Movement control in golf putting

doi:10.1016/S0167-9457(97)00008-0

Human Movement Science

Volume 16, Issue 5, October 1997, Pages 597-619

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-9457(97)00008-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to understand how force is controlled for impact movements such as golf putting. Expert players (10) and control subjects (10) executed a putt as accurately as possible, in order to reach a target distance of 1, 2, 3, or 4 m. Movements of the club were recorded at 200 Hz via a SELSPOT system. Overall, the results showed that, in order to increase club velocity at the moment of contact with the ball with increasing distance of the target, subjects increased the downswing (DS) amplitude maintaining DS movement time constant. The change in force required to reach the different distances seemed to rely on an adjustment of the magnitude of the motor command within the same time period. Furthermore, our results showed that the movement of putting consists primarily in specifying the amplitude of the Backswing (BS) as a function of the distance of the target. This gives rise to a motor impulse originating the force-time function required for an adequate DS movement.

References (51)

R.A. Abrams et al.
Speed and accuracy of saccadic eye movements: Characteristics of impulse variability in the oculomotor system
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
(1989)
R.J. Bootsma et al.
Timing and attacking forehand drive in table tennis
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
(1990)
R. Burgess-Limerick et al.
Experience and BS movement time variability: A short note concerning a serendipitous observation
Human Movement Science
(1991)
L.G. Carlton et al.
Timing fast and slow constant velocity movements
Human Movement Science
(1983)
L.G. Carlton et al.
Reaction time and response dynamics
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
(1987)
D.M. Corcos et al.
Organizing principles for single-joint movements IV, Implications for isometric contractions
Journal of Neurophysiology
(1990)
W.G. Darling et al.
Changes in the variability of movements trajectories with practice
Journal of Motor Behavior
(1987)
J. Decety et al.
The timing of mentally represented actions
Behavioral Brain Research
(1989)
P.M. Fitts
The information capacity of the human motor system in controlling the amplitude of the movement
Journal of Experimental Psychology
(1954)
I.M. Franks et al.
The kinematics, movement phasing and timing of a skilled action in response to varying conditions of uncertainty
Human Movement Science
(1985)

D.R. Gentner

Timing of skilled motor performance: Tests of the proportional duration model

Psychological Review

(1987)

C. Ghez

Contributions of central programs to rapid limb movement in the cat

C. Ghez et al.

The control of rapid limb movement in the cat: II. Scaling of isometric force adjustments

Experimental Brain Research

(1978)

C.C.A.M. Gielen et al.

Relation between EMG activation patterns and kinematics properties of aimed arm movements

Journal of Motor Behavior

(1985)

J. Gordon et al.

Trajectory control in targeted force impulses: II

Pulse height control. Experimental Brain Research

(1987)

J.M. Hollerbach et al.

Dynamics interactions between limb segments during planar arm movements

Biological Cybernetics

(1982)

A.W. Hubbard et al.

Visual movements of batters

Research Quarterly

(1954)

M. Jeannerod

The timing of natural prehension movements

Journal of Motor Behavior

(1984)

F. Lacquaniti et al.

Some factors pertinent to the organization and control of arm movements

Brain Research

(1982)

D.E. Meyer et al.

Models for the speed and accuracy of aimed movements

Psychological Review

(1982)

K.M. Newell et al.

Movement time and velocity as determinants of movement time accuracy

Journal of Motor Behavior

(1979)

K.M. Newell et al.

Velocity as a factor in movement timing accuracy

Journal of Motor Behavior

(1980)

K.M. Newell et al.

The relationship of impulse to response timing error

Journal of Motor Behavior

(1982)

R.A. Schmidt et al.

Unexpected inertial loading in rapid reversal movements: Violation of equifinality

Human Movement Science

(1986)

R.A. Schmidt et al.

Rapid movements with reversals in direction: I. The control of movement time

Experimental Brain Research

(1988)

Cited by (85)

