An Empirical Study of the Sybervision Golf Videotape

Abstract

A number of studies have shown observational learning to be a powerful tool to facilitate acquisition of various athletic skills. The present study examined the efficacy of the commercially produced SyberVision golf videotape as a teaching aid to facilitate acquisition of the proper golf swing. One group of 10 introductory golf students saw the SyberVision tape. A control group of 10 reported on a golf-instruction book. Two raters judged their golf swings during pre- and posttests. A single blind procedure was used to prevent biased judging. Analysis showed a significant improvement with practice or instruction, but no significant effect of viewing SyberVision. Several possibly important variables are discussed which could bear directly on Syber-Vision's effectiveness.