We also get updates from across our Member Countries, find the perfect way to set up a golf event with Golf Genius, reveal the latest in the 2023 CPG event schedule, and much more.

THE VALUE OF THE PGA: TO MEMBERS AND GOLF

EXPANDED GOLFSIXES INSPIRES MORE YOUNG PEOPLE IN EUROPE INTO PLAYING GOLF

SPHERES OF INFLUENCE: WHY PGA PROFESSIONALS ARE THE GO-TOS FOR GOLF TRAVEL

CPG MEMBER COUNTRY UPDATES

RYDER CUP: YEAR TO GO CELEBRATIONS

THE CPG VIRTUAL SERIES POWERED BY TRACKMAN RETURNS THIS WINTER

5 KEY BENEFITS OF THE EDUGOLF PROJECT FOR PGAS & PROS

WHY BALLMARK REPAIR SHOULD BE TOP OF YOUR AGENDA WITH PITCHFIX

WHAT’S ON YOUR JUNIOR GOLF COACHING & DEVELOPMENT MENU WITH GOLPHIN

GOLF SHOP BY GOLF GENIUS – WIN A 6-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION

#IGPN 68 is live and delves deeper in to the value of PGAs to Members and all of golf, the role of the PGA Pro as golf’s ultimate influencer, what the #EDUGOLF Project means for PGAs, and features from @PINGTourEurope, @GolphinForKids, @PitchfixUSA, @golfgenius_emea & much more!

— Confederation of Professional Golf [CPG] (@cpg_golf) November 22, 2022

READ IGPN 68

Goldman has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Mashable, The Next Web, SmartMoney, Workforce.com, ReadWriteWeb, The Star-Ledger, ClickZ, and InformationWeek.

@jeremarketer

A lifelong entrepreneur shares his secrets to building a more productive work environment.

Cultivating a happy and healthy work environment is vital to the success of any business–and even more important is developing a sense of community. With the dawn of a new year, it’s a terrific opportunity to look at your corporate culture and see where you might be able to improve it.

Here are six ways to develop and maintain a more positive corporate culture.

1. Establish Trust

A sense of trust is vital to all personal and professional relationships. The best way to build trust is through active listening and open communication. If you are willing to let your guard down and demonstrate that you can truly listen, chances are that others will reciprocate.

“When it comes to establishing positive relationships with your coworkers, the most important thing is to get to know them first as individuals,” says Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You. “No one likes to be treated ‘instrumentally’–as someone whose only value is in what they can do for you. Instead, ask and learn about their hobbies, families, and backgrounds.” Take the New Year as an opportunity to create deeper, more productive relationships with your work team.

2. Foster Mutual Respect

It’s important that you respect your colleagues’ input and ideas and that they respect yours. When you lose respect for your marketing director, you’ll be less likely to go to her for help, even when it’s an area in which she excels. Furthermore, she’ll be less likely to come to you when she would benefit from your expertise. As a result, less collaboration occurs, and departments become siloed.

When employees feel like you’re respectful and supportive, and that their efforts won’t be undermined by others’ jealousy or fragile egos, their interactions tend to be positive and to create a virtuous, more productive cycle.

3. Take Responsibility for Your Actions

In a work dispute, do you often feel that you’re 100 percent correct, and that the other party is 100 percent wrong? If so, it might be time to take a closer look at how you operate professionally. After all, it’s pretty difficult for one party to be entirely at fault. Even if you’re only mildly at fault and think the other person should shoulder most of the responsibility, admitting that you’re imperfect and could be partially to blame can help the other individual(s) be less defensive.

Rather than pointing a finger at a co-worker, acknowledge your part and then communicate your message in a clear, nonjudgmental way.

4. Show Appreciation

What do your boss, colleagues, and office janitor have in common? All of them want to feel appreciated. So, when someone does something well, offer a genuine compliment to show your gratitude. This not only leads to stronger relationships, but also encourages everyone to continue working productively. People are wired to respond to incentives. While financial rewards are a well-known incentive, appreciation is a rather underrated one.

5. Stomp Out Bullying

Speaking personally: I left one job because of an awful bully. Since then, I’ve had pretty consistent success in my career, which has included working for my former employer’s direct competitors. Meanwhile, my former employer went through multiple hires trying to replace me. Add up all those hiring and training costs, and you can quickly see how bullying costs companies real money. It leads to high turnover, decreased innovation–with the bully focused on bullying and the one being bullied afraid to be vocal in the organisation–and a harder time hiring highly-qualified professionals, as word gets out about your firm’s toxic culture.

Make it a point to not only avoid bullying at all costs, but call out bullying by others as unacceptable.

6. Maintain a Positive Attitude

Nobody wants to be around a Debbie Downer. Regardless of what’s going on in your personal life, it’s important to at least to try to leave it behind when you step into the office. You don’t want people to misinterpret any bad vibes you bring in from the outside, or have your co-workers think your scowl is directed at them. If you walk into the office with a happy greeting in the morning, that upbeat energy will naturally spread to those around you and create a more enjoyable work atmosphere. Try to high five someone today for a job well done; it’s contagious.

The PGA of Denmark have revealed an exciting new educational seminar programme focused on Junior Development for early 2020, and registration is now open for all interested delegates.

Hosted by the Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, host venue of the European Tour’s Made in Denmark Event, the series of seminars will draw key speakers from across various coaching disciplines including kinesiology, coaching children and elite level golf.

Whilst the first day will be in Danish, the final three days will be provided in English and so interested parties from international PGA’s are encouraged to attend and engage with what will be an insightful and progressive educational event.

Seminar packages are available on a daily basis with a €150 fee per day to allow flexibility to pick and choose which events to attend.

For more information and to register, please use the links below.

DOWNLOAD INFO PACK

VISIT THE PGA OF DENMARK

Taking place at the beginning of October, meant the Golf Club de Genève was presented in immaculate condition for all the competitors, with slick greens that presented various challenges to overcome.

Trailing the leaders by 6 strokes after the first round, the 32-year-old from Canton Graubünden, Caviezel (pictured below left), really made his mark on the third and final days of the championship to clinch his second Swiss championship title with a total score of 219 (75/76/68). The decisive moment came when Caviezel made a sensational Eagle on the 8th hole from a badly placed tee shot, requiring a 19 metre hook shot out of trouble: “I sensed it was a crucial situation and was mentally ready to take the risk,” commented Caviezel after the game.

That decision paid dividends for Caviezel when his nearest challenges faded over the final two holes, when Marc Dobias hit water on the 17th hole and Justin Brink hit an errant tee shot on the 18th hole – both missed the chance of a possible playoff as a result.

In the Senior’s Championship it was 57-year-old David Thompson (pictured above right), teaching professional at the Golf & Country Club Schönenberg, who managed to defend his lead on the final day and claim a three stroke victory. With consistent performances on all three competition days and a total score of 227 (76/76/75), he defeated second-placed Karim El Baradie and third-placed Llyod Freeman.

Visit the Swiss PGA Website

The Club first became GEO Certified in December 2015 and has continued to strengthen its commitment to sustainability and protecting the natural links habitat. Examples of this include grassland and scrub improvement and maintaining a thriving habitat for native bee species.

“The Open is played on some of the world’s most revered golf courses, at venues which represent the many ways that golf can be beneficial to communities and the environment. Congratulations to the team at Royal Portrush for their achievements, and for helping to ensure the continuation of The R&A’s leadership policy of high sustainability standards for Open venues.” – Jonathan Smith, Executive Director, GEO Foundation

Hosting The Open for the second time in its history this year, Royal Portrush will be home to several sustainability initiatives including a focus on Fairtrade, local and ethically sourced produce, waste management efforts and The Open Water Initiative, which will see free purified, chilled local water delivered directly to fans, players, staff and officials through the use of on-site water stations and special edition refillable stainless steel bottles.

The initiative will shine a light on the impact of global marine plastic pollution, while helping to drive behaviour change away from the single-use mindset that has led to an epidemic of ocean pollution. The initiative has been developed by The R&A in collaboration with Bluewater and is supported by UN Environment’s Clean Seas campaign.

Steve Isaac, Director of Sustainability – at The R&A, said, “It is important that all venues which stage The Open set the standard in sustainability and we are delighted that Royal Portrush is demonstrating its continuing commitment to addressing issues concerning the local environment, use of resources and the local communities.

“Our commitment to only host The Open at certified venues has been very well received and is a good match with The Open GreenLinks initiative across the staging of the Championship related to nature, communities and resources.”

The Open GreenLinks initiative was set up with the assistance of GEO Foundation’s OnCourse Tournaments programme, utilising many of the guidelines and resources that are designed to help golf tournaments around the world accelerate their own commitments, actions and results.

“We as a club are delighted to renew our GEO Certification and are able to track our progress and achieve continued improvement in our commitment to being an environmentally sustainable business. We are custodians of the Links here at Royal Portrush and take great pride in the flora and fauna within its sand dune grassland while also managing all departments of the business in a sustainable manner.” – Graeme Beatt, Course Manager, Royal Portrush Golf Club.

Over the past 49 issues we have showcased people, programmes and promotion through celebrating PGA Professionals involved in all types of roles, profiling some of the world’s greatest golfers, shining a light on golf development activities and projects, delving into the work of the Ryder Cup European Development Trust, and sharing our fantastic Corporate Partners and Suppliers.

We have also provided a wide range of content to PGAs and their members in every type of subject area you can think of that is associated with golf – from human resources to sustainability, marketing to junior golf, and coaching philosophies to productivity hacks, we have provided this open-access content with the aim of engaging and improving those that we look after.

The legacy of IGPN is truly something we are proud of at the Confederation of Professional Golf and we hope it will continue for at least another 50 issues in the future as we continue our mission to develop golf, golfers and the profession.

Issue 50 is timed beautifully with a peak of interest in and out of golf – not long ago, Tiger Woods secured his 15th major, a feat which not only moves him to just three behind Jack Nicklaus’ record, but is something that many had thought was nothing short of impossible.

With an adjustment in timing for the final round, the 2019 Masters Tournament will go down in history as Tiger’s gritty and determined comeback for not only golfers, but also for the thousands of people who would have been able to see him win because of the timing change, or who were simply lured in by the now scientifically proven ‘Tiger Effect’.

And speaking of scientifically proven, there have also been plenty of reasons to celebrate golf right now as we were recently involved with the successful first Golf and Health Week!  Co-ordinated by The R&A with support from many organisations across the world, the week is aiming to highlight the physical and mental health benefits of playing golf and projects being delivered by golf bodies, clubs, and PGA Professionals.

Through the Confederation of Professional Golf’s own channels, and our close relationship with the Golf & Health Projects, we supported the week by creating and curating content using the social media hashtag #GolfHealthWeek, and we thank all those who got involved as well.

I hope we can ride the positive wave that golf is currently on and truly show golf in the light that it deserves. And I can say this with authority, remember to get out and play, it really is great for your health.

Enjoy the read…(and the next 50)…

This article originally featured in International Golf Pro News. Visit the IGPN Page to find out more and subscribe for free.

“When one of my students, Valentina Giraldo, told me that she had been invited to play in the first Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA) I was so excited for her, however when she asked me to coach and caddy for her, my excitement increased to a whole new level – the event was set to be a milestone with Augusta raising awareness about the women’s game.

