The study of vision control mechanisms of novice golf players under anxious conditions

  Various theoretical approaches have different views regarding the role and importance of vision information in the production and control of movements, but how vision control mechanisms act under anxious conditions?

The present research  aimed to evaluate vision control mechanisms under anxious conditions in novice golf players.

In this  quasi-experimental study, 20 novice golf players were selected through convenience sampling in the city of Isfahan. The task of the current study was the performance of golf-putting skill under different anxious conditions (baseline vs. anxiety). In this study, participants in the baseline and anxious conditions performed 6 trials of counterbalance in each condition without blocking (control), the first phase blocking, and the last phase blocking of movement in each task. Simultaneously with  golf-putting  performance, the quiet eye data were recorded by an eye tracker system. Data were analyzed via two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc statistical methods.

The results indicated that participants’ quiet eye significantly decreased under anxiety conditions (p=0/0001). Also, the results showed that the initial blockage of movement caused further weakening of the accuracy and quiet eye compared to the final blockage of movement (p=0/0001).

Overall, the results of the current study emphasize the pre-programming system in the performance of golf-putting skill in novice golf players.