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One of the most important factors that contributed to my golf skill improvements was the quality of my coach’s feedback, specifically when I first joined the team and was learning how to golf. His common strategy for providing feedback was to watch me swing a few times and get a sense of what my swing looks like and what I could improve on. Then, he would approach me and offer me some feedback based on what he observed. One of the things he helped me work on was where to center the ball in relation to my feet. For example, he suggested that I try placing my left foot in line with the ball when using my driver but placing the ball toward the back of my stance, near my right foot, when using my wedges or when chipping. Sometimes he would demonstrate his advice as well. I would then try out his advice while he was watching to make sure I understood his suggestion and to see if it improved my performance. This type of feedback is prescriptive KP (knowledge of performance), a type of augmented feedback. It is most effective when the learner is new to the skill and hasn’t yet developed the ability to know how to make adjustments on their own.

Below is a video that represents my reaction when I realized how much my performance could improve by just changing how I line my feet up with the ball. It was a slower reaction because it took a few hits for me to realize just how important foot placement is, thanks to my coach.

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During the summers before the season officially started, I wasn’t able to visit my school’s home golf course because I did not have a membership. This meant I had to find another way to practice my skills. One way my family and I problem solved this was by buying me foam golf balls. They were yellow and made of foam and most importantly, I could hit them in our back yard because they didn’t travel quite as far as real golf balls and they would cause less damage than a real golf ball. Several days a week during the summer I would go out to the backyard and go through a similar routine as I did when on the actual range. By the end of summer, I saw some improvements in my swing and the distance I could hit as well as more consistency in where my balls landed. I was worried, however, that all this practice would not be reflected when it was time to return to the golf course and hit on the driving range. Thankfully, my performance on the range was equal to or even better than what it was at the end of the previous season. This is an example of transfer because the skill of hitting a foam golf ball and a real golf ball are similar enough that when I practiced hitting only the foam balls, I observed a similar performance when hitting real golf balls in the golf course and driving range.

Below is an image of foam golf balls similar to the ones I used when I wasn’t able to get to the driving range. They bring me back to the hot summer days standing in my background hoping that I didn’t hit the neighbor’s house or a car driving by.

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At this point, I had learned the basics of how to golf and was starting to get into a routine. During after school practice, I would usually start at the driving range. When on the range, I would first loosen up, and then pick out my clubs. I would start with my wedges because these clubs don’t necessarily require the use of full swing and are good for warming up my arms and legs. Next, I would work my way through my irons, moving from the shorter, higher numbered clubs to the longer, lower numbered clubs. For my wedges and irons, I would hit about 5-10 balls per club depending on how each club was feeling that day. After the irons, I would dig in my golf bag for some tees and get out my driver. I would hit about 5-10 drives. To finish, I would get my pitching wedge out and chip the remaining balls toward the target. This type of practice is an example of blocked practice because I would perform all my hits for a given club before moving on to the next club. A better option would have been to hit 1 ball with my wedge, followed by 1 ball with my 3 iron, then hit a drive, and so on. Essentially, I could have mixed up which club I used each time I was ready to hit another ball rather than hit all my shots with one club before using another club.

This image of a pyramid of golf balls reminds me of practicing on the driving range and knocking the pyramid over to divide out the balls for each club.

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Once I figured out which strategies were best for my grip and stance, I started to work more on my swing. My coach asked me one day if I played softball because my swing, in the beginning, resembled that of a softball swing more than a golf swing. To work on improving my swing, my coach advised me to focus on certain parts of the swing and then bring it all back together. First, I worked on bringing my club back from its position directly behind the ball to the point when you start to raise the club over your head. This was helpful because it helped give me a feel for how far to move the club back horizontally before starting the vertical motion. Next, I worked on bringing the club up over my head and would pause at the top of my swing to see where the club should be in space as well as how the upswing should feel. The way I broke my swing down from a whole swing to individual parts relates to the concept of part vs. whole practice. In this scenario, I was practicing 2 parts of the whole swing, allowing me to reduce the complexity of a golf swing and make sure I could perform each part of the swing correctly before trying to perform the swing as a whole. It is important to note that I only used this type of practice in the beginning when I was still learning the basics of a golf swing. Once I had a decent golf swing established, I practiced swinging in whole swings.

Below is a video showing how a golf swing can be broken down into bringing the club back and then bringing it over your head, similar to how I learned how to swing and get the feel for where the club should be during parts of the swing.

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When my best friend asked me to join the golf team during our sophomore year of high school, I figured it would be a good way for me to stay active while also spending time together. As it turns out, it was also a great opportunity to learn new motor skills that I could use for more than just high school competitions. I have also been able to use these skills to golf with my family and add another activity for us to do together.

When I joined the team, however, I had never picked up a golf club before, so I knew I had a lot of learning ahead of me. During the first weeks of practice, I tried many strategies for how I would grip the club. One strategy I tried was gripping the club by overlapping my right pinky and left index finger but found that this was not a very comfortable grip. I then tried interlocking my right pinky and left index finger and found that this felt much more natural. Next, I tried wearing a glove on my left hand to help with my grip and found that this helped my hands stay in place better and not slip around on the club. Finally, I tried adjusting where on the club I placed my hands. I tried placing my hands near the middle of the gripping area and had some success, but when I tried choking up on the club and moved my hands closer to the head of the club, I was more successful, especially with my drives. This process of figuring out how and where I placed my hands on the club relates to the stages of motor learning. In the beginning, when I was trying out different grips, grip placements, and using a glove, I was in the cognitive stage of learning. I know this because not only was my performance inconsistent with large gains, but I also spent a lot of time during practice determining possible strategies. As I would try each grip strategy, I would either retain the good ones, such as choking up on the club and wearing a glove and discard the ineffective strategies, such as overlapping my fingers. I know when I moved into the associative stage because my performance gains became more gradual and my movement patterns were more consistent due to narrowing my focus to the most effective swing and grip strategies. This phase began when the most effective strategies were determined, which means I likely entered this phase when I realized I liked interlocking my fingers, wearing a glove, and choking up on the club.

This picture reminds me of what my hands, particularly my left hand, would look like all summer long due to wearing a glove on my left hand while golfing.