“In the weeks leading up to the ANWA tournament, Valentina and I were using a web-based platform to communicate, working mainly on full swing, and it was evident that she was swinging well and was in a good state of mind to enjoy the whole experience.

“We were very fortunate to be able to prepare for the tournament at Sage Valley Golf Course – an exclusive members club 20 minutes down the road from Augusta National. Sage Valley has excellent practice facilities as well as an astounding 18-hole golf course. The undulating greens and pristine fairways prepared us well for the task ahead. In August 2019 this forward thinking golf club is due to open a three-hole floodlit course which will allow golf to be played 24 hours a day, an excellent addition to an already outstanding facility.

“The first two rounds of the tournament were played at Champions Retreat Golf Course – another amazing experience for all the women and girls involved. Champions again had very undulating greens, long carries to the fairways, and a number of long par-fours that were going to pose difficulties to the shorter hitters. Valentina and I realised we needed to get the short game razor sharp and so spent most of our time improving wedge control and trajectory of each shot. Going head-to-head with the likes of Maria Fassi and Jennifer Kupcho was not going to be easy, both had qualified for the LPGA tour and hit the ball in excess of 270 yards from the tee box.

“Unfortunately, even with a solid short game, the undulations on the greens at Retreat posed issues and after two rounds of fantastic ball striking, Valentina missed the cut, which really highlighted the fact to me that distance from the tee in the women’s game is crucial to play at the very top. Valentina had trouble reaching seven of the par-fours and when some of the field are able to reach with 7/8-irons this poses obvious difficulties. However, this didn’t stop the excitement of actually being invited to this prestigious event and Valentina (winner of six individual NCAA titles in one year) played her heart out.

“The final day caddying and watching Valentina perform at Augusta National was one of the most memorable moments of my professional career. From the outstanding picturesque entrance of Magnolia lane, to the difficulty of the last drive through the funnel of the treacherous 18th hole, Augusta delivered the most amazing and memorable experience in golf. Valentina hit the first ten greens in regulation and we felt if the first two rounds had been held at Augusta National there was a strong chance she would have qualified. However, this year was not meant to be and we will continue on our quest to find more distance and improve so that next year we can return to this phenomenal place and have a chance of winning.

“The experience that the 72 women and girls had will remain in their memories forever. From talks with players such as Nancy Lopez, Annika Sörenstam and Lorena Ochoa, to the Chairman’s dinner at Augusta National, these moments can only be described as extraordinary.

“The efforts put into the social media marketing, TV coverage, and the way that Augusta looked after every player and their families was simply incredible. Augusta move the needle and the warmth that they showed to the players and their guests at what is quite simply the best golf course in the world was a moment to savour. I am sure with Augusta’s efforts, along with many other initiatives, will ensure women and girl’s golf grows exponentially.

“I thank Valentina for putting her trust in me, I thank her for the memories, and I thank her for her friendship over the last few years.”

Find out more about the Confederation of Professional Golf Golf Development Team at http://eur.pe/GolfDevelopmentTeam

Find out more about the health benefits of golf at golfandhealth.org

Whether you’re a professional, a serious amateur, or a recreational golfer, you are sure to have heard the phrase ‘golf fitness’ and have more than likely been advised that you should have a gym routine to help your golf.

Given the somewhat vogue status of ‘golf fitness’ at present, there is a large body of information around the topic portraying a complexity which for some creates a barrier to getting started. If you are a professional you are sure to have a busy schedule, and the typical amateur doesn’t have the spare time to devote to over-elaborate routines, so it is important allotted gym-time is used wisely; abolishing components which are unlikely to offer much return.

Herein we present a probability of performance-impact model which underpins the S&C service provided at the European Tour Performance Institute (ETPI). The aim herein is to add clarity to where a golf-impact will most readily be achieved, and reassure that gym programmes need not be complicated. The authors hope this will encourage players of all levels to make that behaviour change towards a healthier lifestyle and compliment their golf training with a no-frills gym routine.

Driving Distance

Sceptics of weight training for golfers will be quick to point out legends of the game who didn’t engage in such activities. Notwithstanding the evolution of the modern golf game (longer courses and more forgiving clubs), of course all this tells us is that it’s possible to be genetically blessed and get away with not engaging in additional physical work.

Despite this few golf coaches or analysts would contest the importance of CHS in modern day golf, research has shown that the faster you swing the club the lower your handicap (r=0.95) (Fradkin et al, 2004). Further, even subtle increases are associated with significantly lower scores on par 4 and 5 holes (Hellstrom, 2014).

Therefore, this is one avenue where a gym programme can have a direct performance impact. Indeed, from Mark Broadie’s (2014) revolutionary book ‘Every shot counts’, it is evidenced that a 20-yard increase in distance off the tee will incur 0.75 strokes gained per round.

As with most striking, hitting or throwing sports, the lower body is the engine (force generation) for the motion of the golf swing. This is why leg strength is a priority.

This is now supported by research indicating significant relationships between lower body strength, explosive strength and CHS (Wells et al, 2018a, Wells et al, 2018b). Most amateurs (and many professionals!) will benefit from increases in driving distance secondary to strength training due to their often ‘untapped’ strength potential. This is particularly true for females and more senior players who generally speaking are more likely to have lower pre-existing muscle mass and strength levels than their younger, male counterparts.

Once the force has been generated by the lower body, this then needs to be transmitted into the clubhead across the trunk and through the arms in a well-sequenced pattern. The trunk should therefore be developed to effectively transmit force, thus enhancing the efficiency of the engine (lower body). The latter is equally important, as otherwise the energy created by the lower body is leaked and not transferred into the clubhead.

Injury and Illness Risk-Reduction

Inherently as CHS increases so does injury risk, as the player has to sustain the increased forces associated with swinging faster. To counter this when we plan to upgrade the engine size we also need to build a well-balanced chassis. This means increasing the ability of the relevant tissues (i.e. muscles and tendons) and structures (i.e. bones) to tolerate load.

The force magnitude at the lumbar spine alone is worthy justification for the inclusion of strength training. Forces of ~7500N (equivalent to ~ 750 Kg) have been reported from elite players swinging with a driver (Hosea, 1990). It is therefore unsurprising that in a published injury audit from the PGA European Tour the lower back, along with the neck and wrist, were the most prevalent injury sites (Smith and Hillman, 2012).

The same report showed that 80% of these injuries were related to overuse, which according to a large meta-analysis and systematic review could be reduced substantially through engaging in strength training (Laursen et al 2014). Many injury resilience strength exercises may actually be the same as the performance enhancement solutions.

By way of example, the deadlift will not only increase leg strength to facilitate longer drives but it will also increase the tolerance of the back, trunk and wrist musculature, with particular supporting evidence that it is useful in the rehabilitation of lower back pain (Welch et al 2015). This is a real bonus as it makes for efficient programming.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for the neck which is insufficiently exposed in traditional compound strength exercises (i.e. deadlifts), so some additional, isolated neck specific conditioning is recommended.

Improving or maintaining mobility is another side effect of good quality strength training. Contrary to common belief, the lengthening phase of muscle activity in strength training exercises increase muscle length and overall mobility (O’Sullivan, McAuliffe, DeBurca, 2012).

Like cardio-respiratory and mobility development, strength training offer an array of health- related benefits which are well documented. Indeed, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) now include (twice weekly) strength training as part of their recommendations for general health. Exercise is now often described as a vaccine to illness given its protective effects against an array of both acute and chronic conditions.

Injury or illness means time away from practice, and given that golf is a highly technical sport this is very likely to have a large negative impact on performance over time. Considering the significance of this, it becomes clear that perhaps the largest (albeit indirect) accumulative performance impact we can have is long-term injury avoidance.

Unlike with determinants of performance (CHS) where we can only suggest strength training may help, we are probably safe to insist that avoiding injury and illness will help performance. If we enable the player to take to the course, range or putting green as often as they like and miss very few practice days or tournaments, this is likely to accumulate into a large positive performance impact. This is a long process and not a sell that is likely to excite a player, but for the reasons discussed this is the primary goal of the S&C service we provide at the European Tour Performance Institute (ETPI) as reflected by our probability of performance-impact pyramid.

Transfer to Technical Ability

It is commonly accepted that a change in technique is a product of a particular activity, drill, practice design, or pedagogical strategy – this underpins the golf coaching process anyone who has had lessons will be familiar with. However, it is perhaps underappreciated how altering a physical capacity (i.e. strength, stability, mobility or control) can over time influence technique.

It is important for players and coaches alike to understand that although ‘golf fitness’ can certainly play an important part in helping a player make a swing change, the gym is not the place to rehearse the aspired movement pattern.

Rather, the gym should be used to drive changes in physical capacities (identified through a discussion with the swing coach) that may impact on the players ability to make the shapes their coach wants from them.

This is best achieved with de-contextualised exercises that don’t resemble the swing pattern, but carry the potential to remove physical barriers that are preventing a player from moving a certain way without loss of posture or compensations.

Changes in technique could then obviously have a whole host of secondary effects on CHS, injury risk, or consistency. For this reason transfer to technical ability shouldn’t be overlooked, but it is difficult to predict cause and effect within this training space due to the complexity of human movement variability and motor learning. The exercises used to impact technical ability will obviously be specific to the individual, but specialist input will be required to identify and implement this.

Even then, the true impact on technique is often unpredictable. It is therefore important that players don’t become perturbed by this area, and let this dominate their allotted-gym time. As a general rule of thumb, no more than 10-20% of the exercises in your gym programme should be designed with this in mind.

Conclusion

Prior to starting a gym programme, players are advised to seek the help of an accredited strength and conditioning coach (ASCC) or certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS). One or two coaching sessions under such qualified supervision would be sufficient to establish a gym programme which has a high probability of performance-impact through facilitating longer drives, promoting health and wellbeing, and increasing resilience to known injury sites. Many golfer’s lives are complicated, gym programmes don’t need to be.

References

Broadie, M. (2014) Every Shot Counts: Using the Revolutionary Strokes Gained Approach to Improve your Golf Performance and Strategy. USA: Penguin Random House.

Fradkin, A.J., Sherman, C.A., & Finch, C.F. (2004) How well does club head speed correlate with golf handicaps, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 7(4) 465-472.

Hellstrom, J., Nilsson, J. & Isberg, L. (2014) Drive for dough. PGA Tour golfers’ tee shot functional accuracy, distance and hole score, Journal of Sports Science, 32(5) 462-469.

Hosea, TM., Gatt. C.J., Galli. K.M,, Langrana. N.A., & Zawadsky. J.P. (1990). Biomechanical analysis of the golfer’s back. In A.J. Cochran (Ed.), Science and Golf: Proceedings of the World Scientific Congress Of Golf (pp. 43-48). London: E&FN Spon

Lauersen JB, Bertelsen DM, Andersen L.B. (2014) The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48(11) 871–877.

Smith, MF and Hillman R. (2012) A retrospective service audit of a mobile physiotherapy unit on the PGA European Golf Tour. Phys Ther Sport; 13:41–4.

