The Use of Whole Body Electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) as a Golf Warm-Up - A Randomized Controlled Cross-Over Study

Background: There is growing evidence that warm-up protocols favorably affect golf performance. Golf-specific movements superimposed by whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) might be a promising method to increase the efficiency of warm-up before a golf challenge, be it a match or driving range.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a WB-EMS supported warm-up on clubhead speed and shot accuracy.

Methods: Using a cross-over design, 20 highly skilled golf players (handicap 6.4±2.6 points, 37.2±14.5 yrs.) were randomly allocated to a 12 min warm-up protocol starting with or without WB-EMS. The warm-up consisted of seven exercises that addressed all muscle groups involved in the golf swing. AWB-EMS protocol with 4s of impulse (bipolar, 85Hz, 350μs, rectangular) during the voluntary warm-up exercises, intermitted by 4s of rest was applied. Study endpoints were maximum clubhead speed and shot accuracy (“offline”) averaged from 10 hits with participants’ iron-7, as determined by the laser-based Foresight GC2 device.

Results: Two subjects quit the study due to reasons not related to the project. In summary, we observed a non-significantly higher effect (1.1±3.3%; p=.106) for the WB-EMS warm-up condition. Separating athletes with high versus low swing speed, we observed more pronounced improvements for clubhead speed in the slower cohort (2.8±4.0%, p=.055). No relevant effects were observed for “offline”.

Conclusion: Although we failed to demonstrate significant effects in this highly skilled cohort of golf players, we conclude that WB-EMS supported warm-up protocols might be particularly helpful for athletes with low shot velocity to enhance clubhead speed without negative effects on shot accuracy.

Keywords: golf warm-up, whole-body electromyostimulation, golf performance, clubhead speed, shot accuracy.