This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive

May 17, 2000 -- Fore! New research sheds light on why Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer golf so well, yet other golfers just can't make par.

Writing in the May 18 issue of the journal Nature, French researchers report that some golfers use an internal guide generated by their brains when taking their swing -- meaning that they apply a formula that takes into account timing, speed, and distance before they tee off.

"When taking a swing, some golfers look at the green, assess distance, take it in, and then translate it into timing," lead researcher Cathy Craig, a sports science lecturer at the University of the Mediterranean in Marseilles, France, tells WebMD.

In other words, "the timing is crucial in determining the force and impact with which a player hits the golf ball [and,] when the golf club impacts the ball, the force that club transmits will help carry the ball a certain distance," Craig says. The findings may also apply to tennis and penalty kicks in soccer and rugby, she says.

"Basically, the idea applies to any activity that requires the control of a force at impact when the ball or object is stationary," Craig tells WebMD.

The perception of the distance is also very important to golfing, Craig says. "It is often interesting to watch golfers engaging in pre-putting behaviors, such as using their club to eye up the distance the ball is from the hole and walking backward and forward between the ball and the hole, to really integrate this information," she says. This information is then used to apply the right force at club/ball impact.

"Golfers should focus more on the timing aspect of the swing. The spatial part is easier to see because it is something physical that can be easily adapted. We are, in fact, looking into possible golfing aids that could be developed to help golfers with their timing," she says.

"It's apparent from the new research that there are some physics behind golf," Lewis G. Maharam, MD, sports medicine specialist in New York City and the president of New York chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, tells WebMD.

"Visualizing where you want the ball to go also helps your muscles get ready to do what you need to do to make a shot," he says.

In their study, Craig and colleagues looked at 10 golfers from Grenoble, France, with handicaps of less than five. Jeffrey Mann, a 55-year-old New Yorker, has been playing golf for about 40 years and has a handicap of seven. "Focusing more on timing may help some golfers, but not if you have a lousy swing to begin with," he tells WebMD.

Maharam says that golf strength comes from the legs; thus, exercises that strengthen the muscles in the leg are an extremely important part of improving a player's game and swing.

"Golf is the only sport where your nondominant side is the power side," says Maharam, the newly appointed director of the New York City Marathon. "For example, a right-handed golfer uses the left side of his body, and those muscles are not used to great forces," he says, "which is why golfers often suffer muscle pulls, rotator cuff injuries, lower back pain, and golfer's elbow."

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