Welch, N., Moran, K., Antony, J., Richter, C., Marshall, B., Coyle, J., Falvey, E. and Franklyn- Miller, A. (2015) The effects of a free-weight-based resistance training intervention on pain, squat biomechanics and MRI-defined lumbar fat infiltration and functional cross-sectional area in those with chronic low back. BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine, 1(1).

Wells, JE, Mitchell, AC, Charalambous, LH,and Fletcher, IM. (2018a) Relationships between highly skilled golfers’ clubhead velocity and force producing capabilities during vertical jumps and an isometric mid-thigh pull. Journal of Sports Sciences, 36(16):1847-51.

Wells, JET., Charalambous, LH., Mitchell, ACS., Coughlan, D., Brearley, SL., Hawkes, RA., Murray, AD., Hillman, RG. and Fletcher, IM. (2018b). Relationships between Challenge Tour golfers’ clubhead velocity and force producing capabilities during a countermovement jump and isometric mid-thigh pull. Journal of Sports Sciences, 1-6.

O’Sullivan, KO., McAuliffe, S. DeBurca, N. (2012). The effects of eccentric training on lower limb flexibility: a systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 46(12): 838-845.

Find out more about the health benefits of golf at www.golfandhealth.org.

This special edition of the #ASK Podcast celebrates #GolfHealthWeek and its work to shine a light on the many benefits that golf can have.

We are joined by Dr Roger Hawkes and Dr Andrew Murray from the Golf & Health Project to get an overview of the Project’s progress so far, as well as a look into its future work, but also to discuss each of the #GolfHealthWeek themes looking at the research and activities behind them and what you can do to help spread the message:

• Day 01 – Fitness – 07:23
• Day 02 – Mental health – 11:16
• Day 03 – Disability Golf – 17:54
• Day 04 – Golf For Everyone – 23:23
• Day 05 – Club Level – 36:08
• The Future of Golf & Health – 44:06

Find out more about the health benefits of golf at www.golfandhealth.org.

Listen to the full interview and subscribe to more episodes from the Confederation of Professional Golf A.S.K. Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Anchor.fm, Podbean or Soundcloud.

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There is a well-known phrase: ‘people leave managers, not companies’. Ensuring your organisation is made up of leaders with the right characteristics, level of self-awareness, potential and ability is fundamental in fostering an environment of high engagement and high performance, both of which are key drivers of business success.

Leadership goes beyond the successful delivery of projects or achievement of strategic targets; it’s about engaging your people on the journey towards realising a vision. We surveyed over 200 HR and business professionals on their views on leadership, engagement and talent, and a host of recommended actions from industry experts that you can implement in your own organisations.

This whitepaper aims to reflect on the relationship between leadership and engagement, covering the following themes:

• The role of leaders in driving engagement and performance through team values
• Psychological methods of defining talent and measuring potential
• The impact of employee engagement upon performance

Click Here to Download the Free Whitepaper [ThomasInternational.net]

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Reuben Conibear

Reuben has worked in the Marketing team at Thomas for just over 3 and half years. As Marketing Executive, Reuben’s core focus is to ensure a high quality experience for Thomas customers at all times. In his spare time, Reuben enjoys kayaking, bouldering and spending time with his friends and family.

Maybe you’ll be surprised, but based on the numbers from a Player’s First survey, the primary reason why people would take more lessons is that their PGA professional is pedagogical and contributes to a positive environment in the club.

Mats Bjørkman, responsible for PGA education in Denmark:

“Carol Dweck describes the fixed and growth mindset, she proves that if you have a fixed mindset, you will tend to be afraid of failing, avoid challenges where you are not guaranteed success, and in particular, you obsess over not looking stupid. A person with that mindset does not book a lot of lessons, and if he/she does, the experience could easily be a fiasco.

“As a PGA Professional, it is a good idea to focus on using a growth mindset. Of course, you’re already doing it on behalf of your students. But it is a good idea to educate, describe and explain to your customers the difference between the two mindsets. If you are a good role model for your customers and colleagues, you are becoming a person that people would like to spend time with. A person’s mindset can be quite stable, but they are only built on beliefs, and they can be transformed through awareness and focusing on the right things.

“Like the research, my experience has repeatedly shown that a growth mindset promotes a healthier attitude towards training and learning. If you preach a growth mindset, your clients will become more open towards feedback and develop a better ability to handle difficult challenges. Last but not least – they will achieve significantly better results over time! And as we know from Players First the third most important reason for the player taking lessons is that they experience improvements in their game!”

Source: Players first; Carol Dweck: Development Psychologist and author of the book, “Mindset.”

Listen to the full interview and subscribe to more episodes from the Confederation of Professional Golf A.S.K. Podcast on Soundcloud or Apple Podcasts.

1. More Customers

The European Golf Course Owners Association (EGCOA) undertook a project that examined the future of European Golf – Vision 20/20. The report suggested that the industry has been short-sighted by ignoring women. Women make up 50% of the population who are potential golfers (https://eur.pe/2I9IUuB).

Women now hold more than 50% of managerial positions and account for over 50% of college graduates. Women are financially independent and will spend money playing golf if golf welcomes them.

2. The World is Changing and Golf Should Too

If golf wants to stay relevant, it needs to change with the times. Golf is more appealing to people, including millennials, when it is diverse.

This argument is made in Sweden’s Vision 50/50 project that aims to equalize the number of men and women playing golf (www.golf.se/klubb-och-anlaggning/vision-50-50). By creating a culture that is equitable and open, not exclusive, golf has a brighter future.

3. Funding

Sport is seen as a force for good that benefits society. Consequently, governments have an interest in sports. Funding of sports now focuses as much on diversifying participation as high performance. Therefore, if golf’s governing bodies want to receive government funding, they must increase female participation in the game.

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There is no question that golf needs women participants. What is less clear is whether women need golf. This topic will be addressed in the next issue. By understanding why golf needs women, and why women need golf, the industry can start breaking down barriers that have discouraged women from playing the game.

The activity aims to shine a light on the journey that female golfers can take to get into golf, looking at the various challenges, questions and benefits that can be experienced by women and girls.

Jenni’s experiences will act as a live case study detailing her progress as she learns more about playing golf and becoming a golfer, and as she builds up to her first big challenge – competing in the Pro-Am for the European Tour’s GolfSixes event at Centurion Club, less than 3 months after picking up a golf club for the first time.

“I’ve always wanted to play golf, and I decided that 2018 was the year I was going to learn…I’ve never played before so I want to know if it’s possible and if I can do it,” says Jenni.  “Luckily I’ve recruited some friends to help me try and achieve it, and the Confederation of Professional Golf have added the extra challenge of giving me just a few months to go from a complete novice to competitor in front of spectators!

“It baffles me as to why women in general aren’t playing as much golf – they’ll go and join a gym, they’ll go to a spin class but they wouldn’t think ‘I want to go and play golf in my free time’.  So my aim is to show that we should be going to play golf, it is possible and it is something that is just as enjoyable as all the other activities women do in their spare time. Golf can appear to be one of the least-accessible activities at the moment and it does seem to be a such a male-dominated sport so let’s change that!”

Backed by ground-breaking research, love.golf is a proven approach to women’s coaching, delivered by a community of coaches who engage, inspire and progress women in the sport. Joanne Taylor (PGA of GB&I), one of these coaches based at Tyrrells Wood Golf Club just outside of London, is leading Jenni on her journey alongside love.golf creator and Head Coach Alastair Spink (PGA of GB&I), who is also a member of the Confederation of Professional Golf Golf Development Team.

Jenni is developing her golf ability through the programme, which is distinct in the way it develops women through experiences and by playing on the golf course rather than a more traditional practice range-based approach. This is supported by academic studies conducted by Alastair Spink and ground-breaking female participation market research by Syngenta, which has received international acclaim.

Starting her golf journey as a complete beginner, Jenni will act as a great example to many female golfers coming to the sport for the first time, as well as becoming an ambassador for women’s golf in general with a wide-reaching and specifically non-golf social media and listener audience that will help communicate the great health, social, wellbeing and enjoyment benefits that golf has to offer.

“The Confederation of Professional Golf are totally committed to advancing golf, and there has been a great deal of recent publicity around the opportunity to make golf more appealing to women, girls and families, which we support wholeheartedly,” said Confederation of Professional Golf Chief Executive, Ian Randell.

“Jenni will no doubt inspire women and girls to try golf, and we hope to replicate this golf development activity model in multiple countries where local female ambassadors can be utilised to share these messages.

“She is a joy to work with – her motivation to continually better herself and learn more has meant that she has made huge progress in a short period of time. We are delighted that she has chosen to get into golf, and I am sure she will prove to be a fantastic ambassador for our sport.”

For more Information Visit http://eur.pe/FalconerForeGolf
Follow Jenni’s Progress on Social Media – #FalconerForeGolf

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As Thomas International continues to roll out the High Potential Trait Indicator (HPTI) worldwide, a vast amount of data is being collected and analysed alongside a great deal of data about workplace and leadership outcomes.

These results were presented in a symposium at the 2018 International Test Commission Conference in Montreal [read more about it here]. This represents one of the largest HPTI studies done to date, including nearly 10,000 participants.

One of the defining features of the HPTI is it’s optimal trait levels for leadership. The HPTI goes beyond identifying personality traits and provides clear guidelines for identifying high potential leaders based on their personality traits. The recent studies confirm and reinforce the importance of personality traits for leadership.

The Process

Good scientific research involves thorough testing to build on theories and collect large amounts of data. This helps to confirm findings and improve the knowledge and understanding of the topic under investigation. Thomas International have been testing and validating the HPTI with workers around the world to ensure HPTI results and reports are valid, reliable and useful in workplaces around the world.

This process ensures the HPTI is a scientifically validated tool, and allows the continuous development of additional knowledge and resources to improve the utility of the HPTI in practice.

One of the papers presented at the 2018 International Test Commission Conference in Montreal looked at the results from a study of nearly 10,000 participants. Alongside the HPTI, various workplace outcome variables were also examined. The results demonstrated that the theoretical underpinnings and psychometric properties of the HPTI are valid and useful for North American populations.

Key Findings

First, the items and personality traits tested by the HPTI can be used in workplaces in North America. This research also involves a localisation process for the HPTI, so population norms and optimal levels of traits tailored to North American workers, leaders and businesses.

Second, this is the largest study to date examining HPTI traits at different levels of leadership. The results show very significant differences in HPTI traits at the different levels of leadership. The results confirm the importance of HPTI traits for leadership, and show the importance of HPTI traits increases with leadership seniority.

The chart below show increasing levels of each personality trait in each leadership category. This is a clear pattern which shows how important optimal HPTI trait levels are in leadership, and senior leadership in particular.

The results also show a greater spread between some traits. For example, those not in leadership tend to have average Ambiguity Approach levels. Senior leaders show substantially higher Ambiguity Approach which is essential for the level of complexity and uncertainty they face in their work.

Competitiveness, on the other hand, shows a relatively narrow spread. Although Competitiveness rises slightly higher at more senior levels of leadership, the differences are relatively modest. This is consistent with previous findings that extreme levels of competitiveness can be counterproductive in leadership positions.

