For a number of years now, our National Golf Team has followed Yearly Training Plans and over the past few years at the British Columbia Golf Association, I have been introducing this concept to our High-Performance Provincial Players.  Periodization is another term used to describe this idea of organizing training phases in an overall plan.

Now the above prescribed planning period belongs with the serious competitive athlete, however I would highly recommend that those of you that are putting together a season of playing tournaments, consider a SEASONAL TRAINGING PLAN.  This would consist of six months starting in mid-March and ending in mid-September.

Out of the four periods in a Yearly Training Plan, we utilize two in a Seasonal Plan as follows:

1. Pre-Competitive Season – March 15 – April 30
2. Competitive Season – May 1 – September 15 
3. Post-Competitive Season – September 16 – October 31
4. Off Season – November 1 – December 31

Regarding the PRE-COMPETITIVE SEASON, there are a number of things to get organized in this phase.  If you are serious about achieving your performance goals in the next phase, then I highly suggest that you elicit assistance with this PCS phase.  Your first priority is to put together your personal team of professionals to support your performance goals!  Let’s look at a Player Development Model to see who should be on your team:

Equipment

It is important to utilize a Golf Professional, certified as a Club Fitter, to check your equipment.  Request an evaluation to see if your equipment best suites your needs and your game.

Physical Conditioning

The functionality of the body required to perform a repeatable golf swing, that takes place in less than a second, is a “no-brainer”.  The aerobic fitness or endurance factor is significant considering the amount of concentration/focus needed over the 4 ½ hours of performance.  The number of compensations a player can produce due to poor posture, stability, mobility, strength or power is a serious deterrent to consistent golf.  Hire a golf-specific Personal Trainer or if that is not in the budget of time or money, a Golf Pro that has been TPI Certified!

Nutrition

How you fuel your body has a direct relationship on performance.  Eating and drinking properly prior, during and after competition will pay dividends to your success on the golf course.  There are a number of free websites with loads of information, I recommend www.sportmedbc.com and www.cscpacific.ca.  If you want to go platinum, hire a Nutritionist!

Mental/Emotional

I believe this is the area in golf that is lagging behind.  We do not have many local professionals serving as golf-specific specialists.  However, there are wonderful resources out there via experienced Golf Professionals, Vision54 is an excellent one… www.vision54.com.

Skills: Basic, Shot-Making and Course Management

Hire a Teaching Professional or Golf Coach, not all are “built the same” so go ahead an interview them!  If they cannot provide what you want, shop around.

Okay, so you have your team.  What else?

Here are some categories and tasks to be completed during the PRE-COMPETITIVE SEASON:

Administration

• Make any necessary equipment changes
• Complete Goal Setting
• Prepare budget and planning for competitive season
• Establish coaching objectives, coaching schedule and practice
• Complete tournament schedule and submit entry forms

Training

• Complete Physical Screen or Biomechanical Assessment
• Start “Removing Limitations” phase in your fitness routine
• Review fundamentals with your Teacher/Coach
• Build purposeful practice regime for all skills
• Discover exact carry yardages for all clubs

Play

• Focus on non-competitive “discovery” golf
• Capture performance with statistical analysis tool

There is an old saying, “Your life can’t go according to plan if you have no plan.”  Well the same goes for golf.  Essentially, you will never reach your destination unless you first have a plan.  So go ahead, map out your road to success, build your team and demand accountability to support your performance goals.  I wish you the best on this journey called Golf 2012.

Jody Jackson is a professional Golf Coach at Highland Pacific Golf in Victoria and the BC Provincial Coach.  She has been teaching and coaching golf since 1999 and has several Zone, Provincial, National and International coaching accomplishments.  She has a variety of instructional, coaching and golf school opportunities, for more information go to www.jodyjacksongolf.com.