How to coach mental training programs for golfers. Includes an overview of the PGA.Coach model, the Olympic influence and history of the ADM (American Development Model). Section 2 describes how to integrate mental skills training into coaching for peak performance.

1. COACHING
Mental Training
Programs
within the
PGA.Coach/ADM Model
Dr. Glen Albaugh, PhD
galbaugh@sbcglobal.net
Eric Jones, PGA, MA
ejones@ericjonesgolf.com

2. What is PGA.Coach?01
Model Breadth & Depth02
Core Coaching
Principles03
Olympic Influence04
Notable Events
Timeline05
Olympic Model Depth06
Section 1:
PGA.Coach
USOC Mental Skills
Quotes07

3. PGA.Coach
What is the model?
PGA.CoachisbasedontheADM
(AmericanDevelopment Model)
whichcomes fromtheUSOC
ADMprovidesboth aframework
andaprocess, whichhelps to
createboth acurriculumanda
structureforskilldevelopment
ADMeffectivenessproven by
Olympicathletesuccess and
medalcount
A more comprehensive, inclusive, and
systematic coaching paradigm, based on the
US Olympic Committee’s approach to long term
development and training of competitive
athletes.
Technical
Tactical
Psychological
Physical
CORE SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
PROGRESSION
3Jones & Albaugh 2020

4. PGA.Coach
Depth & Breadth
DEPTH
ADM expands coaching beyond
technique by adding tactical,
mental, and physical skill
development.
Different core skills are stressed at
specific stages of development.
and Psychological skills become
increasingly important at higher levels
play and competition.
The result is a more comprehensive
of the many different skills and
it takes to develop competitive and
term athletes.
BREADTH
ADM addresses athletes at all
stages, from the very youngest
beginners to the most seasoned
competitors, as well as golfers for
life.
The ADM is both a framework and a
process. There is a structure and a
system, for all ages and all abilities.
The result is a pathway of progression,
within which a curriculum can be
created for skill development that
leads to lifelong players.
what makes the ADM model effective is the
scope: both the depth and breadth
Sport Skills
Game IQ
Mindset Skills
Fitness &
Athleticism
4Jones & Albaugh 2020

5. PGA.Coach Key Principles
CURRICULUM
Early Years - Heavy
emphasis on fun –
70%-80%
Build solid
fundamentals over
time
Gradually introduce
competition
Progress to high level
level performance
skills
Curriculum is the Key
Key
Works with Adults too!
too!
AGE & SKILL BASED
QUALITY COACHING
Quality coaching
should be included at
each stage.
Instruction should be
tailored to the
individual’s age and
skill level – whether
juniors or adults.
Developathletes,not early
specialists
Provideage& skill
appropriatecoaching
QualityCoachingatallstages
Inclusivepathwayfor life
INCLUSIVE PATHWAY
Create opportunities
and access for all
Positive experiences
for all participants
5Jones & Albaugh 2020

6. Where Does ADM
Come From?
1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016
US 107 94 94 94 94 94 108 101 93 101 112 104 121
Russia 91 99 125 125 125 132 112 63 29 90 60 68 56
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Olympic Medal Count
*
* boycott
*
Inthelate60’s,Russia
overhauleditsentire
Olympictraining
system.They
consolidatedtraining
centers,revamped
theirathletetraining
protocols,and
formallytrainedtheir
bestathletestobe
coaches.
RussialedtheOlympic
medalcountthrough
the80’s.Thepeak
margincamein1988,
withtheSovietstaking
132medalsvs.theUS
at94.
Olympic Influence:1968-2016
USbeganitsown
reorganizationinthelate
70’s&80’s.HQwas
movedtoColorado
Springs,thebestcoaches
wererecruitedand
trained(includingSoviet
coaches),Sport
Psychologistswere
broughtintostudyand
enhanceperformance.
CanadapublisheditsLTAD
in2004,oneofthefirst
documenteddescriptions
ofacomprehensiveathlete
developmentprogram,
andforerunnertothe
ADM.
Althoughittooktime,the
USregained themedal
countleadinthe90’s.
6Jones & Albaugh 2020