Overall, this clearly shows the importance of HPTI traits in leadership and highlights that the HPTI traits are even more important in senior leadership. As HPTI research is conducted around the world, the research results clearly and consistently demonstrate how important HPTI traits are for leadership potential.

Implications for Business

HPTI personality traits are incredibly useful in assessing high potential at work for three reasons (discussed in more detail in High Potential: How to spot, manage and develop talented people at work).

1. Personality is stable

Personality traits are relatively stable from early adulthood into later life. It is a consistent pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving. This means personality is a very useful early indicator of potential at work.

2. Personality is rooted in the brain and biology

Personality comes from neurological processes and structures. That means personality is essentially hardwired in the brain, and very difficult to change except in cases of extreme psychological intervention. Unlike factors such as motivation which can change day-to-day or year-to-year, personality is a useful long-term predictor of both performance and potential.

3. Personality traits interact

Personality traits do not exist in isolation. The traits interact to form a whole, overall personality structure. Having high or low levels of one particular trait will influence how all other traits are experienced and expressed. This means it is important to look at all the HPTI personality traits in combination. The research described earlier in this article reinforces how important all of the HPTI traits are for overall leadership potential.

Getting a full picture of a person’s personality traits provides important information about making decisions related to identifying, managing and developing high potential at work.

Read more about each of the 6 traits of high potential in leadership and how the HPTI can support you in recruiting and developing your (future) leaders.

To find out more about the real-life applications of the HPTI, please get in contact on info@thomas.co.uk or call us on +44(0)1628 475 366.

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Ian MacRae

Ian has been an organisational psychology consultant for over a decade and is the director and co-founder of High Potential Psychology Ltd. He is the co-author of High Potential: How to Spot Manage and Develop Talented People at Work and the High Potential Trait Indicator (HPTI), a measure of leadership potential, which is available to Thomas clients.

When team members work well together, there is little they cannot accomplish. Looking at the bigger picture when it comes to your teams, such as their behavioural and emotional preferences and the impact they have on each other, can greatly increase your chances of developing a high performing team.

Patrick Wright from the Rugby Business Network (RBN) uses Thomas assessments to do just that. Thomas tools allow them to gain a deeper understanding of an individual’s preferences, something the RBN have used to develop athlete performance, enhance transition programmes and ultimately deliver results.

Developing self-awareness in the USA 7’s Rugby team

Mike Friday, Head Coach of the USA 7’s Rugby team, has been working with Patrick at the RBN to embed Thomas assessments into the team’s training programme in the lead up to the Rio Olympic Games, in order to improve consistency in performance through greater self-awareness amongst team members.

As a high performance sporting team where effective communication is crucial to successful performance, the team needed to develop their understanding of each other. As a result, they implemented Thomas’ Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) to identify their strengths, limitations, motivators and communication preferences; helping team members and coaches to tailor communications to individuals, so as not to misinterpret them and stifle learning.

The PPA compatibility report was also used between players, coaching staff and the management team. The reports uncovered a number of potential challenges to effective team relationships, which allowed them to put timely strategies and development plans in place to help individuals to modify their behaviour to the preferences of others.

The players also noticed an immediate impact after implementing Thomas assessments. Madison Hughes, player and captain of the USA 7’s Rugby team comments, “The Thomas PPA helped the team take a different perspective on communication with each other. In particular, it helped us realise the different ways people see things and therefore that with each individual, different approaches are necessary.

Mike concludes, “it has been very insightful working with Thomas International. It has encouraged open communication within the squad and has created a foundation for us to create winning performances on the pitch and to be a more united squad off the pitch. I would highly recommend teams looking to find the edge in high performance to explore this approach.”

For more information, visit ThomasInternational.net.

Photos provided by Mike Lee/KLCFotos

The destination currently provides a rich and varied array of golf courses where to enjoy this sport all year round. All the courses are also located close to the main towns of the Costa Daurada and have very easy access. Moreover, these are high-quality courses as they have been designed by world experts such as Robert Trent Jones Jr and Greg Norman.

 The Costa Daurada, A Universal Heritage

In 1991, the monastery of Santa Maria of Poblet, in Vimbodí-Poblet, became the first monument of the Costa Daurada to achieve the Unesco World Heritage Site listing. The declaration arrived after years of restorations to recover the ancient splendour of a unique monastery: with a mixture of styles: from Romanesque to Gothic and a monastic community that maintains the communal life.

The discovery of Tarraco is also synonymous of a trip back in time that will enable you to enjoy a small piece of the history of the Roman Empire. The light, the pleasant temperatures, its port, etc. were factors that favoured the idyll between the Romans and Tarraco, a city that for two years, from the year 29 to 27 bc., even became the residence of Emperor Caesar Augustus. The Roman Tarragona is also a World Heritage site: we suggest you visit the amphitheatre, the walls, the circus, etc. Don’t forget to stroll around the streets of the Part Alta (high part) where you can still perceive and discover its rich history.

The bourgeoisie of Reus promoted the construction of new buildings in the historic centre of the capital of Baix Camp, which at the end of the 19th century became their manor houses and are now authentic architectural gems that you will be able to discover when strolling through the centre of Reus. The icing on the cake of this architecture is the Pere Mata Institute, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and that was built following the pavilions model of the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona It is currently possible to visit the pavilion “of the distinguished”, which is of great architectural beauty. At the Gaudi Centre, you will be able to learn the secrets of this talented architect.

Human castles are culture and one of the deeply rooted traditions of the Costa Daurada. With more than two centuries of history, this tradition, which came from the town of Valls, has spread first along the Catalan geography and now, even beyond the barriers and borders of this territory. Strength, balance, courage and wisdom are values associated with human castles and are the reason why they have been declared intangible asset by Unesco.

Wine Tourism

The Costa Daurada is a territory of excellent wines. Since the Romans arrived, vineyards are grown in the counties in the south, although the greatest expansion took place with the arrival of the Cistercian and Carthusian monks. The production of grapes and wine making has been deeply rooted in the monastic tradition and since the middle ages, it has also been adopted in this territory.

Although, in addition to the history, the geographic and climate conditions of these counties produces wines of a great quality and of a special singularity. In fact, in the Costa Daurada, there are five designations of origin, some of which are even made with autochthonous grapes, as well as the Designation of Origin Cava.

To be able to enjoy the wine culture, the wine tourism offer increases day by day, with cellars that offer routes to discover the territory, the vineyards and at the same time taste the wines and cavas that are made there.

In this context, we also propose the discovery of the architecture linked to the wine culture. We are referring to the modernism cooperative buildings built at the ends of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, as a result of the zenith of the cooperative culture.

Find out more about the Costa Daurada in next month’s IGPN…

For More Information Visit www.costadaurada.info

This forces us as practitioners to extrapolate ideas from other areas of research and trial them with the players we work with as we refine and optimise our strategies and learn from the players, coaches and caddies until the research catches up.

I’m pretty fortunate to have a younger brother on the European Tour who has fast tracked my practitioner learning curve in golf and helped build up some practice based evidence which hopefully over the next few years can be trialled and tested to eventually translate into evidenced based practice.

Until such a time, I hope the following provides an insight into some considerations when working with golfers or even some food for thought (apologies for the pun) for Tour Professionals themselves.

Pre Round Fuelling

Golfers are faced with three different fuelling scenarios on a day to day basis. They are either out early (which often means a 5am start!), mid morning, or in the early afternoon.

Despite these timings changing, which may impact on meal timings and portion size, the underlying principles of how to fuel the round don’t.

Ok so what are we looking for? Well when we look at the demands of golf a round generally takes approximately 4 hours, top this up with 60-120 minutes of prep time (warm up, range, putting green, conversations with caddy, etc) and we are looking at about a 5-6 hour shift.

During this 5-6 hour shift mental focus, stable energy levels and adequate hydration are going to be key, as one poor decision or energy dip can ruin your card and separate the winners from the also-rans.

As a result the pre round meal should be finished approximately 90 minutes before the round to give the body time to digest the food and the player time to prepare. The meal itself should contain some high fibre low GI carbohydrates, such as oats, to provide a sustained release of energy over the coming hours.

This portion of carbohydrates should be complemented with a source of high quality protein, such as greek yoghurt or eggs, to not only supply the muscles with amino acids to support muscle maintenance and function but also to aid the production of neuro-transmitters to improve mental focus and induce satiety.

This base of protein and carbs should then be finished off with some high quality dietary sources of fat to provide some low intensity fuel, e.g. nuts, seeds, avocado, etc as well as some fruits and/or vegetables to bump up the micronutrient content of the meal.

A simple example of this for a 9am tee time would be a bowl of nutty muesli topped with banana and fresh berries coupled with a 3 egg omelette and a large glass of water at 6.45am. For a 2pm tee time, a baked salmon fillet with a sweet potato and feta salad would also be a good example.

On Course Nutrition

The goal on the course is exactly the same, optimise mental focus, keep stable energy levels and remain hydrated. As a result on course snacks will follow a similar trend aiming to provide some low GI carbs, a moderate amount of protein and some high quality fats.

To ensure a steady supply of energy as well as reducing symptoms of hunger it is best to spread 3-4 snacks out evenly over the round. Depending on the length of the course players may wish to eat on holes 5, 10 and 15 (particularly if it’s a shorter course) or on holes 4, 8, 12 and 16 (better suited to longer and/or slower rounds). These snacks can be prepared (in an ideal world) ahead of time by the player or one of their team or purchased for convenience.

Some great examples of on course snacks that players/their team can prepare would be homemade protein bars, nut and seed “energy” balls, oat based banana bread.

Speaking from experience, some of these snacks can be prepared with no more equipment than a mixing bowl so could be an easy way to kill 10 minutes on a Monday and set you up for the week. However, preparing your own snacks is not always possible so picking up some nuts and seed tubes/bars, bananas, beef jerky and protein bars is also a good call.

What does need to stay more regular than the eating on course is the drinking! The best way to stay on top of this is to not only consume a few mouthfuls of fluid along with each snack, but also on each hole either as you are walking down the fairway or walking to the next tee box. You might find on hot days that you may need to do both!

As for what’s in the bottle, it is best to drink water with additional electrolytes (a simple effervescent tablet will do – sugary sports drinks should be avoided). As a result the player should be equipped with 3-4 agreed on snacks before leaving the locker room and 2 bottles of water and a tube of electrolytes to top up when needed during the round. The only time this may differ is on a Sunday, in which case you always bring more and are fully prepared to go down 19 if required!

Nutrition for Recovery/Sleep

Post-round the shift focuses to recover for the following day’s play. Again this meal should contain some quality protein to aid muscle repair and maintenance however, unlike most sports there is no need to feed high volumes of carbohydrates to refuel, a moderate potion accompanied with some tasty vegetables will do.

For example, a nice lean steak with some mash potato and pan fried vegetables would fit nicely, as would a tasty teriyaki chicken stir-fry with some additional vegetables. This meal is generally the easiest for most players to get right.

This meal should be followed up with a nighttime snack, again to support recovery but also to enhance sleep, e.g. greek yoghurt with tart cherry mixed through.

Nutrition for Travel

As the competition draws to a close on Sunday, most players make their way straight from the locker room to the airport as they head on to the next event. For Tour Professionals, the schedule can be relentless and this high volume of flights, temporary time zones and often new/foreign cuisines all increase the risk of illness for the players and caddies.

