ABSTRACT
This chapter has challenged coaches and researchers to consider new perspectives when helping golfers refine already long-practised and well-established skills. It aims to review and critique three key dimensions to achieving successful skill refinement. They are firstly, the need for an interdisciplinary perspective towards player development; secondly the role of planning and the nature of the coach's decision-making processes; and thirdly the training programme required. In the following sections, implications and future research directions are offered for applied coaching practice in skill refinement. Addressing one crucial facilitator, and forming the focus of critique offered here, is the type of motor control required for long-term permanent and pressure-resistant outcomes. As identified earlier, the development of automaticity is a fundamental part of the skill acquisition process, resulting in the largely effortless, automatic, and efficient execution of movement. There are many advantages of automaticity when performing motor skills.
