The Golf Putting Stroke: Psychological Pressure Eye, Head, Heart & Breathing Responses
The Golf Putting Stroke: Psychological Pressure Eye, Head, Heart & Breathing Responses
PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESSURE
ON
EYE, HEAD, HEART &
BREATHING RESPONSES
DURING
THE GOLF PUTTING STROKE
Sean Borkowski, B.S.1 tions that are magnified under increased both the head and the body during the put-
Jonathan C. Bernardo, B.S.1 psychological pressure. ting stroke by concentrating on the ball.15
George K Hung, Ph.D.1 However, such drills that are often prac-
Kenneth J. Ciuffreda, O.D., Ph. D.2 Key Words ticed in ones backyard may not trans-
breathing rate, eye movement, golf put- late into success on the golf course. This
1. Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers Uni- ting, head movement, heart rate, stress could be due to increased psychological
versity, Piscataway, NJ pressure during actual competition, or
2. Dept. of Vision Sciences, State University of simply ones perceived pressure of having
New York, State College of Optometry, New INTRODUCTION
to make a putt even in an ordinary round
I
York, NY
of golf. Robert Wyatt, from the United
n recent years, there has been in-
States Golf Teachers Federation, has sug-
Abstract creased interest in physiological mea-
gested that putters often suffer under psy-
This study investigated the effect of psy- surements to quantify functions of the
chological pressure reflected in unneces-
chological pressure on physiological re- human body during sports performance.1-3
sary body movement.16 The extra motions
sponses during the golf putting stroke. These parameters can provide valuable
during ones putting stroke could cause an
Six young adults (four males and two fe- information regarding the internal physi-
increase in eye movement, which could
males) participated in the study. The ex- ological state of the athlete. For example,
decrease putting success.9 The causes of
periment was comprised of a contest that in skiing, sensors worn by professional
this extra movement are not well under-
consisted of four sessions, with a dinner skiers have provided important infor-
stood; however, the movements could be
prize awarded to the winner. In each ses- mation on forces generated during ski
due to changes in physiological functions,
sion, the subject was instructed to attempt runs.1 In soccer, multiple sensors have
such as HR and breathing rates (BR). The
20, 9-foot putts. Eye, head, and putter been used to record heart rate (HR), body
main questions then become whether or
motions, as well as heart rate and breath- motion, and other physiological param-
not a quantifiable form of stress can be
ing rate, were objectively recorded during eters to assess the relationship between
imposed under laboratory conditions. Do
each trial. For all sessions, each success- the players physiological responses and
the effects from this psychological pres-
ful putt was awarded a score of +2 points. performance.4 In golf, sensors have been
sure affect the physiological parameters
However, as the four sessions progressed, used to measure eye movement (EM) and
associated with putting success?
any missed putt was given progressively head movements (HM) during the putting
Some links are known between psycho-
greater negative scores: -2, -3, -4, and -5 stroke. These measures provide insight
logical pressure, or perceived extraor-
points, respectively. At the end of the ex- into the golfers physiological and mental
dinary emotional demands and simple
periment, the subject rated the perceived state.5-8 These golf studies are the latest in
physiological processes.17,18 In addition,
pressure during each session on a scale of a growing literature that attempts to unlock
there are relationships between these
1 to 5, with 1 corresponding to no pressure some of the mysteries surrounding this ap-
physiological functions and attention.
and 5 corresponding to extreme pressure. parently simple act of putting.9-13
From a study on child development and
Overall, the results demonstrated that the The importance of putting is evident, as
attention, it was shown that increased at-
apparently simple act of putting involves it comprises approximately 40% of ones
tention to a task results in decreased HR.19
a complex interplay among various physi- total golf strokes during a typical round
On the other hand, external stress causes
ological and neurological control param- of golf.14 Books, drills, and professional
increased HR.20 Hence, such increased
eters, hence reflecting a myriad of emo- advice constantly describe the importance
pressure may lessen ones attentional fo-
of minimizing EM and HM during the
cus on the task at hand, such as putting.
putting stroke.7,9,10 One drill suggested
These relationships might prove to be
Borkowski R, Bernardo JC, Hung GK, Ciuffreda KJ, that improved putting involves keeping
crucial in affecting body movements dur-
Effect of psychological pressure on eye, head, heart one eye closed during the putting stroke.
and breathing responses during the golf putting ing the putting stroke, and in turn, putting
This drill is meant to improve stillness of
stroke. J Behav Optom 2009;20:35-41. accuracy. It is well known that prior to
Journal of Behavioral Optometry Volume 20/2009/Number 2/Page 35
addressing a putt, the perception of dis- or puzzles, and physical
tance and direction is provided by visual tasks, such as lifting small
inspection of the putting green terrain. weights.26 These tasks are
This occurs even while walking about the considered stressors in that
intended line of the putt. However, dur- they are both mentally and
ing the execution of a putt, head and eye physically demanding.
stability is crucial in maintaining a con- Thus, the purpose of this
stant visual environment.7,9 A single task study was to examine the
of focusing, or concentrating, to minimize relationships among av-
eye movement during putting, is said to erage HR, BR, EM, HM,
have a large impact on putting success.21 and putting accuracy under
Thus, any deviation away from normal increasing psychological
conditions, such as under a stressful en- pressure conditions. The
vironment, could increase ones HR, and stress-induced protocol in-
thereby decrease ones ability to concen- cluded a contest based on Figure 1. Subject wearing multi-sensor device mounted on a visor.
trate. Lastly, another study demonstrated performance that gave a
that increased physiological arousal, lead- prize for the top performer.