These at-risk periods and shifting circadian rhythms should all be supported with appropriate performance planning to not only ensure the player and caddy acclimatise as soon as possible for the next tournament but also minimise the volume of days a player and his caddy may lose to illness.

I hope this gives some insight and sparks some thoughts about how nutrition may impact on a golfer’s performance. With the lack of current evidence available it seems the next step is for the tours to continue to innovate in performance nutrition research – then we can see how well the worlds best can really play.

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This article appears courtesy of the Undergraduate Sports and Exercise Medicine Society – www.basem.co.uk/usems

“I think women’s golf has a great future if it can market itself correctly. For me it’s as exciting watching a ladies’ tournament as it is watching a men’s tournament. Sometimes people get a bit drawn to how far the ball flies and they attack impossible pins and take on impossible shots, but the ladies play really clever golf too.

“I was at the Evian Championship last year and what I saw was very impressive – they had a very professional attitude and were really focused on the range so there’s no difference between them and the guys. I would like to see ladies get much more TV time and more acknowledgement for what they are doing.”

Interview Highlights:

00:29 – How Marie got into golf…

01:39 – Entering a golf club as a young girl golfer…

02:21 – The changes in golf in Austria…

03:23 – Marie now works at the same facility that she started her golf career at…

06:25 – Being driven by those that originally discouraged her golf…

08:23 – Getting the Austrian National Team Coach job…

09:20 – Becoming involved in ‘Communicology’…

11:25 – Using ‘Communicology’ to break things down and not get lost in the detail…

12:10 – Key learnings from Marie’s career so far…

14:19 – The difference between teaching & coaching…

16:00 – What changes has Marie seen over the time she worked with the Austrian Girls squads…

18:49 – Working as a National Coach is a 24/7 role…

19:41 – What is the future of girls’ golf…

20:48 – The challenges face in women and girls’ participation…

23:01 – The difference between girls and boys’ sport …

24:26 – What are the mistakes most beginner golfers make…?

28:15 – Who is the best lesser-known coach Marie has worked with…?

30:19 – What advice would you give your 25-year-old self…?

31:09 – Marie’s views on who she feels are ‘successful’ people…

32:05 – Marie’s favourite book…

33:01 – The advice has Marie found beneficial up until now…

35:01 – What might surprise listeners about Marie…

35:19 – The golf equipment that gives Marie the most joy…

35:55 – Marie’s dream Fourball…

36:34 – Advice for aspiring PGA Professionals…

Find out more about Marie at www.functionalgolf.at and at functionalgolfat on Facebook.

Find out more about the Confederation of Professional Golf Golf Development Team at http://eur.pe/GolfDevelopmentTeam

With Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia on the rise, ‘brain-training’ is very much in vogue among retirees and younger whippersnappers alike. As game developers have been quick to appreciate, preserving healthy cognitive function means maintaining sharpness across all the right areas, from memory and recall to problem solving and planning. There’s enough there for a bi-annual upgrade and then some.

Video games aside, there are plenty of equally as efficient but less costly ways to keep your grey matter firing on all cylinders. Here are some top tips for successful cerebral conservation:

1. Learn something new

Be it the cello, Ancient Greek or Chinese calligraphy, teaching yourself a new skill is a great way to keep the old brain cells ticking over. A recent study of retirees showed that a challenging mental activity one a week reduced the risk of dementia by 7%.

2. Get physical

Work the rest of your body while you’re at it. Research suggests that 30 minutes of exercise three times each week can reduce dementia by 40% and cognitive impairment by 60%. The secondary benefits should also be obvious.

3. Food for thought

You don’t need a PHD in nutrition to know some foods are better for the brain than others. Indulge in vegetables, nuts and fish – staples of the Mediterranean diet that promote blood-flow to the brain. Drink plenty of water and stay off the junk food!

4. Take a load off

From catching enough ‘Z’s each night to meditative techniques, giving your brain some much-needed down time is essential in reducing wear and tear. It will also help you maintain skills such as problem solving, concentration and memory. Aim for 7.5 to 8.5 hours a night for optimum brain function.

Whether happily retired or gainfully employed, whatever your age, looking after the stuff upstairs should be a top priority. The good news is that keeping your neurotransmitters nimble needn’t cost the earth and can slot fairly easily into your day-to-day lifestyle.

This content appears courtesy of Abintegro, experts in career management, transition technology & e-learning for today’s modern, mobile and technology-savvy workforce – Find out more at www.abintegro.com

Credit: Forbes; NPR.com; Time

Kelly Global Workforce Index – August 2014 (230,000 people across 31 countries participated)

• 57% people agree that career development discussions are beneficial in terms of the opportunity to acquire new skills
• Only 38% had these discussions with their employer in the past year
• Only 29% are satisfied with the career development resources provided by their employer

With global employment trends changing all the time, the need to keep and develop staff should be at the top of an organisations agenda.

Whether the organisation is a school, SME, Not for Profit or Corporate, many seem frightened to invest in the career management of their staff, they think staff will be unsettled, leave, or want more than they can offer. Some work very well with their staff, helping them manage their careers and reap the reward. The reality is that staff who feel valued and invested in are more likely to stay with an organisation and be motivated to work harder.


“Managing human capital is a misnomer. Humans are ‘beings’. We want to be known and valued for who we are, and our aspirations and ambitions recognised and seen as important. It’s a missed opportunity for an employer not to attend to these needs and thereby reap the productivity gains that accrue from more motivated, loyal employees”

(Talent, Careers and Organisations, What Next? Corporate Research Forum)

The value an organisation can reap when investing in their staff:

• Staff are more settled and less distracted as they have plans for their future
• Organisations can plan their future if they know what their staff want and plan to do
  • Demographics
  • Succession planning
  • Recruitment
  • In house development of staff
• An organisation planning what will happen with regards to its staff must be more cost effective
• Fewer surprises
• Less need for interim, agency or contract staff
• Better ongoing communication between staff and employer
• Staff more likely to say if they are looking for a new role
• Organisation able to deliver a more structured handover if they know a member of staff 
is/wants to leave
• Employers who cannot afford financial rewards/bonuses, can support the development and 
career management of staff, which can be a cost-effective reward process.

The ability to manage your career and future is a life skill, if organisations don’t invest in their staff to give them these skills, how can they then pass on these skills to the people who work for them and to the next generation who they might educate and/or influence.

There are many processes for managing careers and these can be integrated into a workplace environment, below is a cycle often used to develop process that works within different organisations, depending on what is needed and required by the organisation and their staff.

Often employees find it easier to have these conversations with someone external first.

“My volunteers felt better placed to plan an effective conversation with their manager once they’d been coached, which is a win-win for the organisation”

(T Delamare, An action research study on the barriers facing women developing their careers and how they can be supported using a coaching framework. MA Dissertation, Oxford Brookes University, 2016)

“Internally focused workplace development opportunities are likely to ensure that a particular employer realises investment in development for the organisation. Yet, the worker might not have the skills transferable to other organisations. This is in contrast with the premise of the type of ‘deal’ where enhancement of employability is the key value derived from the employment relationship by the worker. Instead, they may be receiving only the development that is relevant to their current employer, without the promise of job security.”

(CIPD – Attitudes to Employability and Talent, Sept 2016)

Because of this I sit in the middle of various areas of the industry where I can get a good view of what is happening when it comes to embracing technology and looking at innovative ways to continually advance our profession and the coaching process.

Barely a day goes by without an announcement of an upgrade or introduction of a new piece of equipment that could make a golfer better (or ideally simply enjoy themselves more), and it’s exciting to think where this could go in the future.

Now, as an opening caveat, I no longer coach students as part of my job, but I am exposed to a lot of great coaches who have dedicated their lives to improving golfers’ experiences. So whilst I may not be directly using coaching equipment on a daily basis, I can appreciate the technology behind them and their practical applications.

In speaking with many of these coaches, there is something that continually comes up when you discuss technology – data capture.

The level of detail and sheer quantity of data that we can capture about a golf swing is incredible. Technologies such as launch monitor/radar flight and ball-roll tracking devices, hi-speed camera analysis, and the myriad of other options on the market, mean you can now analyse every parameter imaginable when getting the ball into the hole. And, assuming the user is appropriately trained, this can turn into a very tangible benefit to the end-user.

Previously we featured the Strokes-Gained metrics developed by Dr Mark Broadie that utilises the PGA Tour’s ShotLink® data in which every single shot played in PGA Tour events is recorded into an open-access pool of information that academics can make use of.

This detailed level of data capture has meant that every single aspect of a player’s round can be analysed and new and improved metrics for performance have been created.

With the continued rollout, pun intended, of golf simulators and intelligent, customisable simulated environments, combined with Augmented Reality (AR) technology, we now have ways of mirroring golf course conditions like never before, making coaching more realistic and contextually applicable.

Where Next?

Simulating golf course conditions leads nicely into the potential innovations that we could see in the future.

One thing I think could have huge potential uses would be virtual reality (VR) – imagine standing in a bay, putting on a headset and methodically planning your way around your next golf course of choice.

This could be something that helps the transition of elite amateurs to tour events – often players with little experience of the ‘big stage’ can let things get on top of them. The incredibly immersive experience of VR could help train players to overcome their nerves, ignore the distractions and perform better under pressure by recreating the conditions they could feel. Granted, nothing will ever replace the real thing but this would be a great start.

The future of data-capture looks to be about expanding our awareness and knowledge of areas of the sport that were previously nothing more than theory. We already have equipment with built-in sensors but I can see a future [that is not too far away] where there are completely non-invasive methods of gathering the same data Trackman can for example, but without the need for any external equipment to be setup, with data streaming live and wirelessly to receivers both on and off the course.

I can also see this extending to more wearable equipment that is less intrusive in the practice or practicing or playing (think a biomechanics analysis product that is nothing more than a normal base layer for example with no discernable difference to a normal item of clothing).

Right now anyone can go out and measure their vital statistics using something like an Apple Watch and the relevant apps, but perhaps in future we won’t even need to put anything on, or if we do it will be more akin to wearing a temporary tattoo than an accessory like a watch.

Perhaps a much bigger question to pose from all of this is what will be done with this data – the more you capture, the more you need to process it, and ultimately it needs to be useful to coaches and then to their students.

What will certainly need to happen, no matter what might come in the future, is for the education of coaches to go hand-in-hand with the technological advancement to ensure these fantastic tools are not purely a marketing ploy but are actually beneficial and valuable to their students.

PGA Professionals have a responsibility to keep up with the latest changes in coaching methods to ensure they a) provide what their students want and need, and b) they don’t get left behind when others could be helping golfers play better and enjoy themselves more.

This article originally featured in International Golf Pro News. Visit the IGPN Page to find out more and subscribe for free.

IGPN still continues its mission of providing interesting, relevant and useful content to our Member Country PGAs and their individual PGA Professional Members.

We have had contributions from across golf and many other sports and industries. Not just from within Europe, but from around the world. And from PGA Professionals and a wide variety of experts, academics and figureheads.

This 36^th Issue looks at an area that is, and will likely remain, at the core of what a PGA Professional does – coaching.

