AMTI User Spotlight: Chris Como’s Living Room Golf Swing Biomechanics Lab

When the COVID-19 lockdown arrived in early 2020, professional golfing coach Chris Como was concerned that his clients, who include Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Day, Tom Kim, and other golfing pros, would lose the benefits of his coaching for the duration of the public health emergency. So, Chris built himself a unique indoor biomechanics lab in a private home in Dallas, Texas so clients could continue their training without interruption.

Chris’ lab features dual AMTI AccuGait-Optimized (ACG-O) 50×50 cm portable force plates which measure ground reaction forces (GRFs) in real-time, providing insights into power generation, timing, and direction of force application during the swing. The plates, placed under the golfer’s feet, capture data on how the body transfers energy to the ground, revealing valuable information for coaches and players to improve swing mechanics and performance.

Data from the AMTI force plates is then fed to GASP Systems Ltd. software, which reads the 6DOF (degree-of-freedom) force plate data (3D forces and moments) and synchronizes it with high-speed video and other data recorded by equipment in the lab. The GASP software uses built-in computations to provide numerous parameters/measurements that are highly relevant to the golf swing, including Vertical Force, Horizontal Trail/Lead Force, Horizontal Anterior/Posterior Force, Center of Pressure, Center of Pressure Velocity, Center of Mass, Moment Arm, Frontal Plane Torque, Sagittal Plane Torque, and Stance Width.

The benefits for golfers and coaches from using this system include:

• Improved Swing Technique: By analyzing GRFs, golfers and coaches can identify weaknesses and areas for improvement in their swing.
• Increased Clubhead Speed: Optimizing the timing and direction of force application can lead to faster clubhead speeds and greater distance.
• Enhanced Accuracy: Better weight distribution and balance can improve accuracy and consistency.
• Injury Prevention: AMTI force plates can help identify imbalances and improper movement patterns that may lead to injuries.

You can view a great behind-the-scenes look at Chris’ amazing home biomechanics lab in action in this CNN Living Golf video segment.

You can also read about Dr. Young-Hoo Kwon’s extensive research into golf swing analysis using AMTI force plates here.