The Value of Long-Term Planning in Elite Golf Coaching
Technique changes, long-term plans, and "Win" vs. "Develop" agendas
I recently came across an interesting paper titled How Do Coaches Operationalise Long-Term Technical Training in Elite Golf?
The researchers explored how elite coaches set goals and structure practice in an effort to help high-level golfers improve their technique.
How elite were the coaches interviewed for this research project?
…all amateur players discussed were world ranked inside the top 100 and the two professional players discussed were inside the top 50 in the official world golf rankings at the time of coaching. Furthermore, two of the coaches had coached recent Major champions. Two other coaches had also coached recent Ryder Cup players/European Tour winners. Four coaches had coached multiple Curtis Cup and Walker Cup players.
The findings were quite surprising to me.
…a lack of knowledge of timescales for completion of work and a lack of perceived value in long-term planning created a short-term approach to technical work. Moreover, a busy tournament schedule, the need for regular and immediate performance, and the players’ readiness for change, all influenced the coach’s rationale.
I was expecting that the elite coaches in this study had a clear long-term plan for achieving the desired swing changes. But this was not the case.
…there is a low level of coherence and consistency across the macro, meso, and micro levels. Put another way, there appeared to be little translation from what the coach was trying to achieve over the season (macro level) to what the coach did during blocks of the season (meso level), or to individual sessions or tournament support (micro level).
What struck me was that a systematic approach to technique changes seems to be lacking even amongst elite coaches.
Tournament Schedules
Tournament schedules are a major obstacle for coaches wanting to structure periods of technical work.
It’s difficult to make changes that might result in short-term performance drops when players are constantly competing.
The disconnect between what some of the elite coaches advocated for (fewer tournaments) and their actions (or lack thereof) surprised me.
several coaches expressed a desire for their players to have played less to undertake important technical work. Tournament golf “was a distraction”. Coach 10 even stressed that “valuing those gaps in your year when you are periodizing things to leave space to address these factors in your game is golden time”. However, whilst stressing the importance of this, none of the coaches encouraged their players to remove events and intentionally orchestrate these gaps in their schedule to achieve the aforementioned aims.
Setting The Correct Agenda
Setting a “win” or “develop” agenda for tournaments is crucial for elite golfers.
We can win today by relying on skills we know won't work at the next level. This means there are times when we must sacrifice winning today to prioritize developing the capability we need to win tomorrow. — James A. King
One of the elite coaches touched on this idea.
Coach 7 based the goals of tournament week on the level of importance of the event; in lower-level events, therefore, goals other than immediate performance were emphasized. “At lower-level events, we will be working on shots for other bigger events. We would also practice certain clubs in smaller events. Also, psychological skills are practiced in smaller events before being put into play in bigger events”
“Win” vs. “Develop” Agenda
Win Agenda: The goal is to win at all costs.
Develop Agenda: Practice new skills in a safe environment.
In other words…
We can classify certain competitions or time periods with either a “development” or “win” agenda. We can set clear development periods which give us opportunities for experimentation without fear of failing.
We can intersperse these periods with clear “win” agendas. The “win” agenda reminds us that things are real and there are times we have to decide to become confident, grit our teeth, and grind out a result. There are consequences for the results we produce, and we have to be able to turn it on when it counts. — James A. King
Establishing the appropriate agenda for different parts of the season requires long-term planning.
Unfortunately, the researcher’s findings suggest that long-term planning is missing even amongst elite coaches.
Elite golfers should consider the following:
Establish a long-term development plan
What technical changes do you and your coach want to make in the next three, six, and 12 months?
Does your tournament schedule allow you to make the desired changes?
Do you need to adjust your tournament schedule to allow for the technical changes in your long-term plan to take place?
Establish “Win” and “Development” Agendas
Review your tournament schedule.
Identify which tournaments are opportunities to develop your skills and which are those you want to win.