We have expert input from our John Jacobs Award for Teaching & Coaching Winner and coach to numerous European Tour and Ryder Cup players, Mike Walker, world-renowned coach, David Leadbetter, and our 5-Star Professional Award winner, Alan Walker, as well.

This information is designed to educate, inform and inspire and is an excellent example of the type of content we are working hard to develop and the direction in which our communications strategy is headed.

We must also remember that coaching is not just limited to the driving range or the playing lesson – we must continue to coach ourselves and our peers to advance all of our skills and become better and better at what we do.

A quick glance at the variety of information on our A.S.K. platform at cpg.golf/ask will immediately show what we mean with content looking at the coaching golf to all manner of abilities, but also coaching and development information about growing the game, careers, productivity, business, marketing, and much more.

This information, together with the delivery and spread of IGPN, enables us to support our Member Country PGAs with their advancement of their PGA Professionals by curating international expertise and making it open and available to those who wish to make use of it.

We will continue to develop our communications into the future across an ever-changing technological landscape, and IGPN will always be a fundamental part of that.

As a final point, it would be remiss of us not to mention Sergio Garcia and his phenomenal win at Augusta National. It was difficult to pick sides on the final day as he and Justin Rose battled it out but whilst Justin would no doubt be a worthy owner of a green jacket, we were all delighted to see Sergio break through as a major champion. Hopefully this is just the beginning…!

If you would like to contribute to A.S.K. or IGPN then we invite you to share this with Aston Ward at aw@CPG.com and hope that you will join us in developing our Member Countries in Issues of IGPN, and the years ahead.

This article originally featured in International Golf Pro News. Visit the IGPN Page to find out more and subscribe for free.

IGPN spoke to Brian and Seve to find out more about how they work together and what lessons can be learned about creating a successful, effective team of practicioners around an elite performer.

Becoming an Effective Part of a Player’s Team

How did your working relationship come about?

SEVE: Our relationship began when I was a young lad playing for England. Brian was the England squad psychologist when I was about 17.

BRIAN: I remember seeing his name and like many people I thought it was misspelt.  So that was noticeable at first in terms of his name but I remember meeting him as a what was really a young boy of 15 and of course now he’s in his late 20s.

What sort of work did you do at first?

BRIAN: It would of been a typical session with a young junior golfer on the fringe of England recognition with ‘boys’ – what you’re trying to do is get to know somebody and how they approach the game because we’re all different.  Then largely it’s individually based – so for some people it might be very much on putting work and with others it might be their approach off the course.

But for a lot of young golfers, there are their own expectations of how far they want to go in the game and it’s very competitive in the game from a very early age.  What I probably recall from Seve…would be something about expectations of yourself, and of trying to forge a career in the game.

What has your working relationship entailed?

BRIAN: Seve’s always been a quiet individual, keeping himself to himself…I think sometimes with players, when they’re quiet they can be deemed to be unconfident but I would say Seve had quite a quiet assurance about him, which he’s always had.

SEVE: Working with Brian for this length of time has been a real joy.  He has always kept me focused on the process of what I am doing.  After working together for a long time he has become a great friend.  We meet on pretty much an ad-hoc basis from time-to-time and after seeing Brian I’m always left with a sense of calmness, which I love.

BRIAN: The beauty of working with somebody over that extended period of time is that you see him or her through so many psychological transitions – not just in terms of their game, but also as a person going from a young boy into a young adult.  Then they’re developing long-term relationships off the course in terms of their partner, along with other transitions such as buying houses…and all the things that we probably don’t think much about when we look at sportspeople play golf.

At the same time you’re cautious about the fact that you’re not their friend.  When you’ve known somebody for 14 years you get to know them very well but it’s a professional relationship, it’s not a personal friendship relationship.  Therefore we’re both quite disciplined in that way that it retains a professional sense whilst it is in a friendly way.

How do you manage these influential factors with players like Seve?

BRIAN: Work with any player is very individually-based if it’s going to be the most effective because you’re trying to establish a very unique relationship – what makes a player unique, what’s their way of thinking about the game, and how can you remind them of those things when there might be a sense to search for something that’s going to be more effective.

So we retain contact only maybe by text before and after a tournament. When he’s home for a reasonable stretch of time we try and meet up either at Wentworth where he’s based or more locally to me.

Then it’s very much in the moment about what’s on his mind – is it a performance issue or is it somewhere else in terms of lifestyle or his approach that he’s maybe lost his focus – it really comes from him.

SEVE: Since a young age, Brian has helped me to become very strong mentally and cope with any situation that may arise on the golf course.  I think that as time has gone on our relationship has improved and Brian knows how I tick so when something comes up in my game we can deal with it really effectively.

Brian, you’ve seen Seve through all of these various stages of development – is that a challenge to get background and relationship bond with players when you first begin working with them?

BRIAN: Yes, in new relationships getting to know one another, getting to know how someone thinks about their game, their particular issues or the demands/pressures at that point, gets easier as you get to know people.  But by and large, in sports psychology, they’re actually more short term relationships – people come to you with a specific issue and that may last as little as one or two sessions, six sessions, or over six months, but is more fleeting.  I think that this is where it is different from a PGA Professional because although players do change coaches my experience is that they generally do have a bit more longevity than a sports psych.

[Sports psychologist] relationships are generally more fleeting and therefore there’s more pressure on you to be effective over a short period of time, whereas with somebody such as Seve or a longer-term relationship, there’s a sense that you can get into other areas that perhaps they wouldn’t think are performance-related by getting to know the person better.

What is it about Seve and others that set them apart?

BRIAN: They’re all very different in their approach…but my observations of working with the amateur-professional transition in the English game would be that they invest in themselves.

So at National coaching level there would be a number of technical coaches with specialist areas, a physio, strength and conditioning people, and one of the difficulties for players when they turn professional is that all of a sudden that team largely drops off because they’re not at your beck and call as a national squad player.

So all of a sudden the support structure that you’ve experienced and the edges in performance through sports science or through certain technical coaching is no longer there.

I think that when you speak to people who have made ineffective transitions, you find that their team completely dispersed and they really suffered as a result of that.

Whereas I think that with people like Seve, Danny [Willett], Chris [Wood], what they did very well was that they still invested in themselves.  So at a time when perhaps money might have been at a bit more of a premium, they still tried to retain as many people of that core team as they could.

SEVE: I think my professionalism, relentless work ethic and commitment to the game are my strong points.  But they all come from the fact that I’ve always focused on, and invested in, the mental side of my game and made sure I put the effort in to maintain what I’m doing.

Because I’ve known Brian for a while and specifically since I was young, he’s helped me to mature as a person and become very professional in what I do.  We also spent a lot of time in the past looking at goal setting so our work has helped me become very clear on how to achieve those goals.

Brian, how do you fit into Seve’s coaching team?

BRIAN: I’m very rarely at tournaments, the European Tour is obviously a world-based tour now so there’s the cost implications of [travelling to events].  And also I think Seve is ‘low maintenance’ so I don’t think there’s a need for that a lot of the time.

Generally I’ll try and see him play a couple of times a year – clearly the UK ones this year, Wentworth and Woburn, are the easiest, and that’s more observationally.  As I say to him, I’m not looking to intervene at that point; it’s really an observational point to see how he operates because a large amount of his work is based on his reflections.  Also of course there’s a chance at that point to interact more with his team – he has a world-class coach in Pete Cowen, he works with Justin Buckthorp who works with Justin Rose and a number of other players in terms of his strength and conditioning, and I get a chance to meet with his caddie.

He works with Phil Kenyon on a week-to-week basis out on tour…so it gives me a great chance to catch up with their work and the putting work I am doing with him to make sure it’s in accordance with them.

So to get the views of other people who are closely involved with him in terms of their observations on maybe his improvement or areas where there could be more improvement is very useful.

So that’s how it works, but otherwise when Seve gets back after a series of tournaments we’ll either catch up face-to-face or by Skype, FaceTime or phone, whatever’s the most convenient to him.

How do you make yourself an effective part of Seve’s team and manage his expectations of what you hope to do?

BRIAN: There are many sports psychologists that would emphasise the content of interventions and ‘this is what you do’, and often there’s a lot of ‘yes, this technique will enable you to do x, y, and z’.  I’ve always approached it from a slightly different way – I’ve always recognised that the relationship is of primary importance.  So, as somebody begins to trust you and you build rapport with them, the relationship is in a sense also how you help people change their views or beliefs, or how they approach a certain situation.

So I always put great emphasis on the importance of the relationship with any player.  As it is with Seve, that’s easier to say as I’ve known him a long time.

The second part of it is that I try to be open to his needs at whatever point he is at.  Sometimes players give you that themselves.

I would like to think that sometimes I challenge his way of thinking when I think it is unproductive to him, or I present a different story to him that could be equally valid based on his experiences.

Let’s say in terms of expectations, in terms of your progress through the game, you could write a story where you say ‘well Seve’s never won on tour’.  He’s won as a professional, but like many people he hasn’t won on tour yet. They’ll be other people who will say ‘well Seve should have won by now’.  Now of course if that creeps in to your thinking that can put you under enormous pressure.

Where as an equally valid story is to say ‘well actually year on year he’s improving and whether he wins or not is not entirely down to him’.  It’s down to how in any given week, the rest of the field also perform.

SEVE: It’s really important to have a good team of people around you.  I would say that the team would each need to be open-minded and have minimal egos – that way they can work effectively for the player.

————————-

With thanks to Brian Hemmings, Seve Benson (@SeveBenson) and Northampton Golf Club (www.northamptongolfclub.co.uk).

The monthly publication is distributed amongst the Association’s 36 Member Country PGAs and their collective 21,000+ PGA Professionals becoming a hugely valuable resource that allows the Confederation of Professional Golf to support the PGAs with their advancement of their own Members.

Issue 36 is a Coaching Special featuring interviews with Mike Walker and David Leadbetter, content from SNAG Golf, Golf Pride, the PGA of Switzerland, Peter Millar, BMW, the Ryder Cup European Development Trust, and news from the Confederation of Professional Golf and its various events and activities.

IGPN originally took the form of a print publication for a number of years, however, with the continued development of digital communications and the work of publishers, All Square Media, the magazine went exclusively digital, ensuring it can be read widely and provides the best possible responsive and interactive reading experience no matter what device is being used.

Its success has largely come from the quality of content produced, both in-house, and using curated international expertise from a wide variety of expert contributors. Content is featured in a broad range of areas such as marketing, coaching, psychology, productivity, business management, career development, golf development, sustainability and much more.

The magazine also ties in to the Association’s ‘A.S.K.’ (standing for Attributes. Skills. Knowledge.) activity in which content is created and curated for a dedicated thought-centre on the Confederation of Professional Golf website – cpg.golf/ask – and is open for PGA Professionals to read whilst providing a valuable content resource for PGAs to use in their own communications.

If you would like to contribute to IGPN or A.S.K. then please contact Aston Ward at aw@CPG.com.

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@MindaZetlin

You know that job applicant has the right skills to fill your open position. But what about the right personality? Ignore cultural fit at your peril, for your new hire likely won’t last long.

