The required number of trials for biomechanical analysis of a golf swing

ABSTRACT

The increasing interest in the biomechanical analysis of the golf swing warrants establishing the minimum number of trials required to obtain reliable data. Several such methods have been suggested previously for other movement tasks, and it has been shown that the number of required trials depends on the method used and on the task examined. This study aimed to compare three methods of reliability: a sequential average, intraclass correlations, and a modified version of the standard error of measurement (SEM_ind). Kinematic and kinetic data of 10 recreational golfers performing 15 shots with both a six-iron and a driver was collected using a ten-camera motion capture system and force platforms. Range-of-motion, velocity, joint moments, and ground reaction forces were extracted and analysed using the three methods. The sequential average method yielded the highest number of required trials (12), while the intraclass correlations and SEM_ind both resulted in lower numbers of required trials (4). Considering the variability between participants and strengths and limitations of the various methods, we conclude that 8 trials is sufficient for biomechanical analyses of a golf swing and recommend the SEM_ind method for determining how many swings should be collected.

KEYWORDS:

• Reliability
• kinematics
• kinetics
• movement stability
• variability

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the participants in this study and the HipKnee Arkansas Foundation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P20GM125503. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.