SE Wells: Physical Profiling for Golfers with Disabilities

Faculty: Science and Engineering

Supervisors: Dr Jack Wells; Dr Andrew Morrison; Prof Peter Allen

Location: Cambridge

Golf is played by 66.6 million registered players worldwide and because of the existing infrastructure has potential for growth to accommodate individuals with disability (WHO, 2019). Over recent years, the launch of the Golf 4 Disabled (G4D) Tour has created a unique opportunity for golfers with disabilities to compete at the highest level within the game.

However, in order to support golfers with disabilities, there needs to be a greater appreciation of the links between physical performance and key performance indicators such as clubhead speed and drive distance.

From a physical profiling standpoint, the DP World Tour (one of the largest golf tours in the world) use vertical jumps and isometric assessment to physically profile golfers. This is because these procedures are 1) easy to perform, 2) accessible and 3) significantly relate to golfers’ clubhead speed (Wells et al., 2018; Wells et al., 2019).

Despite there being a large body of evidence supporting the use of these assessment methods within able-bodied golfers, there is no research that has assessed these links among golfers with disabilities. This lack of evidence means that current practices are adapted from research based on able-bodied athletes, or anecdotal experience, neither of which are conductive to supporting golfers with disabilities.

Evidence has highlighted that disabilities can significantly affect the force generating capacity of athletes (Paulson & Goosey-Tolfrey, 2019). As such, understanding force generative capacity and the links with clubhead speed in golfers with disabilities is of particular interest.

The most common method of assessing muscle strength within disabled athletes is isometric testing (O’Connor et al., 2022). Indeed, isometric strength in disabled athletes has been shown to correlate with hand speed in throwing tasks (Hyde et al., 2017). This is noteworthy given the biomechanical similarities between throwing and the golf swing. Furthermore, research has noted significant differences in vertical jump height between different disabilities (i.e. cerebral palsy = 18.9 cm, loss of limb = 24.9 cm) (Cherif et al., 2022).

Given the strong relationships between clubhead speed and vertical jump performance in able-bodied golfers’ (Wells et al., 2022), it is entirely plausible to suggest that these links may exist among golfers with disabilities. To date, however, no research has assessed the links between clubhead speed and physical characteristics in golfers with disabilities.

The aims of this research would be to determine the links between physical performance and key performance indicators (i.e. clubhead speed and drive distance) among golfers with different disability categories. This will help to support classification within disabled golfers and guide interventions from strength and conditioning coaches moving forwards.

This project is being funded and further supported (through collaboration) by The R&A (the global governing body for golf) and the European Disabled Golfers’ Association (EDGA). This is an extremely exciting opportunity to study for a PhD working with highly skilled and elite golfers with disabilities. In addition, the supervisory team have extensive experience and a proven track record of developing world leading research within this field.

If you would like to discuss this research project please contact Prof Peter Allen: [email protected]

Funding notes

The successful applicant for this project will receive a Vice Chancellor’s PhD Scholarship which covers the tuition fees and provides a UKRI equivalent minimum annual stipend for 3.5 years. For 2024/5 this was £19,237 per year. The award is subject to the successful candidate meeting the scholarship terms and conditions. Please note that the University asserts the right to claim any intellectual property generated by research it funds.

Download the 2024/5 terms and conditions (2025/6 terms and conditions TBC)