Abstract
The objective of this study was to analyze the difference in kinematic variables for successful and unsuccessful golf putting strokes. The study population included 8 male secondary school golf players who had played golf for over 3 years and whose handicap was 4 or lower. A hole was made on a 5-m-long artificial flat mat for practice, and an environment similar to that of a real green was created. The participants' motions were analyzed through 3D image analysis, and the difference in kinematic variables for successful and unsuccessful putting strokes in the same direction was determined. Data analysis revealed the following findings: The time spent for a segment of putting was the greatest for the backswing segment for both successful and unsuccessful strokes. During address and impact, the both changed to a larger extent. For successful putting strokes, the change in the elbow angle during the downswing was greater for the right elbow than for the left elbow. For both successful and unsuccessful putting strokes, the left shoulder angle increased during the segment from address to the turning point and decreased during the segment from the turning point to impact. In contrast, the right shoulder angle significantly differed between successful and unsuccessful putting strokes only during address. During successful and unsuccessful motions, the swing was executed with the moving displacement of the X-axis of the club head maintained almost constant along a straight light without back and forth movement. In the backswing segment, moving displacement of the Y- and Z-axes was greater in successful strokes than in unsuccessful strokes; however, this difference was very small for the Y-axis. The velocity of the club head for successful and unsuccessful motions significantly differed during address and at the turning point. The highest velocity of the ball was greater for successful than for unsuccessful putting strokes.