The purpose of this study was to investigate the swing mechanics of professional and amateur female golfers by analyzing biomechanical differences in their driver backswing. Motion capture and force plates were used to collect backswing data from 12 professionals and 12 amateurs. The backswing was segmented into five key events for analysis. Compared to amateur golfers, professional golfers generated greater horizontal ground reaction forces (Left Leg GRF X at MB: 5.12 ± 2.04 vs. 3.52 ± 1.43 %BW; BT: -6.97 ± 3.31 vs. -4.13 ± 2.91 %BW; Right Leg GRF X at BT: 10.52 ± 4.00 vs. 4.97 ± 3.04 %BW) and greater vertical ground reaction forces (Right Leg GRF Z at LB: 67.90 ± 6.95 vs. 75.09 ± 7.92 %BW; BT: 57.96 ± 9.59 vs. 71.42 ± 8.82 %BW). Additionally, they produced a higher left foot free moment during the backswing (LB: 0.61 ± 0.31 vs. 0.33 ± 0.19; BT: 0.71 [0.27-1.06] vs. 0.09 [0.00-0.31] %BW). This suggests that professional golfers perform more stable body rotation and store more energy for the downswing. In contrast, the amateur group exhibited greater left knee flexion at the MB event (28.56 ± 5.86° vs. 33.90 ± 6.74°) and increased center of mass (COM) movement (COM Y at LB: -3.73 ± 1.14 vs. -5.01 ± 1.20 cm; BT: -3.35 ± 1.08 vs. -4.83 ± 1.72 cm; COM Z at TB: 0.00 ± 0.26 vs. -0.35 ± 0.34 cm; MB: 0.17 ± 0.40 vs. -0.26 ± 0.55 cm) which may reduce the efficiency of free moment utilization during the backswing. These findings emphasize the importance of including kinetic variables—particularly ground reaction forces—in biomechanical assessments of the backswing, rather than focusing solely on kinematics.
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