0.25 cm and 45 cm, respectively. The
ing to an increase in HR, increases ones Additional stressors were a rating scale
electronic signals from the eye, head, and
susceptibility to choke, i.e., miss the that increased the penalty for missed putts
putter sensors were transmitted wirelessly
putt.22 as the rounds progressed, and the pres-
to a circuit board connected via the USB
HR variability (HRV), which is a measure ence of a video camera to record the re-
port on a conventional laptop computer.
related to HR, has been shown to be an sponses.
This computer ran the Shoane-Biomedi-
important indicator of the bodys response METHODS cal program for recording the signals from
to stress.23 It is defined as the variation The study was performed using six Rut- the eye, head and putter movement sensor
(standard deviation) in the RR interval gers University undergraduate students systems. The entire recording system had
(i.e., the time interval between the peaks (four males and two females) ranging in a sampling rate of 100 Hz.8,27 The breath-
of successive beats) of an electrocardio- age from 19 to 22 years. One of the sub- ing and heart signals were recorded using
gram recording, or the variation in the jects had significant golfing experience, infrared reflection transducers (SS4LA) in
beat-to-beat interval.24 In an experiment and the remainder had varying amounts of a Biopac system (Model MP30). The de-
studying patterns in HRV in the presence experience ranging from zero to moderate. vice has a maximum sampling rate of 100
of mental tasks, it was shown that men- The subjects completed written consent KHz. One of the transducers was clipped
tal activity increased sympathetic nervous forms prior to participating in the study, on the earlobe to measure the blood flow,
system activity. This activity was in pro- and the forms were signed by the admin- and in turn the heart pulse. Also, a small
portion to the amount of stress involved istrator of the experiment. The study was rectangular piece of paper was taped to a
with each particular activity.25 Increased approved by the Rutgers University Insti- transducer and placed in front of the right
sympathetic activity results in an increased tutional Review Board committee. nostril. Air flow from the nostril deflected
HR and a decrease in HRV. Another study
Apparatus the paper, and in turn the infrared reflec-
measured HR and HRV in the presence of
a reaction time activity, as well as mental Subjects wore a visor apparatus contain- tion signal, thereby providing the BR re-
arithmetic activities.26 The results demon- ing wireless Shoane-Biomedical biosen- sponse. Since only the HR and BR were
strated that during the reaction time activ- sor devicesa for measuring eye and head required in this study, no calibration of
ity, HRV decreased, while HR increased. motion,8,27 along with the infared sensors response level was performed for these
However, no significant change in HRV for measuring HR and BR (Biopac Model transducers. The wires from these trans-
was present during the mental arithmetic MP30,b Figure 1). The measured param- ducers were situated behind the subject in
tasks. This could have been due to respi- eters included EM, HM, BR, and HR. an unobtrusive manner during putting.
ratory interference of the HRV measure- The eye sensor system consisted of an in- Experimental Procedure
ment during the recording resulting from frared reflection limbal tracking system,28 The golf putting competition consisted of
verbal interaction of the subjects and the which had a resolution of 15 min arc, four sessions in a laboratory environment.
mediator. The links between mental and a linear range of 25, and a bandwidth Each subject participated on two separate
physical arousal, and their affects on sym- of 200 Hz. The head sensor consisted days for the competition, with sessions 1
pathetic activity (and in turn, HRV), may of an accelerometer in a circuit board and 2 on day one, and sessions 3 and 4 on
indicate methods to improve ones ability mounted on the visor. The head position day two. During each session, the subject
to concentrate. Therefore, the impact of signal, which is derived from the acceler- attempted 20 putts. The distance from the
pressure and its consequent physiological ometer signal, had a resolution of 0.5 cm ball to the target was 9 feet for all sessions
arousal on HRV becomes important when (equivalent displacement on the putting (Figure 2). A compact disc (12 cm, or 4.7
considering the ability to increase atten- platform) and a range of 25 cm. The inches in diameter) was used to represent
tional focus and concentrate on a specific putter sensor consisted of an accelerom- the golf cup, and a stretch of green artifi-
activity, such as putting. eter mounted on a circuit board attached cial turf was used as the putting surface.7,8
Common methods for increasing stress to the putter shaft. The putter position, A putt was considered successful if more
in a laboratory environment include which is derived from the accelerom- than half the ball was inside the disc, and
mental tasks, such as mental arithmetic eter signal had a resolution and range of furthermore the ball speed was moderate
Volume 20/2009/Number 2/Page 36 Journal of Behavioral Optometry
Table 1. Individual subjects EM and HM RMS values
Subjects CH DH WK NN RP JS
Putt (%) 68.5 59.2 44.7 42.1 36.8 31.8
Figure 8. Trend across subjects showing the negative correlation between eye movement
RMS and head movement RMS decreased in magnitude with poorer performance.