How Science Can Improve Your Golf Game

By Sharon Begley
Staff Reporter of the Wall Street Journal

Don't keep your eye on the ball -- and other tips
from researchers who have studied the sport

The royal and ancient game is being invaded by the folks with pocket protectors.

Throughout golf's long history, rigorous scientific testing of tools and techniques has been as rare as a three-putt by Ben Crenshaw. But that is changing, fast.

Researchers have started delving into some of the game's oldest questions: How do you straighten out a slice? Where should you be looking when you putt? How can you cure "the yips"? And they're coming up with answers that turn conventional wisdom on its head.

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In short, the days when golf instructors could get away with the old family recipe for fixing your game have gone the way of feather-stuffed bull-hide balls.

"It's true that the older pros have always resisted science," says Bob Christina, dean emeritus of the School of Health and Human Performance at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. "But those in their 40s and younger seem more willing to listen to the research, and even to change what they do because of it."

The investigative efforts are springing up all over the map. In 2000, Dallas-based ClubCorp Inc., which owns or operates 91 golf clubs or courses in the U.S., created a research institute that is now part of its Pinehurst Golf Academy.

Its mission: to conduct studies on teaching methods and practice techniques, weeding out snake-oil remedies from those that pass scientific tests -- and in the process become a top destination for golfers looking for help improving their game.

Other research into the game is coming out of universities, and the labs of equipment makers trying to create the hottest new piece of hardware. Indeed, this year's PGA Merchandise Show, held in Orlando in January, seemed to be doing double duty as a science fair.

Companies rolled out everything from a driver stuffed with "intelligent circuitry" (it collects data on your swing and uploads the information via wireless link to a computer for analysis) to the latest bentgrass (from Turf-Seed Inc., of Hubbard, Ore., it resists wear and salt). Meanwhile, launch monitors measuring your drive's launch angle, speed and spin -- and promising to get you an extra 25 yards or so on your tee shot -- are becoming ubiquitous in pro shops.

Here's a closer look at some of the most intriguing research in the field.

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