7. 1976 1978 1985 1986 1988 1996 2003 2004 2009 2016 2017
1976: Russia tops
US Olympic medal
count 125 to 94
1978: USOC
moves HQ to
Colorado Springs
1985: AASP
(Sport Psych)
founded
1986: First Sport
Psychologist
hired by USOC
1988: Russia’s biggest
Olympic margin: 132
vs 94 US medals
2003: US Golfers peak
at 30mm, decline to
24mm by 2019
2004 - Canada
develops LTAD –
forerunner to ADM
2009: US Youth
Hockey adopts ADM,
sport up 20% by 2019
2016: Golf in Olympics.
PGA adopts Olympic
training model
2017: PGA rolls
out PGA.Coach
model
1996: USA passes
Russia medal
count, 101 to 63
Notable Events
Timeline: Olympics,
Associations, Stats 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016
US 107 94 94 94 94 94 108 101 93 101 112 104 121
Russia 91 99 125 125 125 132 112 63 29 90 60 68 56
-40
10
60
110
160 Olympic Medal Count
*
* boycott
*
2004: Dave Brailsford
Marginal Gains lifts
UK cycling from 2 to
8 golds
2014: Mark Broadie
Strokes Gained
2001: Shotlink
introduced on
PGA Tour. Stats
change practice
7Jones & Albaugh 2020

8. CORE SKILLS
Technical:SportSkills
Tactical:Game IQ
Psychological:MindsetSkills
Physical:Fitness&
Athleticism
OLYMPIC TRAINING
MODEL DEPTH
Coaches of the future will adapt their curriculum
to teach all four core skills
8Jones & Albaugh 2020

9. USOC Stress on
Mental Skills Focused
Confidence Skills
are Essential
“Sport is a physical
and mental challenge.
challenge. The ability
to maintain high levels
levels of
concentration, yet
remain relaxed with
the confidence to
succeed, is a skill
essential to long-term
term performance in
sport.”
Implement Mental
Training Programs
“Mental training
programs are critical to
high performance, as
dealing with success
and failure will
determine continuation
in the game and
physical activity,
dramatically affecting
both active lifestyle
and podium
performance.”
MentalTrainingPrograms
arecriticalto high
performance
Develop,implement,and
refinementalskills
trainingovertimefor
biggestimpact
Focus andConfidenceare
essentialskills
Mastery of
Competitive Mental
Strategies
“Mental training will
evolve from having fun,
to developing
fundamental techniques
such as relaxation,
visualization and positive
self-talk, to mastering the
mental challenges of
handling pressure in
increasingly difficult
competitive
environments. Ultimately,
the implementation and
refining of mental
strategies for high-level
competition will have a
large impact on podium
performances.”
US Olympic Committee Mental Skills
Quotes:
9Jones & Albaugh 2020

10. What are Performance Skills?11
The Shot Cycle12
Coaching for Performance
13
Case Study: Putting Drill16
Case Study: Diagnosis and
Coaching Questions17
Getting Started Suggestions18
Section 2:
Coaching
Performance
Skills
Spotlight on FOCUS14
Skill Dimensions & Attributes
15
Take Aways & Action Steps19
Resources20

11. What Are
Performance Skills?
PERFORMANCE
SKILLS
Cognitive(non-
physical)skills used
to executethe task
• Focus
• Commitment
• Trust
• Strategy
• Routines
• Confidence
• Resilience
• Managing Thoughts
• Managing Emotions
TECHNIQUES
Mentaltechniques
areusedto facilitate
a PerformanceSkill
• Relaxation Breathing
• Visualization
• Positive Self-Talk
• Centering
• Reframing
• Goal setting
• Attitude
• Self-Motivation
• Many more
Tactical
Psychological
PerformanceSkillsarepart
of PsychologicalandTactical
CoreSkills
Performanceskillsareallthe
executionskillsexceptthe
physicalswing The ultimate goal is for the player to
execute automatically, with trust and
confidence
11Jones & Albaugh 2020

12. PRE-
SWING
IN-
SWING
POST-
SWING
IN-
BETWEEN
Strategy
Focus
Intention
Trust
Commitment
Automaticity
Self-Coaching
Learning
Resilience
Recover
Re-Center
Refocus
Where Can You Coach
Performance Skills?
Performance Skills can be
coached at any point in the
cycle of a shot
shot cycle
12Jones & Albaugh

