It’s Not All About Distance: Exploring Perceptions of Women’s Golf Performance

There has been substantial growth in women’s golf participation and exposure since 2019. As golf has tended to be a sport predominantly played by men, much of the research and coaching to enhance golf performance is based on insights from men and might not be applicable to women. It is unknown how women’s golf performance is defined, which may consequentially mean that women utilize different strategies to achieve these performance outcomes. The purpose of this study was to understand how golfers and coaches perceive women’s golf performance. The study sought to identify if age, handicap, or playing intent influenced perceptions of performance across women golfers. A sequential exploratory mixed methods research design in which identified themes from semistructured interviews were used to develop a questionnaire was employed (Supplementary Material [available online]). An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to identify themes from the interviews. Descriptive and chi-squared analysis statistics were used to identify if golfer demographics (age, handicap, and intent) significantly influenced performance definitions between questionnaire responses. The interviews revealed that golf performance was defined using outcome- (speed and distance) and process-oriented goals (smooth, rhythmic, and control). A greater emphasis was placed on process-oriented performance goals by the golfers compared with coaches. This finding was supported by the questionnaire, which found that women, regardless of handicap or intent, valued process-oriented performance goals over outcome-oriented goals. Findings suggest women have different performance outcomes than the traditional speed and distance metrics, which requires that future research, coaching practices, and equipment design account for different performance goals perceived for women golfers.