Impact of DGPS Post Processing Techniques and Course Mapping and on Evaluation of Outdoor Athletic Performance in Walking Golf

摘要

Prescription of exercise activity for health maintenance or improvement requires a preliminary analysis of the functional physical parameters associated with that activity. Despite the game's widespread popularity, and anecdotal effectiveness as a health-promoting behavior, little is actually known about the precise magnitude and exertion of activity associated with walking golf participation. Hence, in order to recommend golf as a viable method of healthy activity, it is first necessary to analyze the dosage attainable through participation in the game. One particular area of inquiry in which measurement has traditionally been deficient among walking golf participants, is that which assesses accurate speeds and distances traveled and associated hearth rates while playing a walking round of golf. The purpose of this study was to assess this total volume and intensity of physical activity during a typical round. Male golfers of various ages and abilities were recruited (n = 60) to participate in a single 18-hole round of walking golf. Commonly applied research tools for measuring physical activity parameters among exercising populations are the pedometer and accelerometer, which at best act as proxies for speed and distance. To better assess these critical variables, we applied a combined use of the aforementioned devices with L1 consumer grade GPS loggers. Using post-processed CORS corrections (single phase, baseline 10 km) we then compared GPS-derived data logs with performance over the round, with those of the pedometer and accelerometer-based findings. Further, we mapped GPS-position calculations, against heart rate for the entire round. Interestingly, when time-stamp matching was applied to GPS positioning and heart rate telemetry readings, we were able to observe a complex variation in heart rate response over the golf course terrain. Data obtained from the pedometers and accelerometers further supported these findings. Deviations between logged physical activity parameters, and associated heart rate responses, existed not only for individual golfers throughout his/her respective round, but also among the whole group of participating golfers.