A Constraints Led Approach To Golf Coaching

While the popularity of golf is coming under increased pressure, it continues to hook millions of players. However, the complexity of the game and the extremely high level of precision required to hit the ball consistently well means that it is a game that is difficult to even become ‘good’ at, let alone master. Consequently, irrespective of whether the player is a weekend golfer, a club member, or a tour professional, the search for the key to playing good golf feeds an insatiable desire for ideas and tips to improve golf performance and bring one’s handicap down. However, traditional coaching, with its primary focus on developing the perfect swing is not leading to a reduction in handicaps and the time is ripe for a new approach. This book aims to fill this void and is a landmark text for golf coaches and players about applying a constraints-led approach (CLA) to golf coaching. In this book, two golf coaches, Pete Arnott and Graeme McDowall talk to Ian Renshaw to demonstrate how their practice is driven and inspired by their alignment to a CLA. A Constraints-Led Approach to Golf Coaching includes case studies and examples of how constraints are manipulated to induce adaption in the technical, tactical (or put in golf terms, course management), physiological, and psychological development mechanisms needed to improve at golf. Examples cover coaching from their work with beginners, high handicappers, aspirant tour players, and elite players looking to make the ‘tour’.

For the last 25 years, a constraints-based framework has helped to inform the way that many sport scientists seek to understand performance, learning design and the development of expertise and talent in sport. The Constraints-Led Approach: Principles for Sports Coaching and Practice Design provides students and practitioners with the theoretical knowledge required to implement constraints-led approaches in their work. Seeking to bridge the divide between theory and practice, the book sets out an ‘environment design framework’, including practical tools and guidance for the application of the framework in coaching and skill acquisition settings. It includes chapters on constraints-led approaches in golf, athletics and hockey, and provides applied reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of motor learning, skill acquisition and developing sport expertise. Providing a thorough grounding in the theory behind constraints-led approaches to skill acquisition, and a foundational cornerstone in the Routledge Studies in Constraints-Based Methodologies in Sport series, this is a vital pedagogical resource for students and practising sports coaches, physical education teachers and sport scientists alike.

The authors outline the development of a comprehensive model of motor control that has a multidisciplinary framework to capture the different interlocking scales of analysis involved in producing behaviour.

Explores the fundamental processes of motor learning and skill acquisition in sport. This book examines the interaction of personal, environmental and task-specific constraints in the development of motor skills, and demonstrates how an understanding of those constraints can be applied in a wide range of specific sports and physical activities.

This is an ideal text for motor behaviour and cognitive psychology courses, as well as a reference for professionals with an interest in motor behaviour and human movement. It explores how focus of attention can affect motor performance, particularly the learning of motor skills.

Motor Learning and Performance: From Principles to Application, Sixth Edition With Web Study Guide, enables students to appreciate high-level skilled activity and understand how such incredible performances occur. Written in a style that is accessible even to students with little or no knowledge of physiology, psychology, statistical methods, or other basic sciences, this text constructs a conceptual model of factors that influence motor performance, outlines how motor skills are acquired and retained with practice, and shows students how to apply the concepts to a variety of real-world settings. The sixth edition of Motor Learning and Performance has been carefully revised to incorporate the most important research findings in the field, and it is supplemented with practice situations to facilitate a stronger link between research-based principles and practical applications. Other highlights include the following: A web study guide offers updated principles-to-application exercises and additional interactive activities for each chapter, ensuring that students will be able to transfer core content from the book to various applied settings. Extensive updates and new material related to the performance of complex movements expand the theoretical focus to a more in-depth analysis of dynamical systems and the constraints-led approach to learning. Narratives from Motor Control in Everyday Actions that appear in the web study guide tie each book chapter to concrete examples of how motor behavior is applicable to real life. Photo caption activities pose questions to students to encourage critical thinking, and answers to those questions are provided to instructors in the instructor guide. As the text investigates the principles of human performance, pedagogical aids such as learning objectives, key terms, and Check Your Understanding questions help students stay on track with learning in each chapter. Focus on Research and Focus on Application sidebars deliver more detailed research information and make connections to real-world applications in areas such as teaching, coaching, and therapy. The sixth edition of Motor Learning and Performance: From Principles to Application goes beyond simply presenting research—it challenges students to grasp the fundamental concepts of motor performance and learning and then go a step further by applying the concepts. Incorporating familiar scenarios brings the material to life for students, leading to better retention and greater interest in practical application of motor performance and learning in their everyday lives and future careers.

Authors Ray Breed and Michael Spittle, long recognized as experts in the game sense model and teaching games for understanding approach, have created a complete resource for physical educators and coaches of games and team sports. Their new book, Developing Game Sense in Physical Education and Sport, provides both the theoretical foundation and the practical application that teachers and coaches need to confidently teach their students and athletes the skills and game sense they need to successfully compete in games and sports. This text, inspired by the authors’ previous book, Developing Game Sense Through Tactical Learning, offers new material since the publication of that 2011 book, particularly in relation to curriculum, assessment, and physical literacy. “Our version of a game sense model has been modified over time and adjusted to meet the changing needs and requirements of learners and programs,” Breed says. “This book is an updated and improved variation of our original book, and it will assist teachers and coaches in integrating game sense into their sessions and curricula.” Through Developing Game Sense in Physical Education and Sport, teachers and coaches will be able to do the following: Provide a logical sequence and step-by-step instructions for maximal learning, skill transfer, and game skill development Accelerate learning by linking technical, tactical, and strategic similarities in three thematic game categories (There are 19 invasion games, 13 striking and fielding games, and 14 net and wall games.) Save preparation and planning time by using the extensive planning and game implementation resources Set up games with ease and effectively relate game sense concepts by following the 90 illustrations and diagrams created for those purposes The text includes curriculum ideas and specific units for children ages 8 to 16. Unit plan chapters provide six sessions for each of the two skill levels (easy to moderate and moderate to difficult). The book also offers assessment tools and guidance for measuring learning as well as links to different curriculum frameworks. The appendixes supply teachers and coaches with useful tools, including score sheets, performance assessment and self-assessment tools, session plan outlines, and more. Developing Game Sense in Physical Education and Sport takes into account regional differences in the game sense model and teaching games for understanding approach. Its organization will facilitate users’ ready application of the material. The text first provides an overview and theoretical framework of the concepts of skill, skill development, game sense, and assessment. It then goes on to explore the links between fundamental motor skills, game sense, and physical literacy. Later chapters offer thematic unit and lesson plans as well as assessment ideas. Practical resources, game ideas and descriptions, and assessment ideas are supplied, along with the practical application of game sense, teaching for skill transfer, structuring games, developing questioning techniques, and organizing sessions. Developing Game Sense in Physical Education and Sport will allow coaches and teachers to develop the tactical, technical, and strategic skills their athletes and students need in game contexts. Coaches and teachers will also be able to help learners develop personal, social, and relationship skills. As a result, learners will be able to more effectively participate in, and enjoy, team games.

"Golf is a beloved yet technical game, so a sound swing and precise technique are essential. Most golfers who want to improve their skills go to the range and work painstakingly on their swings, not realizing it's often their performance state on the course that needs work, not their technique. Simple things such as awareness of your balance, tension, and tempo, as well as the ability to control mental, emotional, and social variables you encounter while playing can quickly take your game to a new performance level. Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, founders of VISION54's ... golf program, are here to help"--