Physical Preparation Podcast · Mike Robertson

Golf Swing Biomechanics & Power Assessment Explained with Jack Wells

·1 hr 2 min·4 clips

Jack Wells says countermovement-jump impulse has the strongest relationship with clubhead velocity of any physical test.

The conversation starts from a simple coaching problem. Golfers want to hit the ball farther, and coaches want to help them do it without guessing. Jack Wells brings a biomechanics and strength-and-conditioning lens to that problem. He and the host talk through why golf can feel like a black box. They also talk about the appeal of slow-motion swings, TrackMan numbers, force traces, and 3D motion capture data. The episode does not stop at looking impressive. It keeps asking what the information is for. Jack explains how force plate assessment methods are used to profile golf technique. He also talks about the way power and movement are commonly assessed in the sport. The discussion notes that jump height gets used quite a lot, even though the research does not support it as strongly as other variables and it is confounded by mass. That sets up a broader point about physical testing in golf. The show also gets into the habit of linking physical limitation to swing faults. Jack is cautious about that idea. He does not present every limitation as a direct cause of a bad swing. Instead, he pushes for a more careful reading of the athlete and the context. The lab side of golf evaluation comes up in detail. Some golfers get force data across the vertical, medial-lateral, and anterior-posterior directions. Some get full 3D work. The episode points out that many players still get assessed more through a coach's qualitative eye than through a full lab. When the full lab does happen, the result can be a thick report with graphs and squiggly lines that nobody knows how to use. That frustration becomes one of the episode's clearest themes. Jack argues that the person in the lab should first ask what the player and coach want to understand. Then the data should be interpreted in that light. He prefers that the lab communicate with the coach rather than dump everything on the player. The coach can then act as the filter and decide what matters. That approach keeps the conversation useful instead of just technical. The episode also shows how much of golf performance work is still about translation. Measurements matter, but only if they connect to training and the swing. The show keeps moving between the gym, the range, and the lab because the real job is making those places speak to one another. By the end, the episode lands on a familiar coaching truth. Good data is only valuable when it changes how you work with the athlete.

As heard by us

A grounded look at turning golf data into coaching that actually carries to the course.

The episode stays close to the practical problem at the center of golf biomechanics: how force plates, 3D motion capture, and lab reports turn into coaching a player can actually use.

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Why you'd press play

If golf data feels impressive but unusable, this one gives you the coach's filter.

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