In terms of the ‘tournament player’, it is important to recognise that this individual is typically different to the player that the coach might work with in their home environment (Carlstedt, 2003; Papaioannou & Hackfort, 2004; Taylor & Wilson, 2005). Specifically, these differences are brought about by the nature of their schedule in the competitive season, the nature of their tournament focus, and the nature of performing in a multi-day golf event itself.
Firstly, the nature of the schedule for a touring golfer can be considerably fatiguing, as professional level golfers must deal with the travelling demands of touring life (Atkinson & Reilly, 1995; Hoggard, 2017). Players arrive at tournaments with an always-unique blend of freshness/fatigue (both physical and mental), emotions, worries, motivation, and confidence, all of which can be influenced through their travelling demands. This reflects the issues other professional athletes, such as national level footballers, face when travelling across long-haul for matches (Fullagar, Duffield, Skorski, White, Bloomfield, Kolling & Meyer, 2016). A player’s physical and mental condition on arrival at a tournament will of course then influence the decisions and actions that a coach might make when providing tournament level support. For example, a coach may outline a plan for the first practice day to consist of a number of activities and objectives, but due to the player’s stressful travelling experience they might not be in the appropriate state to complete the coach’s initially devised tasks. As a result, the demands of travelling will often alter the coach’s decision-making process and ultimately the interventions that s/he provides at the tournament practice days. Indeed, players often compete on a weekly basis and frequently expel high levels of energy doing so, which are then expected to be replenished by the time they reach their next event (i.e. during the stressful and often fatiguing period of travelling from one country to another). Interestingly, research in other sports such as rugby suggest that coaches must consider characteristics such as travel fatigue, injuries and athlete morale when deciding the
appropriate training for both weekly performances and longer term development when arriving at their tournament venue (Bird, Waller, Marchall, Aslop, Chalmers & Gerrard, 1998). Specifically, a range of transient effects, such as jet lag, will shape the decisions a coach makes upon arrival at their destination, so much so that the coach might be forced to prioritise significant time to helping the athlete recover from the travel demands over other performance related focus areas (Reilly, Atkinson, Edwards, Waterhouse, Akerstedt, Davenne, Lemmer & Wirz-justice, 2007).
In addition to the stresses of travelling, both player and coach will need time to acclimatise to their new surroundings (e.g., humidity, weather, food), whilst getting familiar with the venue (e.g., where the driving range is, where the first hole is, where the practice putting green is); all of which will again contribute to the added stresses and worries in the player (Branis & Vetvicka, 2010), which can again restrict or influence the decisions and actions a coach will make. For example, a coach and player might be scheduled to complete a training session, which integrates both tournament and longer-term goals, but end up needing to spend more time acquainting themselves with the local area and as a result have to cancel the session. The stressful or fatiguing demands of travelling and regularly competing also, of course, have to be considered against the player’s primary desire for results throughout the season and at particular events.
Indeed, players will almost always want to perform at their highest level during a tournament; this is primarily due to their livelihood depending on their performances at tournaments. Often the next three years of tournament events in which a golfer can play in will be determined by the performances across tournaments they currently compete in today. Additionally, sponsorship deals are often made or broken depending on result outcomes at tournaments. Therefore, there is a requirement from the player’s (and coach’s) perspective to produce levels of results that will grant the golfer access to future tournaments that will
prolong their playing rights across a number of events (e.g., Q-school, major championship placements, mainstream tour events). As a common result of this, players might be tempted to focus too much on aspects of their technique as they try to control outcomes (i.e. their scores). So whilst golfers should to be focussing on minor tweaks only/playing with what they have got (Collins, Button & Richards, 2011), tournaments are pressurised environments and often lead to inappropriate focus if the player does not have clear pre-set goals (Auclair, 2016). Similarly, the demand and desire to perform week after week is apparent in other sports such as football and tennis, where players, coaches and managers are all typically judged upon their weekly performance with consequent impact on motivational, emotional and financial factors among others (Falter & Perignon, 2010; Jurejko, 2019).
As another significant influence on the golfer who coaches typically work with at events, immediate feedback on the golfer’s performance/score is available through the leader- board, which often leads to the golfer attempting to ‘fix’ technical issues for the next day. For example, during a tournament a golfer might be in the transition from one technique to another (e.g., reducing the sliding motion of the pelvis throughout the downswing); the coach is happy with the golfer’s movement when reflected against the longer term agendas, however due to a poor scoring performance and display of ball striking during the first day of the competition, the golfer is dissatisfied and heads to the practice range after the round to try and improve technique for the next day (rather than committing to the long-term progression that might offer more sustained rewards). As a result, this golfer may find themselves back sliding the pelvis, which momentarily assists with improving the ball striking but moves them further away from the attainment of their longer-term goals that can lead to greater and/or sustained success.
