Wind impact on short-distance putting performance [通常講演]
Takeru Suzuki; Daisuke Ichikawa; Taishi Asai; Tetsuro Kita
15th International Conference on the Engineering of Sport, 11th World Scientific Congress of Golf 2024年07月 ポスター発表 Epinal Way, Loughborough Loughborough University (UK)
The performance of golfers is significantly affected by weather conditions during extended periods of outdoor play. Thornes (1977) highlighted this aspect in his article “The Effect of Weather on Sport,” noting the unequal interference experienced by golfers due to varying weather conditions. Additionally, Jowett and Phillips (2023) identified wet-bulb temperature and zonal wind speed as the most reliable predictors of mean scores in Masters tournaments over the past 40 years. Previous studies have explored the influence of wind, particularly on airborne shots, and its impact on distance and spin (Malik and Saha, 2021). However, little attention has been paid to the effect of wind on putting strokes on the green, estimated to contribute to approximately 40% of golf scores. Over the past decade, major cities in Japan, such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka, have experienced an average wind speed if 2.7 m/s (Japan Meteorological Agency). Consequently, in this study, wind speeds of 2 and 4 m/s were chosen to evaluate differences in ball-stop positions under artificially generated wind speeds commonly encountered in typical golf play. The objective was to gather fundamental data that could serve as indicators for green reading under
windy conditions.