SMART GOLF - PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF A SIMPLE, YET COMPREHENSIVE, APPROACH TO IMPROVING AND SCORING THE MENTAL GAME

Smart Golf is a comprehensive approach to improving and scoring the me ntal game in golf. The five components are preparation, positive focus ing (positive self-monitoring), plan, apply, and react. The acronym PA R summarizes the latter three components. A simple scoring system enco urages golfers to self-monitor their use of the Smart Golf approach. I n this preliminary evaluation of the efficacy of the approach, five ex perienced golfers (M years of playing = 17.8) participated in a 4-week seminar. Process measures indicated the extent to which participants used the approach. Outcome measures included golf scores at pre- and p ostintervention and at a 3-month follow-up. Psychological skills were also assessed at pre- and postintervention. Process analyses revealed that participants used the approach consistently during the seminar an d follow-up period. All participants improved two critical psychologic al skills (emotional control and positive self-talk) as well as their average scores (at postintervention) and handicaps (at follow-up).