The role of the PGA professional has never been more important to the future development of the game.
PGA director of education and career development Dr Kyle Phillpots reflects on the role played by PGA pros in raising coaching standards in golf.
The 'Tiger Factor' has undoubtedly created a lot of attention in both the sporting and golfing world.
Every now and then, a golfer of extraordinary talent emerges and dominates the game for a period of time. Others, like Palmer and Ballesteros, have also been iconic figures who have popularised the sport making it commercially attractive.
Tiger has taken the game to a higher level, brought golf to the attention of more people than ever before, raised the prize money into the stratosphere and also had a huge effect on how we define the role of the coach.
In the same way that Nick Faldo raised the profile of David Leadbetter in his quest to find better ways to swing the club; Tiger Woods has had an undoubted impact upon coaching practice in his quest for perfection in everything he does.
As well as the developments in his golf swing, we can also observe how Tiger has changed physically to ensure that his body can produce the swing he wants.
There is now a greater interest in other aspects of performance such as strength, stamina and suppleness; mental toughness, concentration and visualisation; nutrition and hydration.
Because players have a greater awareness of the different elements of performance in golf, it is clear that the knowledge and understanding of PGA professionals must also expand so that they can maintain their status as experts in golf coaching.
Individual sports need to ensure that they have coaches with technical knowledge (what to coach) combined with the ability to use that knowledge to help improve the performer (how to coach).
In parallel with these coaching developments within golf, the past few years has seen the emergence of the United Kingdom Coaching Certificate (UKCC) in which all sports have had to professionalise the standards of their coaches and coach education programmes.
Sports have also been tasked by government to produce 'development plans' that indicate how people will be introduced to their sport, have the opportunity to develop as far as their skills and motivation can take them, and how they will be retained within the sport.
The term 'Right Coach, Right Place, Right Time' has become something of a mantra for the governing bodies of sport and reflects the principle that individual sports need to ensure that they have coaches with technical knowledge (what to coach) combined with the ability to use that knowledge to help improve the performer (how to coach).
These 'how to coach' skills have become a significant part of modern coach education programmes. They combine traditional models of skill acquisition, with more recent developments in motor learning, coaching behaviours and instruction. Show and tell (or demonstration and explanation) remain an important element of the coaching process, but are also supplemented by concepts such as experiential learning, problem solving, task oriented learning and facilitation.
'Complete coaches' in golf will have the potential to take a player of any age, or ability, and work with them to develop their potential. They will be able to physically screen a player in order to understand their physical capabilities and limitations and then to either work within those limitations, or direct them to other experts (for example a physiotherapist) to address these limitations.
Coaches will also be able to work with other experts to improve aspects of performance such as power, endurance and mental strength. They will work with players to set mutually agreed goals, whilst adopting a range of coaching strategies to achieve these goals. These principles can apply to all levels of golfer, whether it is the casual player who wants to get rid of their destructive slice, the aspiring youngster set on winning tournaments, or the single handicap club golfer. The complete coach needs to be able to meet all these requirements. As a consequence, there needs to be a holistic understanding of the golfer's needs as well as an understanding of performance and how skills are developed.
One aspect of coaching that has remained a constant feature is the physical laws that explain how the impact factors affect the flight of the golf ball. The PGA Training Programme has in recent years embraced a more scientific explanation of these ball flights - and so an understanding of what makes the ball fly the way it does remains the single most important aspect of the PGA professional's role as a coach.
Modern technology has enhanced significantly our understanding of all the contributory elements of the impact factors. High speed cameras, launch monitors, force platforms and 3D motion analysis help explain what the club and body are doing during a golf swing. A greater appreciation of kinetic sequencing, together with an understanding of how to assess the physical capabilities of the player, provides a tremendous opportunity for PGA professionals to offer a more complete service than ever before.
Keeping up to date with the breadth and depth of these developments is not easy and their role has never been more important to the future development of the game.
30 March, 2010 | The PGA