The Relationship between Sports Participation History and Golf-Related General Physical Skills of Collegiate Golfers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify if there were initial differences between NCAA Division III male and female collegiate golfers who were early specialists (n=5) and those who were sports samplers (n=10) in the overall proficiency in golf-related physical skills, as measured by the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) golf-specific functional movement screening (GSFMS), and also to identify if there were differences in extent of improvement in golf-related general physical skills, after a targeted training program that addressed areas of weakness. The study used a convenience sample and combined aspects of different experimental designs, namely causal comparative and quasi-experimental pretest-posttest nonequivalent group elements. There was no significant difference between the mean GSFMS scores prior to the training program between sports samplers (Mean = 12.50, SD = 5.60) and early specialists (Mean = 11.20, SD = 4.32) [t(13) = .45, p =.66]. There was no significant difference between the mean gain GSFMS scores between sports samplers (Mean = 3.30, SD = 2.45) and early specialists (Mean = 4.40, SD = 2.70) [t(13) = .79, p =.44]. The experimental design used in this study provides the potential for further research in this area. Results suggest that the GSFMS can be used in a virtual environment to assess physical skills and to guide training. Further academic work needs to be done to improve the understanding of these concepts in the context of competitive golf and to guide decision making about the specialization of young athletes.