Wearable tDCS and Acute Golf Shot Performance

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been investigated as an ergogenic aid for two decades, but most sport evidence comes from laboratory stimulators operated by experimenters. This trial evaluates whether a single 20-minute session of wearable, app-controlled bilateral motor-cortex tDCS (Halo Sport 2, 2 mA) improves full-swing golf shot performance compared with sham stimulation. The study is a double-blind, sham-controlled, parallel-group randomized trial with a pre-test/post-test design in golfers stratified into professional, amateur-high, and amateur-middle skill groups. Each participant attends a single session comprising a 40-shot pre-test, 20 minutes of real or sham stimulation, and a 40-shot post-test, with shots measured by a TrackMan 4 launch monitor across eight standardized club categories. The primary outcomes are change scores (post minus pre) in carry distance, ball speed, smash factor, within-player carry-distance variability, and absolute lateral deviation. Effects will be examined overall and as a function of skill level (categorical group and continuous golf handicap).