Professional Golfers’ Perceptions of the Interacting Constraints on Putting During Competition

Background: Self-paced tasks, like putting in golf, are executed under interacting task, environmental, and individual constraints. Purpose: However, contextual constraints such as previous performance and score are often absent in research investigating these tasks. Study sample/research design: Thirteen tour professional golfers were interviewed about their experiences of adapting to constraints when putting in competitive golf. Data analysis: We adopted a deductive theory driven reflexive thematic analysis based on previous work on contextual constraints in self-paced sporting tasks. Results: We generated 18 sub-themes, which were categorised into four themes of task (e.g., pace control and proximity to hole), individual (e.g., pressure and self-expectations), environmental (e.g., green difficulty and weather conditions), and contextual constraints (e.g., consequences and performance). Conclusions: Findings give practitioners a unique insight into what professional golfers experience in competition, and we offer practical suggestions on how to best support golfers in performance environments.