In sum, the golfer is typically a different ‘beast’ in tournament environments as compared to the home base training ground. The nature of their schedule, tournament
preparation, tournament focus and performing over multiple days all mean that the golf coach will encounter situations that are not the norm for a standard home-based coaching session. 5.2.2. The Tournament Coach
When reflecting on the tournament coach, it is important to recognise that this individual will also encounter a number of different circumstances that he/she might not face at the home venue. Specifically, these differences surround the nature of the relationship (i.e. how long since the coach and player had last worked together in person), the nature of coaching duties (i.e. how long the coach and player might work together on a given day), and the requirement for a focus on immediate performance over longer-term progress (i.e. the desire to perform well at a tournament).
When considering the nature of the relationship, it is important to note that some coaches will only see their players at tournaments and, as a result, both tournament level and longer-term goals must be considered throughout events. Similarly, a player who is ‘on the road’ for a lengthy period of time may not see their coach for a significant time period, therefore resulting in the coach being restricted in with what is coached and how. In this instance, the nature of the relationship will strongly influence the nature of the tournament goals. The player might in fact insist the focus point is directed solely towards performance/tournament-based goals, largely due to the player not seeing the coach for a prolonged period of time. This will of course influence the nature of the coaching duties (i.e. the time period the coach and player are working together).
A standard procedure for tournament level golf coaching may include the coach spending the entire week with the golfer, assisting them with preparation during practice rounds and providing additional support for tournament days. The time frame of a tournament day with regards to interaction with a player can vary between 1 and 7 hours per day,
depending on the coach and player’s preferences/needs. At some events coaches may actually be limited in their interaction with the player during important preparation periods (e.g. a player requires some coaching on their long game but is required to complete a number of press interviews), which again may influence the decisions and actions made by the coach. As well as the nature of coaching duties, the focus adopted by the coach might also be influenced by the competition context. Indeed, the nature of focus at a tournament can often be biased towards performance over longer-term progress, not only from the player’s perspective as previously mentioned, but also the coach might like to see their players perform to a particular standard which can give both immediate confidence, satisfaction and a rewarding financial fee. In this respect, it is also important to recognise that tournament support can potentially make or break an upcoming coach.
5.2.3. The Tournament Format and Environment
After reflecting on the tournament player and tournament coach, it is important to now consider the tournament format, which also brings a number of different factors that are different to home-based coaching sessions. Specifically, the nature of the competition times (e.g. what time the player will tee off in the day), the nature of tournament commitments (e.g. commitments to attending sponsor parties the night before tournament days), and the nature of group dynamics (e.g. the presence and interaction of competitors around practice areas) all play a role in shaping the unique context of tournament golf for the coach.
In addition to this, where the coach and player will do work can be much different to the usual ‘home-based’ environments. Specifically, the training grounds will not only be different with regards to what facilities are available, but also what additional individuals (i.e., caddies, players, coaches, fans) are within close proximity that could strongly influence the actions and decisions of the coach and player. The group dynamics can be related to not
only the practice area but also the hotel grounds, largely due to the coach providing coaching support in the hotel facilities.
In sum, the tournament format also presents a number of factors that are not the norm in a home-based coaching session. Specifically, the nature of the competing times, nature of the tournament commitments, and the nature of the group dynamics are all examples of such factors.
As a final key area, it is also important to consider how the general tournament environment is once again quite different from home-based coaching sessions. Indeed, the environment of tournament golf brings along a number of additional interpersonal influences, such as caddies, fans, family and other players who can easily impact on the coach’s plans. For example, it is extremely common for other players and caddies to be in close proximity whilst coaches are providing support. In many cases, a coach and player may look to implement a particular strategy-based intervention during a playing practice round; however, other players or caddies may uninvitingly offer their opinion and sway/alter the coach and player’s decision-making process. The close presence of other players and coaches may equally result in the golfer or coach comparing what they are doing against their peers with questions such as “are we doing as well as them/should we be doing what they’re doing?”
As another challenge, golfers are often obliged to complete media duties (i.e., television interviews) when competing at professional level tournaments. This can at times be a very lengthy process, as players will have to wait for a number of broadcast companies to be ready for recording and interviewing. This duty of course is not the norm for a home-base coaching session and as a result the player and coach will have to consider this duty and work around it. This obligation can be classified as a distraction to performance and preparation;
however, as mentioned earlier, there are other distractions to consider such as managers or family members.
Indeed, what might appear as friendly encouragement from such individuals might actually serve as a negative influence in some circumstances. For example, during the preparation phases, a coach might have (in his/her opinion) installed the right blend of feelings for their player. However, moments before competing, the player engages in conversation with the parents or manager, who offer supportive words of wisdom, but which conflict with the coach’s intentions. In short, the tournament environment is complex, dynamic, and ultimately hard to manage!
5.3. What This All Means for the Coach: Preparing and Performing as a Coach at