Mass and moment of intertia (MOI) are quantities that express a body’s tendency to resist linear and angular acceleration repsectively. Total club mass and MOI about the butt end of the club, therefore, have the potential to affect the ability of a golfer to accelerate the club during the downswing, which in turn could influence impact parameters such as clubhead and ball velocity. Previous studies, however, generally haven’t modified both mass and MOI independently nor have they explored their individual effects on the biomechanics of a golfer’s swing. There exisits an opportunity to optimise these parameters for an individual golfer in the custom fitting process but, to do this effectively, it is essential that the effects of mass and MOI on performance are repeatable over time and not just a quirk of a particular fitting session. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The aim of the project was to investigate the effect of independently modifying the mass and MOI of the whole golf club on golfer performance (clubhead delivery and ball launch) and swing kinematics (pelvis, thorax and lead\/trail wrist kinematics). A further aim was to assess the test-retest reliability of the changes in performance with MOI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n