I’ll always remember one of my co-workers at my first company. Although she did excellent work, she seemed to zig while the rest of us zagged. In a group of frumpy, often pudgy writers, she was an accomplished martial artist. Where many of us were just getting our feet wet in the business world, she had been around for a while and worked in some legendary places. Where we tended toward the silly-a plastic-encased slice of prosciutto once spent a week tacked to our department’s bulletin board-she was deadly serious. Not surprisingly, she soon moved on to a job at a prestigious non-profit that was working hard to change the world.

Hiring someone who doesn’t fit your company’s personality can be a very costly mistake. To avoid making that mistake, make sure to interview job candidates for cultural fit, as well as job qualifications. That advice comes from Tara Kelly, CEO of customer experience software provider SPLICE Software.

Kelly makes sure to include a culture interview in the hiring process, and she says it’s made a big difference. “It is important to understand employee values, motivators and interests,” she explains. “Understanding what keeps employees fulfilled is a key element to build a truly successful team. Whereas regular job interviews focus on verifying qualifications, culture fit interviews focus on ensuring potential candidates fit the corporate culture and core values of the organization.”

Given that every new hire is a big investment, it’s worth taking the time and effort to interview for cultural fit as well as skills and experience. Here’s how Kelly does it:

1. Define your company’s culture.

You may not need to do this, and Kelly doesn’t mention it, but if yours is a small or start-up companies, your culture may not be something you’ve given a lot of thought to. You should, though, because you definitely have one and a bad cultural hire will hurt you.

Your mission or vision statement is a good place to start-it won’t define your culture, but it should identify the values that drive you and your employees to show up and work hard every day. Beyond that, take a look around and consider how your company compares to others in your industry. Ask your employees or colleagues for input, until you can come up with a sentence or two that captures your company’s personality. Consider this example from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: “Our culture is friendly and intense, but if push comes to shove we’ll settle for intense.”

2. Write job ads with culture in mind.

“Culture fit should be integrated into every aspect of recruitment,” Kelly notes. That begins with your job ads, which should reflect both your company’s brand and its culture. If yours is an informal, family friendly workplace, with child care on site, and where pets are welcomed, say so. If yours is an elegant workplace with a prestigious history, say that.

3. Include culture questions in regular interviews.

From your first conversations with a candidate, interviewers should be thinking about cultural fit, Kelly says. “Once applications are assessed, pre-screening interviews should occur over the phone to see what first impressions candidates make and gauge personality for a possible fit.”

Candidates who pass this screening should be invited to an in-person interview with their potential department head. “The department head should also screen the applicant for culture by introducing a few less technical questions,” she adds.

4. Know which questions to ask, and which not to.

“Ask questions that speak to the core values and culture of the organization, without directly asking about each value,” Kelly advises. “For example, ask ‘what is something you have accomplished this summer that you are really proud of?'” This type of question helps SPLICE find candidates who like to learn new things or improve their skills. “At SPLICE, we really value a love of learning and improving things,” Kelly explains. “Our fundamental core value is, ‘We believe it can be better.’ So we like to see that not only in someone’s work life but their personal life too.”

It should go without saying that there’s a difference between culture and bias, and you should be clear about that difference, especially when it comes to questions that could land your company in legal trouble. To say that your culture is fun-loving and risk-taking is fine; to say that all employees should participate in extreme sports means your workplace discriminates against disabled or older workers.

In Amazon’s we’ll-settle-for-intense culture, an employee who’d just had a miscarriage was told by her supervisor that the company was likely the wrong place for a woman looking to start a family. Not surprisingly, many labor lawyers have been contacted by current or past employees seeking to sue the company for attitudes like these. Someday, one of these suits will get filed.

5. Train employees to conduct culture interviews.

“Once it is verified that a candidate has all the necessary qualifications and has passed all the preliminary culture fit screenings, a culture fit interview should be introduced as the last phase of the process,” Kelly says.

But you’re not the one to conduct the culture fit interview-the candidate’s potential co-workers are. That means they’ll need some training about what to ask and what to listen for. “It’s crucial to ensure the team is prepped on the purpose of a culture fit interview prior to participating,” Kelly says.

In general, she says, you should select four to six employees from around your company to talk informally with the job candidate about hobbies and interest and how these things tie in with your company’s personality. “Employees should be encouraged to ask questions that tie in to the organization’s value system.”

6. Gather feedback.

Employees who conduct a culture interview should fill out assessment afterwards that scores applicants on numerical scales of good-fit-to-bad-fit, and also ask for written comments. After you review those assessments, call the employees together for a quick debrief to make sure you understand their feedback and get a better sense of how the candidate might or might not fit with your company and its values. All of this input, together with the candidate’s performance on your skills assessment, will put you in the best position to make the right choice.

This article originally appeared on Inc.com – to view the original article visit http://eur.pe/1kkmevy.

Abraham Maslow

When players start to look ahead to a new season they are often conscious of renewing efforts to develop their games and achieve their goals.  The difficulty is that players of all standards will often not be specific enough in any practice they do.

Maslow’s famous quote applied to golf implies that if players don’t develop different tools/shots in their game, their development is likely to stagnate as they are likely to always approach situations on the course in the same way. Of course this could also be applied to course management skills and decision-making on the course.

The same could equally be applied to golf coaches and teaching professionals (and psychologists). Broadening one’s knowledge and skill set enables us to consider more variables when trying to improve the performance or enjoyment of the golfers we work with. Therefore, it is important that any coach considers what specific coaching education they might need in order to progress their repertoire of skills, their coaching achievements, the players they work with, or to increase their income.

Therefore, take time to reflect what is in your coaching toolbox? Do you always reach the same conclusions with players and find yourself repeating the same instructions? Coaches in other sports are encouraged to engage in regular ‘reflective practice’ to self-assess their effectiveness. These questions might prompt where your ‘toolbox’ is limited.

Reflective Coaching Questions

• What happened in that coaching session?
• What were you thinking and feeling?
• What was good and bad about the session?
• What sense did you make of the player’s progress?
• What else could you have done?
• If the same situation arose again what would you do?

To return to developing a player’s toolbox, a suggestion might be trying a ‘shot of the month’ short-term goal-setting task to focus their coaching, efforts and practise over the coming months.

This simply requires you discuss with players the goals they have for the coming year, and what limitations they may have that could be improved on each month.  This is not to say all other coaching work stops, but it is usually helpful to target one particular shot in a realistic timeframe. Identify the most important shots or skills, measure their current success in some way, and then agree the thrust of coaching, technical instruction and practice that month to improve that particular shot.

A simple re-test or re-measurement at the end of the month should hopefully show better execution/results and therefore more confidence going into the season.

The amount of information and number of statistics/metrics available to the Professional coach has never been greater – in fact, many argue that there is too much information out there that does not answer the questions people really want to know about.

This is something that Columbia Business School Carson Family Professor of Business and keen golfer, Mark Broadie, saw as being fundamental to his groundbreaking research in the past 10 years. Current statistics and metrics are good but lack the capability in many cases to relate other metrics. In response to this he developed a system that allows all the elements of the game to be compared to each other – Strokes Gained.

In his new book, ‘Every Shot Counts’, Broadie explores his Strokes-Gained metric that has entered the public consciousness through use of Strokes Gained – Putting on the PGA Tour, and the overall research that has led to a fundamental change in our understanding of how important the different areas of the game are.

IGPN: The Strokes Gained statistic is really a completely different way of assessing the performance of a player on the course – how did you come up with the concept for it?

MB: I started by asking ‘what separates an ‘80’ and a ’90’ golfer – where do these 10 strokes come from?’ Another question was how to grade a golfer in different areas; long game, short game, sand play, approach shots, driving – how could you compare all those things?

There are a lot of ways you could do this – such as how close do they put approach shots to the

“About two-thirds of a 10-stroke difference comes from shots outside of 100 yards and about one-third comes from shots inside 100 yards…that’s pretty robust across hugely different skill levels”

hole? If you have a large enough data set then you can see that this person’s average score might be 80 but they’re hitting their approach shots like a scratch golfer, or they may be hitting relatively poor approach shots like a ‘90’ golfer.

The problem is that these measures still don’t answer the question of where do the 10 strokes between and ‘80’ and a ‘90’ come from? In order to answer that question you need to be able to compare drives that are measured in yards/meters with something like greens in regulation which is either ‘yes you hit it’ or ‘no you missed.’ You have all these different ways to measure golf but they don’t answer the question about where that scoring difference comes from.

In order to do that you need to be able to measure say driving distance and driving accuracy on a scale that’s comparable to sand play or to putting, and it turns out how to do that is to measure everything in strokes – and that led to strokes gained.

The idea was that you could measure the quality of every shot from a drive to an approach shot, or a sand shot to a putt in this consistent unit of strokes gained – it allows you to measure all parts of the game together.

IGPN: And the PGA Tour have used the putting element of your research…

MB: I had written an article and then presented at the World Scientific Congress of Golf in 2008 with some early findings on this notion of strokes gained applied to the entire game. A couple of years later I was at a conference with a group from MIT [The Massachusetts Institute of Technology] and the PGA Tour was there just letting academics know that this is what their ‘ShotLink^®’ data is and how it’s available to academics through their ‘ShotLink^® Intelligence Programme’. So we presented our work there…[and] that sort of crystallised things at around the same time that the PGA Tour internally was saying ‘we need to come up with a better putting statistic because putts-per-round’s deficiencies were obvious to them.

What the PGA Tour implemented in 2011 was just the ’Strokes Gained – Putting’…I had been looking at short, medium and long putts [to] break it down into sub-categories, but the PGA Tour’s reaction was ‘no, no, the problem is we have too many stats’. They have putting from four-feet, five, six, seven, eight, etc. – so in a way they have too much and too little.

Part of the reason for this book is to let people know that this analysis applies to all parts of the game and that the PGA Tour’s aim has always been to roll out more strokes gained stats in the future. They are planning on rolling out ‘strokes gained – tee to green’ next.  On a TV broadcast or leaderboard at a tournament… you could have ‘total stokes gained’ broken down into tee to green play and putting. That would allow you to see on why somebody is leading or why somebody is only in 10th or 20th place.

Strokes Gained – Putting Example from the PGATour.com:

The statistic is computed by calculating the average number of putts a PGA TOUR player is expected to take from every distance, based on ShotLink® data from the previous season. The actual number of putts taken by a player is subtracted from this average value to determine strokes gained or lost. For example, the average number of putts used to hole out from 7 feet 10 inches is 1.5. If a player one-putts from this distance, he gains 0.5 strokes. If he two-putts, he loses 0.5 strokes. If he three-putts, he loses 1.5 strokes.

A player’s strokes gained or lost are then compared to the field. For example, if a player gained a total of three strokes over the course of a round and the field gained an average of one stroke, the player’s “Strokes Gained Against the Field” would be two.

IGPN: Your research revealed that when you look at all these areas together the relative impact of each area of the game was actually different to traditional thinking – the differences between ‘80’ or ‘90’ golfers, or even between good tour players and the best players, were more because of the long game…

MB: Roughly about two-thirds of a 10-stroke difference comes from shots outside of 100 yards and about one-third comes from shots inside 100 yards and that’s pretty robust across these hugely different skill levels.

