SPORTS SCIENCE IN MEDICINE

PHYSIOLOGICAL SUPPORTWITHIN WOMEN’S ELITE AMATEUR GOLF

By Clare Pheasey

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF GOLF In order to provide effective physiological support, a thorough understanding of the physiological demands of golf was need- ed. However a review of the literature showed a shortfall in research as it had focused predominantly on technical analysis, equipment, sport psychology (frequently stress management techniques and imagery) and sports medicine (predominantly the aetiology and preven- tion of golf injuries). Those researchers who had studied the physiological aspects of golf performance all consistently observed a need for moderate to high levels of cardio-respiratory fitness (1-5).

Importantly, many of these authors agreed with the observations of Draovitch and Westcott (1) who noted that a well conditioned body can produce more powerful and coordinated swinging actions that result in longer and better placed drives, whilst higher levels of fitness also reduce recovery time, thereby letting golfers practice more frequently. These authors also concluded that golfers are likely to suffer from a performance decrement unless they have moderately high cardio-respiratory fitness. However unfortunately playing golf is not the best means for getting into better cardiovascular shape. Golfers therefore must be advised to include additional cardiovascular training into their training week programme.

10 Old Course, at St Andrews.

The English Ladies’ Golf Association (ELGA) was formed in 1952. Before that golf in England came under the jurisdiction of the Ladies’ Golf Union. In 1982 the ELGA Trust Fund was formed to provide girls with financial assistance for the purchase of essential equipment, the cost of coaching and competing in championships. In 1999, ELGA was awarded World Class Performance funding from Sport England to develop both participation and excellence within the sport. Over the next 8 years ELGA created a number of successful support structures to enhance golf perfor-

PHYSIOLOGICAL SUPPORT PROVISION As golf is a summer sport in this country, British amateur golfers use the winter months to improve their fitness levels. With this in mind, a periodised training plan was designed to capitalise on a golfer’s availability in the winter months and ensure appropriate preparation for competition in the spring/summer (illustrated in Table 1).

Initial physiological support involved individual field-based fitness testing (test battery included: anthropometric measures; resting heart rate and blood

pressure; handgrip dynamometry, the sit and reach test; and the Harvard step test) and training advice, at autumn training weekends across the country. Over time, this support has been tailored to enhance both its effectiveness (in terms of adherence to the fitness training programmes devised) and its compatibili- ty with the ongoing sports medicine support (biannual musculo-skeletal profiling with a chartered physiotherapist assessing: joint mobility; muscle mobility; neural mobility; stability of the spine and shoulder girdle and muscle strength).

These modifications have ensured that the sportEX medicine 2008;35(Jan):10-12

INTRODUCTION Golf is a very old sport whose exact origins are unclear. Whilst debate around the origin of this sport centres around a number of countries including China, Holland and Scotland, the most accepted theory is that this sport originated from Scotland in the 1100s (www.abc-of-golf.com/golf-basics/golf-history.asp). In 1894, the Ladies’ Golf Union of Great Britain organised the first British Ladies Golf Championship, an all-amateur tournament. The first three championships were won by Lady Margaret Scott, with British women continuing to dominate the tournament until 1927, when Thion de la Chaume of France won the championship. To date the tournament has remained an amateur event and is now known as the British Ladies Amateur Championship. Over the years there have been developments in all aspects of the women’s game. None more prestigious than this summer’s Women’s British Open Championship which became the first women’s

professional championship to be played at the “home of golf” on the