigation to determine which fitness parameter(s) related most directly with club head speed in older male golfers.
Thirty-one older, male recreational golfers (M age=65.4 years) participated in the study. Muscle strength was assessed by a 10-repetition maximum for the following exercises: chest press, shoulder press, lat pulldown, seated row, abdominal crunch, back extension, bicep curl, leg press, leg extension, and leg curl. Flexibility was assessed by goniometer assessment of shoulder flexion, shoulder abduction, shoulder internal rotation, shoulder external rotation, lateral trunk flexion, trunk rotation, hip flexion, hip extension, internal hip rotation, and external hip rotation. Club head speed was assessed on a VideoMentor Swing Analyzer (DeadSolid Golf, Pittston, PA) by averaging three of five swings with a driver. Data were analyzed by generating a Pearson Product Moment correlation matrix, where significance was set at the p≤.05 level, as well as a stepwise multiple regression to determine how well fitness parameters predict club head speed.
Results of the Pearson correlation matrix determined that the fitness parameters in this study showed low to moderate correlations to club head speed. The stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that 46% of the variance in club head speed could be explained by fitness. It is recommended that older male golfers should focus their fitness training on strength development and range of motion exercises that emphasize trunk rotation and that future research should investigate other factors that exert an influence on club head speed this population.
