Coaching Golf - How skilled are we at skill?

Abstract

There is much debate on how best to develop skilled performers in sport and which practices are most effective in achieving this aim. This paper’s interest is in the coaching of high-level golfers and how coaches utilise their knowledge base to select the methods they employ to develop skilled performance. With such a varied and sometimes dichotomous range of theories, concepts, ideas and practices, the coaching industry needs support to navigate through this vast field of work. Here, the major theories of skill learning and development are presented and explored in relation to the game of golf. Due to the importance of skill acquisition, retention and transfer decisions, coaching action needs to be carefully grounded in the environment and context in which it occurs. To support this, two models are presented for consideration that can guide coaches’ skill acquisition reflections and future skill development decisions. Golf specific examples are provided to bring these models to life but the utility of both frameworks has value to sports coaching in its many varied contexts.