(1) ISOMETRIC MID-THIGH PULL FORCE-TIME CHARACTERISTICS OF RESISTANCE TRAINED COLLEGIATE GOLF ATHLETES

Purpose: Developing adequate rotational power for golf athletes at all levels of competition is essential. While resistance training programs targeting rotational power exist for golf athletes, the effect of such programs on key golf metrics such as club head speed is largely unknown. The isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) test is one method to examine lower-body neuromuscular strength and has shown a significant correlation to general muscular strength and power within athletic populations (Stone et al.). Research utilizing IMTP to examine golf athletes’ muscular strength and power to detect changes during off-season resistance training programs is limited. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to assess changes in female collegiate golf athletes’ isometric muscular strength characteristics following an off-season resistance training program. Methods: Ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division-II golf athletes (x̄±SD; height=164.85±7.33cm; body mass=65.27±8.91kg) participated in the present investigation. Following a standardized dynamic warm-up, athletes performed 2-4 IMTP on a dual force plate system (Hawkin Dynamics, Westbrook, ME), where the vertical ground reaction force of each IMTP was recorded. The best trial was used for analysis. All athletes performed the IMTP test in two time points (before and after the resistance training program). Shapiro-Wilks test confirmed that the data was non-normally distributed. Thus, a series of Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Tests were performed on selected variables to examine the changes in the time points. The a-priori level was set at p< 0.05. Results: Peak force (p=0.005), force at 50ms (p=0.007), force at 100ms (p=0.037), and impulse between 0-50ms, 0-100ms, 0-150ms, 0-200ms (p=0.005-0.037) showed significant improvement between the two time points while rate of force development (RFD) (p>0.14), force at 150ms, 200ms, and 250ms(p>0.24), impulse between 0-250ms (p=0.074), and time to peak force (p=0.14) failed to show significant changes across the two time points. Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study, the off-season resistance training program improved muscular strength of the golf athletes which may contribute to the success of athletes in-season. Practical Applications: Findings of the present investigation demonstrated the benefits of an off-season resistance training program for golf athletes. Future research should utilize the current investigation’s findings to examine the relationship of such resistance training program’s effect on golf-specific performance indicators such as club head speed. Acknowledgements: This research investigation was funded by the Clara Wu and Joseph Tsai Foundation and the University of Nebraska at Kearny's INSpRE Instrumentation Core.