The implications of golf instructors teaching golf fitness to clients

The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which golf instructors teach golf specific strength and conditioning skills to their clients for: increased golf performance; reduction of injuries associated with golf play; and to improve a client’s quality of life for longevity in the sport. The study described the history of golf, its evolution to the modern game and the current practices of golf instruction to identify the benefits of incorporating a golf fitness program into the teaching of golf instruction and training. ❧ This research study used the grounded theory to answer the two research questions. “Data in grounded theory studies can come from interviews, observations, and a wide variety of documentary materials (Merriam, 2009, p. 30). For this reason, the target number of participants for this study needed to be manageable for the researcher and the target number of contacts needed to be large enough to garner a decent sampling that was statistically significant. Seven golf instructors filled the sampling size in the study. ❧ Snowball sampling was employed for the purposes of this study. Merriam (1998, p. 61) stated that “purposeful sampling is based on the assumption that the investigator wants to discover, understand, and gain insight and therefore must select a sample from which the most can be learned.” The participants were Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) golf teaching professionals who work with clients to improve their golf performance with ages ranging from twenty two to seventy two years of age. To analyze the quantitative data, the constant comparative method of data analysis was incorporated. The overall object of this analysis was to identify patterns in the data. These patterns were arranged in relationship to each other in the building of a grounded theory.