Golf Biofeedback

By inventing the game of golf, the Scots presented mankind with one of his more difficult and frustrating recreational challenges. Ben Hogan in his book Power Golf states: `Reverse every natural instinct and do just the opposite of what you are inclined to do and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing´. Sam Snead probably gave us a clue to success at the game when he described his swing as feeling oily, a graphic description of the smoothness of his swing. This paper describes some muscle control systems that regulate the body posture during the golf swing and a biofeedback device designed to assist golfers in learning smooth motion sequences. Smooth sequences are required to maintain the degree of coordination needed to effectively strike the ball. The sense of hearing, which is not directly required in the swing is used as the channel through which feedback is provided. Information proportional to accelerations sensed at the golfer´s head is fed back through the auditory system by the use of variable amplitude and pitch. For the purposes of this paper, the muscle control systems involved in the golf swing can be considered to include two different classes of neurological and muscle systems. One of these is the muscle control of posture and stance that requires both spinal reflexes and higher cortical reflexes. The second system deals with muscle reflexes associated with keeping the head and the eyes stationary; these are primarily related to the vestibulo-ocular system.