Greenwich student gets into the swing of it (From News Shopper)

Greenwich student gets into the swing of it

2:30pm Wednesday 24th March 2010 in

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UNIVERSITY of Greenwich PhD student Peter Brooks is analysing golf swings using a system which, paired with the right coaching, he believes could improve a golfer’s game by five per cent.

Using more than £100,000 worth of state of the art equipment, Brooks is able to study a golfer’s swing in a way which has never been done before.

He said: “We can analyse golfers’ motion in three dimensions, from inception to completion of the swing. This is totally new.

“We have 10 cameras which capture about 500 frames a second, compared to about 25 frames a second at a normal golf lesson.

“I'm suggesting there is a big variation of styles among golfers.

“At a driving range, the pro will usually look at you and say 'you should do this' - a one size fits all approach.

“As it becomes clear that there are different types of swing, I can analyse group those players and work from.

“Sometimes the changes are very small, like forearm position, rather than changing a player's whole swing.

“The player takes 50 drives on to a virtual fairway and the system then calculates a shot score based on distance, height, slice and accuracy.

“I look at the ten best and ten worst shots and this allows us to understand the motion of each player when making a good or a bad shot.

“This data is analysed individually and passed on to the player with a free software package for future use. Looking at your swing in 3D can be quite revealing.”

Brook added: “Initial findings have been encouraging.

“Different characteristics are emerging from the data leading us to think there may be multiple swing styles based on factors such as flexibility, strength, age or size but more subjects are needed to confirm this.

“I need more professionals, and high calibre club players - handicaps of five or less - to come down and be tested.

“If coaches are present we can point out what we can see from our analysis.

“The coach may want to concentrate on a specific area, which we can do, so it’s an interactive process.”

Brooks is hoping his findings will be acted on by those who play the game and wants golfers to get involved.

He said: “There’s nothing like word of mouth.

“The golfing community can be quite close knit.

“We're sports scientists, not golf professionals, so we need to work with coaches and offer them the tools which are available now, here, today.”