One Click Solutions - Using mental skills in your Coaching

Being able to accurately interpret and understand psychological issues is of huge benefits to PGA Professionals, and here’s why…

As a PGA Pro you will have undoubtedly spent a lot of time coaching golfers with a range of abilities; from complete beginners through to elite amateurs (or even professionals). During this time it is very likely (almost guaranteed!) that you will have come across clients whose problems / goals were not physical or technical, the problem was purely in relation to mental performance.

For instance, perhaps you have been coaching a highly skilled junior who always ‘lets it go’ and ‘becomes erratic’ towards the end of their round = this, is likely to be due to a lack ofconcentration. Or, maybe you have mid-handicapped member who always talks them self into that ‘slice out-of-bounds’ on 16 and lets a good round slip = this is a result of negative self-talk. These are two very common scenarios and these players need the focus of your attention to be on mental performance (psychology) and not technique.

Being equipped to understand psychological issues and appropriately interpret factors is vitally important. It gives you the opportunity to recommend and refer out to professional help and support your player(s) with their progression. 

The aim of these FREE e-resources (below) is to provide you with the required information to grow your knowledge and understanding of basic psychology, and the skills useful to golf performance to increase your capabilities as a Professional Coach and your clients’ development. Click on each of the e-lessons below to move forward (you can also locate these in the online resources section of PGA.info):

1. Introduction to Sport Psychology

2. Introduction to Sport Psychology (continued) 

3. Theoretical Approaches to Sport Psychology

4. Basic Mental Skills

5. Basic Mental Skills Interaction

6. Arousal Theories: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

7. The Zone

8. Goal Setting

9. Concentration

10. Self-talk

11. Self-confidence

12. Individual Differences

13. Burn-out

14. Anger and Emotion

15. Stress and Performance

16. Motivation

17. Relaxation

18. Psychological Assessment – Questionnaire