THE IDEAL GOLF SWING: AN EVALUATION OF ITS MECHANICS AND RELATIONSHIP TO INJURY RISK

This paper describes the ideal golf swing and the development of a 70-item checklist (Golf Swing Scale) for evaluating the swing mechanics of a golfer. The checklist includes 25 items for the static component (grips, set-up, and stance) and 45 items for the dynamic component (backswing, downswing, impact and follow-through) of the ideal swing. As many factors contribute to the risk of golf injury, both formal literature and informal sources that describe the types and causes of these injuries and how they are related to swing mechanics were reviewed. A critical review of the literature was undertaken to describe the types of injuries attributed to the golf-swing and some of the reasons for these typical injuries. Finally, countermeasures for preventing or reducing the risk of these injuries are discussed with recommendations for further research into the relationship between swing mechanics and injury risk. In the sport of golf, one of the more commonly used motor skills is the basic golf-swing. This is used for up to 50 % of shots including tee-shots (i.e., shots from the tee to obtain ball distances ideally more than 200m) and approach shots on to greens up to 150m. Although the golf-swing is essentially the same or similar for both long and short shots, different types of golf clubs are used to assist in achieving an accurate result. That is, clubs differ in length, weight, and club-head angle depending on the desired target distance