Exploring Determinants and Overcoming Measures for Student Golf Players' Growth

This article aims to explore strategic ways to develop student golf players by examining various determinants for their growth. Individual in-depth interview was conducted with 8 student golf players who are enrolled in middle and high schools and belong to the Korean Middle and High School Golf Federation and 4 coaches. For the analysis of the collected qualitative data, inductive category analysis was conducted through repeated comparisons according to the procedures of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The result of this study revealed two primary themes such as 'factors influencing the growth of student golf players perceived by themselves' and 'factors influencing the growth of student golf players perceived by coaches’. Based on the primary themes, this study revealed key findings as follows. First, both student golf players and coaches commonly perceive emotional expression, positive interaction, and relationship formation as positive factors. Second, the common perception of coaches and student golf players was satisfaction through understanding and interest in training and skills. Third, the student golf players and coaches perceived anxiety about the competitions from different perspectives. Fourth, student golf players and coaches commonly perceived worries and tension about competition as negative factors hindering the growth of student golf players. In conclusion, this article is expected to provide fundamental information to develop a sports psychological skills training program helpful for student golf players in terms of promoting their growth.