Power, Precision, and Performance — Measured from the Ground Up
Analysis and data from Titleist Performance Institute (TPI), a world leader in golf performance research.
When a 20-year-old starts leading the PGA TOUR with 190 mph ball speeds, coaches and sports scientists take notice. That’s exactly what happened with South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter, and it’s why Dr. Greg Rose and the research team at the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) in Oceanside, CA recently put his swing under the microscope.
Ground Forces: The Foundation of the Golf Swing
Every golf swing begins from the ground up. The forces an athlete applies into the ground—and how quickly they redirect those forces—set the ceiling for club‑head speed, efficiency, and ultimately ball distance. AMTI multi‑axis force plates capture these ground reaction forces (GRFs) across three translational and three rotational axes (6DOF). The result is a time‑stamped, three‑dimensional (3D) fingerprint of how an athlete generates their power and efficiency.
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Dr. Rose dubbed Aldrich’s lead‑leg stopping ability “super brakes”.
“Like a pitcher going down a mound—when they hit the ground, they turn that into rotational force. Golfers do the same thing. The way they do that is they brake their lateral force and turn it into rotational.”
—Dr. Greg Rose, TPI
The Elite Tech Behind the Insights
TPI’s lab relies on AMTI in‑ground force plates—the same plates trusted in top-of-the-line research labs and high performance centers worldwide. Key advantages of AMTI force plates include:
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Multi-Axis / Six Degrees of Freedom (6‑DoF): Capture vertical, anterior‑posterior, and medial‑lateral forces, as well as all three rotational moments.
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Patented OPTIMA Calibration Technology: A revolutionary development in force measurement technology, offering a 10-fold improvement over any force platform system on the market. Industry-leading performance in terms of Center of Pressure (CoP), crosstalk, and measurement accuracy.
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Seamless Synchronization: Digital integration with all major marker-based and markerless optical motion‑capture and other high-speed video-integrated systems, enabling full‑body kinetic‑chain analysis. Check out our list of Software Partners & Integrators.
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In-Ground Mounting: Seamless integration into the lab floor to preserve the athlete’s natural stance and movement.
What It Means for Coaches & Players
- Objective Insights – No more guesswork. Force plate data reveals exactly when and where an athlete leaks energy from their swing. The force-time curves capture improvements in ground mechanics before it shows up in ball flight.
- Personalized Training – Don’t waste time with one-size-fits-all drills. Use GRF data to tailor training—like eccentric-overload or deceleration work—to strengthen and build the specific qualities they’re missing.
- Progress Tracking – Quantitatively measure and track progress throughout the season or off-season—not just by outcomes like ball speed or carry distance, but by the underlying mechanics that produce them.
Watch the Full Breakdown
Dr. Rose walks through the data and the mechanics of Aldrich’s swing in this 5‑minute video: The Data Behind Aldrich Potgieter’s TOUR-Leading Distance [YouTube]
Ready to Measure Your Athletes From the Ground Up?
Whether you’re running a PGA TOUR‑level lab, a university biomechanics program, or a high performance academy, AMTI force plates deliver the accuracy and reliability that you need. Contact our team to discuss portable and mounted (in-ground) force platform options and 3rd party software integration.
Power, precision, performance—measured from the ground up with AMTI.