As in all sports, golf performance is developing fast and is key to success in professional golf as well as benefiting golfers at all levels.
This infographic provides a summary of some of the common areas professional golfers focus on to maximise performance.
These include strength and conditioning (S&C), sports psychology, nutrition, sleep and managing travel and training schedules. The European Tour Performance Institute (ETPI) has helped provide players with these services and is a great resource for players, performance coaches and healthcare professionals.
A recent BJSM blog (Beyond physical load in golf – the tip of the load iceberg) provides an insight into load monitoring in golf and how golfers could use this to improve performance and prevent burnout and injury. They consider the different types of load and summarise them in the image below "The iceberg of golfing load".
There has been a huge shift in golfers’ physical preparation over the last 10 to 20 years with many more golfers at the top of the game, such as Tiger Woods, Lexi Thompson, Rory Mcllroy, and Brooks Koepka, focusing on Strength and Conditioning (S&C) to improve performance.
COVID-19 stopped many sporting events and provided some with a unique opportunity to focus on S&C. Bryson DeChambeau took full advantage of this, putting on large amounts of muscle and is the latest golfer to demonstrate the benefits of S&C, winning his first Major, the US Open at Winged Foot, soon after lockdown ended.
In this podcast, Dan Coughlan (S&C Coach – European Tour) explains the shift in S&C in golf and how the different S&C programmes used by tour players can improve performance while minimising injury risk. He also discusses the S&C set up on the European Tour.
A recent blog by a Nigel Tilley (Physiotherapist – European Tour) and Simon Brearley – (S&C Coach – European Tour) further
describes the importance of S&C to develop power and increase driving distance. They consider how to do this in a safe way
and point out the clear correlation between driving distance and how much professional golfers earn.
How the best golfers in the world are using S&C to elevate their performance
Below we have also included some other key articles linked to S&C in golf:
To optimise performance, getting nutrition right is key as well as efficient travel planning, as professional golfers will spend a lot of time crossing time zones around the world to compete in different golf tournaments.
In this podcast the performance nutritionist David Dunne discusses the practical considerations for the travelling athlete, including strategies the practitioner can employ to help reduce the risk of illness, minimise the effects of jet lag, improve sleep and optimise performance.
David has also written a blog providing advice on nutrition for golfers pre-round, during the round, recovering
from the round and during travel.
Nutrition for golf with David Dunne
Sports psychology has become a huge aspect of performance in golf and famous psychologists such as Bob Rotella and Tom Young are cited by players as having a huge impact on their games.
Tom Young, who worked with the victorious European 2018 Ryder Cup team at Le Golf National, has developed a
fantastic BJSM blog summarising some useful sports psychology interventions such as creating vivid pictures,
managing critical moments and purposeful practice.
So, do you motivate players? – the role of psychology in golfing performance