There are definitely differences amongst individuals – I’m talking about a typical ‘80’ golfer versus a typical ‘90’ golfer, or a typical professional golfer versus typical top-10 professional.

IGPN: So the traditional emphasis on putting, or at least the general tendency towards ‘drive for show, putt for dough’, is not accurate – what sort of reaction have you had to that?

MB: I’ve heard more from the people that agree with the findings in the book – people are saying ‘finally, I’ve thought this all along’ – and probably a little less from the people that disagree.

I tried in the beginning of the book to figure out what are the strongest arguments that people have for the importance of putting – I tried to say why I thought the arguments fell short, but I’m certainly interested in trying to speak to anyone that has a different view.

A lot of people have pointed to Tiger Woods and have said that the main factor that explains his success is his putting. The reason that seems plausible is that he’s such a good putter – the data bears that out, but he’s also good at everything else, it’s just approach shots where he really dominates. He’s great at everything but really great at approach shots. It’s a surprise to a lot of people but not someone like Sean Foley, his coach.

“Tiger’s approach shots are where he really dominates, he’s great at everything but really great at approach shots.  It’s a surprise to a lot of people but not someone like Sean Foley”

The other thing I’ve found is that when you look at PGA Tour winners, the explanatory power of putting is higher.  Using 10 years of data, I find that putting contributes about 15% of the scoring advantage of the best Tour players compared to average Tour players.  If you look at tournament winners then putting contributes about 35% of the scoring advantage during their wins.

Part of the reason is that when you look at tournament winners, then there’s a different one every week, and whoever wins that week is someone who’s playing well above their norm.

That’s part of the reason that people tend to believe in the importance of putting – they see putts going in from all over the planet when they watch the highlight reels of someone winning a tournament but they don’t show the shots that get them there.

IGPN:  You spoke recently at an MIT Conference with Tiger Woods’ and Justin Rose’s coach, Sean Foley, about how he and other coaches can turn the data produced using strokes gained into actionable data and also on the statistical approach coaches should have – what do you think are the main ways a coach can use this type of information?

MB: It’s definitely easier for coaches whose pupils are PGA Tour golfers because of the ShotLink® data that’s available…the PGA Tour records all of the shots of all of the players at all PGA Tour events.  You can break down a golfer’s strengths and weaknesses fairly accurately [using strokes gained] and that allows a coach like Sean Foley to focus his instruction on what will give the biggest bang for the buck.

It would be ideal if amateurs went to their instructors with strokes gained reports, which detailed their trends, strengths and weaknesses.  It is possible for amateur golfers to collect data on their own shots, using lasers or yardage books, and then use the tables in the book to do the strokes gained analysis on their own.  We’re working on an app that I am hoping will be ready for beta-testing in two or three months that will make it even easier for individuals to do it themselves.

You want to make it as painless as possible for golfers to record their shot information – the PGA Tour pros have it great because someone else is doing it for them – but for amateur golfers data entry is the hurdle.  The good thing is it’s really not that painful for an amateur to record their own data  – I’ve been doing it for years and the app will make it even easier. In my database of amateur golf shots, it shows that putting contributes about the same to scoring differences as it does for the pros. But every golfer is unique, and having strokes gained report for individual golfers would be, I think, quite useful for coaches.

The book shows how you can go out to the practice green or short game area and test your skills by hitting a bunch of putts and shots.  There are tables in the book where you can compare yourself to pros and amateurs of various levels.  It’s fun and you can do it in a short period of time, an hour or so, though it has the disadvantage that it’s not in tournament play and it’s not in the changing conditions that you might get on the course.

In EVERY SHOT COUNTS: Using the Revolutionary Strokes-Gained Approach to Improve Your Golf Performance and Strategy (Gotham Books, March 10, 2014, Hardcover, eBook) Broadie explains the simple idea behind strokes gained and shows how it applies to all golf shots. He uses it to answer many questions of golf performance: What does it take to win a PGA Tour tournament? What is the secret behind Tiger Woods’ success? Which skills separate amateurs from pros? How much is twenty extra yards of driving distance worth?

EVERY SHOT COUNTS also uses this new data to analyze golf strategy: Lay up or go for it? Play an aggressive or conservative shot off the tee? Not a book about swing mechanics, EVERY SHOT COUNTS uses data and analytics to better understand golf performance and golf strategy. EVERY SHOT COUNTS reveals truths that will change the way golfers of all handicaps look at and play the game.

For more information visit www.everyshotcounts.com and to purchase your copy of EVERY SHOT COUNTS visit the Amazon Bookstore here http://eur.pe/PA76cZ (includes a short preview of the book).

For PGA Professionals involved in any area of the game, knowledge of marketing and some of the key concepts that come with it can be very useful to themselves as individuals but also as marketers, sales people, and value-adders for a business.

Here IGPN looks at just some of the main things in marketing that could help you be better prepared to market yourself and the business you are a key part of, whilst also giving you more knowledge of the marketing that takes place around you.

1. STRATEGY

You can’t move in any direction without a plan of where you want to go and how you’re going to get there.  Too many people are too concerned with just ‘doing some marketing’ and don’t look at things with enough depth and focus.  Marketing is an incredibly broad term and you need to ensure what you are doing is relevant, achievable, and has an end goal.

The first step is to think about what you want to achieve out of any marketing activity.  Why are you doing it, and what would be the ideal things to achieve?  Make them as realistic, relevant and specific as you can.

There are so many platforms, media, methods and ‘hot topics’ within marketing that you need to ensure that what you are planning to do is worthwhile and has the potential to make a difference.  Don’t take on something just because a lot of other people are doing it – if it’s not right then you could be wasting valuable resources that might work a lot better elsewhere.

Research is key here – what platforms/media fit your goals, your target audience, their usage/behaviour best?  What pushes them to take action and change their behaviour to what you want?  There are plenty of ways to do this through market research and statistics, but the easiest way is to just ask for yourself – if your market is accessible then get out there and ask the questions needed to work out what makes them tick.

A good way to think of engaging in marketing activity is to compare it to giving a lesson – a good coach will assess a player’s strengths and weaknesses, look at their goals and targets, and then work out a route to get them to that position, taking into account all of the internal and external factors that could come into play.

2. WEBSITES

Your website is truly your online hub – they can be so versatile and useful in a digital and connected world that optimising them should be a number 1 priority.

What do you want your website to do and say?  Working these things out enables you to direct your attention to the things that are most important for the end-user.  If you are a coach and you have a website to promote your services, then are what clubs someone uses the most important thing, or should things like your skills, experience, knowledge, and then booking/contact information be up the front?

If you use other platforms, for example, Social Media sites, or perhaps there are certain sponsors or facilities you are linked to, then you should be signposting these appropriately.

Once you know what your audience is after you can begin to tailor the site and its content to them.  Stats software such as Google Analytics can provide incredibly useful and actionable information that can help you look at who is viewing the site and where from.

Enterprising Professional coaches are even getting custom-designed websites built that allow their clients to login to an area that is just for them where they can see their lesson videos and key tips that are specific to them – the ultimate in specificity.

A website can also act as a great platform to host your content – you could write your blog in one section and then keep your photos in another gallery section, all whilst allowing you to share that information and have a living, breathing calling card for yourself or company.  Static websites no longer cut the mustard – the more you can keep the site fresh and new the more reasons people have to keep on returning.

3. SOCIAL MEDIA

Any platform on which a community or network of some kind is hosted can be considered Social Media.  There are a lot of platforms out there so it is important you know which ones [if any] are going to be useful for you and your audience.  There’s no point having an account on everything if no-one interacts with you there, plus it can be hard enough sometimes to stay on top of a few platforms, let alone lots of different ones!

Again you can use research to work out where your audience are and what platforms they use, and then you can begin to create and share content on there.  Share what you post on a blog or website and then look for like-minded brands/people/etc. and share what they come up with.  You can even look to share what your community/followers say and share – engaging in two-way conversation provides real value to someone using a platform.  It gives a brand or business an identity and personality that a person can build an affinity with.

As a brand your place on these platforms is often going to be met with caution.  Generally speaking, people are wary of mixing their communities with brands and marketing messages, however, it is something that is done.  Twitter for example is known for its users following their friends and their favourite brands, but the difference here is that brands have to work hard to gain the trust and interest of a user.  They are often speaking to consumers on the same level, using the same reference points and interests to communicate with them rather than blasting out automated marketing messages.

4. CONTENT

This is pretty much anything that you output that is consumable by an end user.  Nowadays this is mainly content that is produced online and shared in some way be it a blog post, and article, news item, video interview, or gallery of images (but it can also be more ‘traditional’ things like leaflets, newspaper articles, guides, etc.).

The creation and curation of content can be a very simple and very easy way of marketing something.  Creating your own content involves composing your own information, perhaps researching a subject, providing an opinion piece on something, or generating something brand new.  Curating is gathering content that already exists and then sharing it amongst others that could also find it interesting.

For example, you might want to generate some content for your website that details your opinion on a well-known player’s swing technique.  You could create a short blog post that explains your thoughts, which is then shared across your Social Media platforms.

But you might also want to show what research/articles you have read to inform your decision so you could bring together a series of links that would be useful for those wishing to find out more from elsewhere [like we have done with this article].  It shows your own content is well informed, it shows you want to help the reader even more, and it also alerts others to the fact that you are sharing their information (and they may even do the same thing for you!).

The key thing is to ensure you create and curate content that is relevant to those that are consuming it.

5. EMAIL

Marketing emails are something that is so commonplace in our digital lives that they are often overlooked as being achievable on a small scale, but that’s not really true especially considering how many different platforms there are [some of which are free!], and how easy they are to use with a variety of templates that can be matched to your tastes.

Successful email marketing comes from having a decent email database (remember it’s quality not quantity) and knowing what sort of information they want to receive.

The database is the easy bit – most Pros will have, or at least have access to, a database of their clients with email addresses and then some information about them.  Facilities with advanced systems may even have a database that includes much more about individuals, such as date of birth, brand preferences, sales records and more.  All of this information can be used to ‘tag’ and categorise contacts so you can create not just one overall database, but multiple sub-databases within it.  You can then leverage this information to your advantage.

For example, you might have a sale on in your facility’s shop – you could send one email showcasing male-orientated products to the males in the database, and female-orientated products to the females.  Or you could even go by brand preference and send everyone who likes ‘Brand X’ one email with the latest Brand X offers and those who prefer ‘Brand Y’ with the latest Brand Y offers.

This is something that seems time-consuming but really doesn’t have to be – again with the ease with which you can create emails in these modern systems you can create one email, copy it, and then just update the wording and imagery for another target audience.

Once you have the database down then the next step is to ensure what you put out there is useful for them – if they don’t like a certain brand (or at least haven’t said they have an affinity to it) then it’s probably not worth sending them offers when something else might work a lot better.

Or perhaps you want to send them a newsletter with a digest of information – tap into their interests and what they like to read about – and if you don’t know, then send the database an email asking for their preferences so what they receive is relevant to them!

Again the thing to get right here is relevancy – if something is not relevant, interesting or of use to the end user they will not give it any time.  Your email will either be deleted or added to the junk mail folder, and that’s assuming they don’t just go and unsubscribe in general.