The influence of robotic guidance on error detection and correction mechanisms
2019, Human Movement Science
New technologies have expanded the available methods to help individuals learn or re-learn motor skills. Despite equivocal evidence for the impact of robotic guidance for motor skill acquisition (Marchal-Crespo, McHughen, Cramer, & Reinkensmeyer, 2010), we have recently shown that robotic guidance mixed with unassisted practice can significantly improve the learning of a golf putting task (Bested & Tremblay, 2018). To understand the mechanisms associated with this new mixed approach (i.e., unassisted and robot-guided practice) for the learning of a golf putting task, the current study aimed to determine if such mixed practice extends to one’s ability to detect errors. Participants completed a pre-test, an acquisition phase, as well as immediate, delayed (24-h), and transfer post-tests. During the pre-test, kinematic data from the putter was converted into highly accurate, consistent, and smooth trajectories delivered by a robot arm. During acquisition, 2 groups performed putts towards 3 different targets with robotic guidance on either 0% or 50% of acquisition trials. Only the 50% guidance group significantly reduced ball endpoint distance and variability, as well as ball endpoint error estimations, between the pre-test and the post-tests (i.e., immediate retention, 24-h retention, and 24-h transfer). The current study showed that allowing one to experience both robotic guidance and unassisted (i.e., errorful) performances enhances one’s ability to detect errors, which can explain the beneficial motor learning effects of a mixed practice schedule.
Experts’ successful psychomotor performance was characterized by effective switch of motor and attentional control
2019, Psychology of Sport and Exercise
This study proposed that Mu (8–13 Hz) and SMR (12–15 Hz) readings in the sensorimotor cortical area can be used to investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying optimal motor performance.
This study used a within-subject design.
Forty expert golfers were recruited to perform 60 putts while their EEGs were recorded. The putting distance was chosen to ensure that approximately 50% of all putts would be missed so that there was a need for constant adjustments to be made during performance. Successful performance was defined as the ball going in the hole.
(a) Lower Mu power in Cz, and alpha power in Pz and Oz were observed for successful performances compared with unsuccessful performances at T1 (−2000 ∼ −1000 ms); (b) Higher SMR power in Cz was observed for successful performances relative to unsuccessful performances at T2 (−1000 ∼ 0 ms).
These findings not only support the multi-action plan model (MAP) and the psychomotor efficiency hypothesis, but also reveal the temporal dynamics of the cognitive mechanisms in an optimal-controlled state.
Improving performance by anchoring movement and “nerves”
2016, Human Movement Science
Golf’s governing bodies’ recent decision to ban all putting styles “anchoring one end of the club against the body” bridges an important practical problem with psychological theory. We report the first experiment testing whether anchoring provides technical and/or psychological advantage in competitive performance. Many “greats” of professional golf from Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods have argued against anchoring, believing that it takes “nerves” out of competitive performance and therefore artificially levels the playing field. To shed more light on the issue, we tested participants’ performance with anchored and unanchored putters under low and high pressure when controlling for the putter length. We found no statistically significant evidence for a technical advantage due to anchoring but a clear psychological advantage: participants who anchored their putters significantly outperformed unanchored counterparts under high, but not low, pressure. Results provide tentative evidence for the ban’s justification from a competitive standpoint. However, before any definite conclusions can be made, more research is needed when using high-level golfers.
Attention computing for enhanced visuomotor skill performance: Testing the effectiveness of gaze-adaptive cues in virtual reality golf putting
2024, Multimedia Tools and Applications
Humans Versus Robots: Converting Golf Putter Trajectories for Robotic Guidance
2023, Journal of Motor Learning and Development
The functional role of visual information and fixation stillness in the quiet eye
2023, PLoS ONE

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Movement control in golf putting

Abstract

Speed and accuracy of saccadic eye movements: Characteristics of impulse variability in the oculomotor system

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

Timing and attacking forehand drive in table tennis

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

Experience and BS movement time variability: A short note concerning a serendipitous observation

Human Movement Science

Timing fast and slow constant velocity movements

Human Movement Science

Reaction time and response dynamics

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

Organizing principles for single-joint movements IV, Implications for isometric contractions

Journal of Neurophysiology

Changes in the variability of movements trajectories with practice

Journal of Motor Behavior

The timing of mentally represented actions

Behavioral Brain Research

The information capacity of the human motor system in controlling the amplitude of the movement

Journal of Experimental Psychology

The kinematics, movement phasing and timing of a skilled action in response to varying conditions of uncertainty

Human Movement Science

Timing of skilled motor performance: Tests of the proportional duration model

Psychological Review

Contributions of central programs to rapid limb movement in the cat

The control of rapid limb movement in the cat: II. Scaling of isometric force adjustments

Experimental Brain Research

Relation between EMG activation patterns and kinematics properties of aimed arm movements

Journal of Motor Behavior

Trajectory control in targeted force impulses: II

Pulse height control. Experimental Brain Research

Dynamics interactions between limb segments during planar arm movements

Biological Cybernetics

Visual movements of batters

Research Quarterly

The timing of natural prehension movements

Journal of Motor Behavior

Some factors pertinent to the organization and control of arm movements

Brain Research

Models for the speed and accuracy of aimed movements

Psychological Review

Movement time and velocity as determinants of movement time accuracy

Journal of Motor Behavior

Velocity as a factor in movement timing accuracy

Journal of Motor Behavior

The relationship of impulse to response timing error

Journal of Motor Behavior

Unexpected inertial loading in rapid reversal movements: Violation of equifinality

Human Movement Science

Rapid movements with reversals in direction: I. The control of movement time

Experimental Brain Research