Loughborough University PhD student Lindsey Legg is looking for women golfers to complete a questionnaire which could help shape the future of golf equipment for women
Women & Golf are looking for readers who may have the time to complete a questionnaire covering views on women's golf performance, swing technique and equipment needs, which Lindsey Legg, a PhD student at Loughborough University, has designed.
About the researcher, research group and PhD
Lindsey Legg is a PhD researcher at the Sports Technology Institute, Loughborough University, United Kingdom and is supervised by Dr Aimee Mears, Dr Jonathan Roberts and Dr Steph Forrester who have vast experience in studying golf biomechanics and the engineering of golf equipment. Lindsey’s PhD is partly funded and supported by PING which is focused on analysing women’s full golf swing technique in relation to its influence on golf performance and equipment design.
Why is this PhD necessary?
Women (defined in this context as those whose sex is female and identify as a woman) and men are inherently different with regards to their anatomy and physiology which could influence a golfer’s swing technique. Previous golf science has established technique differences relating to increasing clubhead speed and distance and the influence of equipment on men’s golf swing technique and their golf performance but far less has been researched for women.
A recent review reported males make up 88.7% of participants in swing mechanics research, leaving only 11.3% of research being conducted on women. In published research on women golfers, the majority of the articles compare women’s swing technique to men and minimal research has investigated the impact of modifying club properties on women’s golf performance. The current women’s golf research generally agrees women and men utilize their upper body rotation differently throughout the swing and women have slower swing speeds. This PhD aims to expand this research field in assessing how women’s swing mechanics impact their golf performance and how equipment influences women’s swing techniques in an attempt to provide increased knowledge in equipment design for women and education.
What is the plan?
In looking at the previous literature, a question arises of if women’s golf should be compared to men’s. In other sports played by both genders, research has concluded that women and men utilize different techniques to achieve the same outcome and has caused a shift in analysing genders separately to better understand how women move to optimize their performance. Thus, the first step in understanding the women’s golf swing is understanding the different perceptions around women’s golf performance and how women’s technique, equipment, and fitting process influence performance.
We want to hear from you!
After interviewing several coaches and players, several key themes emerged regarding women’s golf swing performance, technique and equipment needs. As this only included a small sample of golfers and coaches, we are really keen to understand what is important for a wider proportion of women golfers with regards to their swing technique and equipment needs. So, we’d like to hear from you!
We have created a survey to capture your views on golf performance, swing technique and equipment needs to help inform some future research directions.
*Please note that the above link takes you to a questionnaire that is hosted away from the Women & Golf website.
