TWU kinesiology prof helps golfers master their swing

April 4, 2025 - DENTON -  When Young-Hoo Kwon was a PhD student at Penn State, he was more likely to be found on the soccer field and the tennis courts than the golf course. He actually hated golf. Even as his tennis friends transitioned to golf enthusiasts, Kwon drew a line in the sand, refusing to convert. 

“I cursed golfers,” Kwon recalled.

But, as sometimes is the case, sentiments change.

Decades later, Kwon is consumed by golf. Over the last 16 years, Kwon, a professor of kinesiology and director of the Biomechanics and Motor Behavior Lab in the School of Health Promotion & Kinesiology at Texas Woman’s, has become one of the world’s leading researchers in golf biomechanics. 

Through years of capturing data of golf swings with innovative 3D technology and then analyzing it with software that he created when he was a PhD student, Kwon has produced research that filled a gap in the science of golf. He has given presentations all over the world on his research, teaches biomechanics certification courses to golf instructors and has published 10 articles specifically on golf biomechanics.

“My main focus is always on how to move the body more efficiently and effectively,” Kwon said. 

And, through his swing analysis and reprogramming services that he offers out of his cavernous lab on the TWU Denton campus, Kwon helps hundreds of golfers improve their swing.

“We are, pretty much, the powerhouse of golf swing analysis and the science of golf swing,” Kwon said. “We are fully research based, but at the same time we reach out to a broad spectrum of golfers.”

Kwon works with golfers at all levels, ranging from professionals on the PGA Tour to juniors to amateurs just trying to improve their swing speed. He has helped golfers from ages 8 all the way up to 78. He loves working with juniors; he thinks it is important that they develop good movement. 

“I am not a good golfer,” Kwon said. “I don’t have a competitive golfing background. It’s all what I learned from the data and based on that understanding, I try to help golfers.”

Kwon is hoping to help more golfers by collaborating with RYP Golf, a company that sells golf training aids, like the Rypstick. The company’s founder Luke Benoit, who has a PhD in motor control, reached out to Kwon, wanting to merge Kwon’s expertise with his company’s mission of helping golfers reach their full potential. 

“As one of the foremost experts in golf biomechanics globally, Dr. Kwon brings a wealth of knowledge and respect to our mission,” Benoit said. “His expertise will be instrumental as we strive to help golfers achieve greater distance and accuracy in their game. We look forward to collaborating on cutting-edge research, innovative training protocols, and the development of groundbreaking products that will push the boundaries of club head speed.”

The collaboration will start with short videos showing how to use RYP Golf products with Kwon’s practice drills. 

“It’s not just using the tool and swinging hard,” Kwon said. “At the same time, you have to learn the right movement. So, when you combine them, you can have this synergy effect.” 

Just like other golfers, Benoit and his team went through Kwon’s swing analysis service, which is tailored for elite golfers and designed to detect subtle issues that can’t be seen through normal observation. Kwon uses a 10-camera optical motion capture system along with two 3-dimensional force plates to capture the swing data. 

Kwon compares it to an MRI scan. He then looks at the swing in depth and provides feedback. 

He calls it swing ‘kwonalysis,’ a play on his last name. 

“It’s a swing analysis but a unique swing analysis done by me,” Kwon said, grinning. “A friend of mine who came here, came up with this term. I kinda liked it so I started using it.”

After going through the swing ‘kwonalysis’ or the reprogramming service, golfers are asked to make a donation to the TWU Biomechanics & Motor Behavior Lab. The donations help fund Kwon’s graduate assistant positions and their research. 

Kwon actually started doing research on golf because of a former student.  

Kwon’s research has always centered on sports. Starting in the 1990’s, he published articles on the biomechanics of swimming, track and field and speed skating. It wasn’t until one of his TWU students wanted to do his thesis on golf around 2007 that Kwon looked for research on the sport he once cursed.

He was dismayed, not only by the lack of research on the swing plane — the primary plane along which the club moves — but by the misinformation it included. 

“And, then I realized that golf is an under-researched sport,” Kwon said. “Poor information was out there. That it misleads the golfers and instructors. So, I decided to do something about it.”

At the same time, Kwon had a new toy in the lab: an optical motion capture system. The system made the process of capturing data much easier.

The next big step came when Chris Como joined his team. Como, a golf instructor who was curious about even the slightest of nuances in the game, went on to coach some of the top professional golfers in the world, including Tiger Woods. Through Como, Kwon was able to bring a lot of accomplished golfers into his lab, which led to a lot more useful data. 

With all the data they captured, Kwon and his team of students started publishing articles on their research. 

Dr. Kwon with his former student, Chris Como

Business picked up around 2021 when Kwon started posting his videos working with golfers to his YouTube channel. His channel has 42,000 subscribers and over 4 million lifetime views. Around 150-170 golfers visit Kwon in his lab annually. 

“A lot of golfers are frustrated with typical lessons,” Kwon said. “They spend a lot of money with the lessons but their swing is not improving that much. I get emails and comments on YouTube that they improved. They increased the distance by 20 yards by simply following my methods. I hear that thing all the time.” 

From all the analysis he has done, Kwon believes continuous motion is the best way to improve a golf swing. 

“In your motion, you must have good acceleration and deceleration,” Kwon said. “With that, you are creating continuous motion, mechanically speaking.”

One of the ways he demonstrates this is through a drill swinging a thick seven-foot-long rope that is folded in half to resemble the length of a 5-iron golf club. With his reprogramming classes, which is aimed at beginners, Kwon puts aside the technology and works with tools you might find in a sporting goods store, like ropes and kettlebells. 

“The main thing about biomechanics is to make the motion more effective, efficient and safer,” Kwon said. “So, when they use the continuous motion approach and develop good rhythm in their swing, it improves their performance but at the same time, it makes the swing safer so they don’t get injured. So, they can enjoy golf.” 

Kwon assumes people like the way he does things. Because they keep coming in. And, they leave with a deeper understanding of their technique. Most of his weekends are occupied with analyzing golf swings. He says he does it because of the sense of accomplishment he gets from helping people.  

“The information we learned from our research is well utilized in helping people,” Kwon said. “That’s what research is all about. We find new information and then disseminate it to the community.”

Kwon regrets that he did not pick up golf when he was a student at Penn State. He ended up learning how to play when he was in his 40s and then started researching golf in his 50s. 

“It gives me a lot of opportunities, which I did not expect at all,” Kwon said. “I’m very much into golf. Promoting the science of golf. That’s just life. You can not expect what is going to happen in your life. Nothing is too late.”