G-Mac display goes 3D

GOLF:GRAEME McDOWELL looked more like a science experiment than a golfer as he prepared at the Riviera Club yesterday for this week's LA Open. Wired up by the boffins from the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) so his swing could be captured using the 3D-Golf motion system and filed away for analysis, he put up with the jibes from his caddie, Ken Comboy, and nearby tour players like Daniel Chopra to take another tiny step forward in his career.

With his chiropractor, Dale Richardson, overseeing the process, McDowell was trussed up in a harness and wired with sensors that captured every nuance of his swing in a 3D, biomechanical assessment that will determine fitness programmes and swing changes.

“We are doing a 3D sequence of his swing to see how he is transmitting the ground reaction forces and how much he is drawing from there,” Richardson explains. “Then we are looking at the rate at which the hips, shoulders and clubhead are moving and checking how efficiently he is using his energy.”

“It looks a bit ungainly and I normally do it indoors and not in public,” McDowell explained, looking sheepishly at a grinning Chopra. “It puts your swing in a 3D model and takes all kinds of pretty cool measurements. Basically, it is all about transitions of power through your swing.

“You can always get better physically and technically. How good can you be? Look at the best players in the world. Look at Tiger. That is what we are all striving towards.”