Haptic Perception-Action Coupling Manifold of Effective Golf Swing

Researchers have used full-body models to investigate how the dynamics of the golf swing, including those related to wrist function, may be affected by the rotation of individual anatomical segments. Recent studies have suggested that the inertia tensor, a physical property whose values are timeand coordinateindependent, may be an important informational invariant haptic perception of which is used to control limb movement. We mechanically characterized the perception-action coupling manifold, which seems to be a more parsimonious representation of performance of the golf swing. We used this ‘dynamic touch’ concept to explain why much of traditional golf coaching has stressed the importance of a neutral left wrist position. We tested the hypothesis that the aforesaid ‘flat left wrist’ has an important influence on the efficacy of the golf swing by comparing the perception-action coupling manifold of both a highand a lowhandicap player. We found that perception and action were more highly correlated with each other in the more skilled player. The implications of our preliminary findings about wobbling inertia for functioning of the ‘flat left wrist’ are discussed.