ABSTRACT

This chapter reviews the skill acquisition in high-performance sports outlined the need for a more systematic approach to designing and measuring the characteristics of practice environments, along with an evaluation of their long-term efficacy. Although the golf science literature represents a rapidly growing field, limited work exists with respect to optimal practice design. The chapter also provides a summary of the skill acquisition literature to directly inform the creation of efficient and effective learning environments for players. It summarizes the information from both the golf-specific and general sport literature under the five components. The five components are specificity, progression, overload, reversibility and movement variability/practice variety. Existing empirical evidence is provided to support how these practice environments can be systematically manipulated over time, based on information relating to the player responses, thereby potentially improving the quality of skill acquisition and refinement.