[no_mind_golfer]

no_mind_golfer,

Good point about the ellipse.

But - what's the point of a back swing at all if there's no energy storage related to the golf stroke? Why not just move the club forward from address?


(Rethorical quesion: Of course energy is stored through the down swing. You increase the mv2 all the way to the ball.)

Well no... energy is not stored (or conserved). The golf swing is not very efficient. We do the backswind to establish "potential" energy ....a small amount of gravitational rho*g*h and a whole lot of musclar-skeletal "P.E.". The backswing is like putting "fuel" in the muscular-skeletal engine.



At the top of the backswing our "kinetic linkage" is displaced to one end of its "range of motion" and our muscles are outstreched and ready to contract.

Once the downswing begins muscles fire, the linkage begins moving and eventually some 22% (Nesbit) of that potential energy gets converted into Kinetic energy (1/2 m V^2) concentrated at the head of the club. None of it really ever gets stored (for long) or in a benificial way (i.e. club shaft bend doesn't help us). Like Wishon I believe "shaft kick" is a myth.

Now setting all of this aside.....

It is quite possible in the "optimal" (if there is such a thing) golf swing there is a point on the golfer's body that remains steady (motionless). I have no problem with people calling that a swing center or what ever as long as they realize is highly unlikely that this spot is where "centripetal force" gets directed for anything other than an instant and probably then just by coincidence.