13. Coaching
Performance Skills
How do you teach performance
skills like Focus?
Understand the
Skill Variables
Understand the skill
yourself. Know the
dimensions and
attributes. That
allows you to zero
in on a particular
aspect.
As PGA Pros we
know how to play
at a high level.
Leverage your own
experience and
particular skills the
way you know best.
Teach performance skills the same way you teach swing skills. Start with the basics, set
goals to improve skills, and give them a plan to practice and measure progress.
Make it the
Central Point
Make the skill the
central point of
your coaching for
that specific part of
the session.
It’s easy to get side
tracked by the
results of the shot
or swing technique.
Resist the
temptation, and
guide the student
back to the
performance skill
using skill-specific
feedback questions.
Ask for
Feedback First
Ask the student to
report their
feedback first,
before providing
your feedback.
This process forces
the student to dig
internally for
answers, which
facilitates the
development self-
awareness. It is a
key step in helping
players understand
how to self-coach.
Teach Self-
Coaching with
Socratic
Teaching
Socratic teaching is
leading by asking
questions.
Socratic teaching
has the benefit of
leading the student
to self-discovery,
where they find the
best methods to
accomplish the
goal.
Encourage Self-
Discovery
Self-discovery is an
integral part of
developing self
awareness.
Observation, imitation,
and experimentation are
the oldest teaching
paradigms.
Give students permission
to experiment and fail. It’s
a normal part of learning.
Teach them to portion off
part of their practice just
for performance skills. The
end of the practice, or last13Jones & Albaugh

14. Dimensions Attributes Goals
Time Past, Future, or
Present
Ideal is Present time
focus
Intensity Low to High Ideal is lower between
shots, higher during
Scope Broad vs. Narrow Broad in-between shots,
narrow during shots
Direction Internal vs. External Internal to learn,
to execute
Orientation Task Specific vs.
General
Task specific for shots,
general for strategy
Type Normal vs. Optimal
vs. Total Focus
Optimal or total focus
a shot, normal in-
between
Spotlight on FOCUS
Definition and dimensions
Focus is starting a task and maintaining your
attention and effort until the task is complete,
doing one thing without distraction.
14Jones & Albaugh 2020

15. Dimensions
Time
Intensity
Scope
Direction
Duration
Degree
Orientation
Type
Skill Dimensions
& Attributes
Every Performance Skill has dimensions and
attributes similar to Focus. This provides endless
opportunities for coaching, as well as a system
to identify the most relevant skill aspect
Dimensionsandattributes
allowyou to pinpointareas
to prioritizefor skill
development
Theyalsoallowyou to
identifyexactlywhere
executionisbreakingdown
Performance
Skills
Focus
Commitment
Trust
Strategy
Clarity of Intent
Deliberate Practice
Routines
Confidence
Resilience
Thought Management
Emotion Management
15Jones & Albaugh 2020
Game
IQ
Mindset
Skills

16. EXAMPLE: Using
Putting drills to
coach Focus
The objective of the drill is to have the student
assess their ability to maintain undistracted
attention and effort on a single, specific task.
• We’ll use a 10-15 foot putt, though the
exercise can be applied to any swing.
• Although the activity is putting, the goal is to
stay focused on replicating the kinesthetic feel
of a stroke that generates the correct speed to
make the ball travel a set distance.
• This drill can also be coached remotely using
an online tool like Zoom
Any drillor shotcanbe used
to trainaperformanceskill
Performanceskillsarenot
all-or-nothing.Theyare
usuallysomepercentageof
100%
The Drill
1. To start, the student performs the routine
they normally use to develop a feel for the
distance. Typically that means several
rehearsal strokes, until they can “sense” the
correct feel
2. Once they have the feel, they execute the
stroke
3. Focus is directed to internal feedback to
evaluate how their actual putt “felt” relative
to their rehearsal (compare real to feel)
16Jones & Albaugh

17. EXAMPLE: Conducting
Lessons – Coaching
Questions
Coaching Questions
Seek feedback by asking questions after each stroke
stroke
• Ask for the student’s subjective rating of their ability to stay
to stay focused, using a subjective scale of 1-10, with 10
10 being 100% focused
• Ask if the real stroke felt the same as the rehearsal, or how
how it felt different, and what part of the stroke was
different
• Ask if there was any interference from thoughts or emotions
emotions
• If they were 100% focused on awareness of their feel
throughout the stroke, they score themselves high
Askfor feedbackfirst
Quantifyexecution with
subjectivescales
Theultimateobjectiveis
for theplayerto perform
automatically
Diagnosing
If, during the swing, the student’s focus wandered, ask
questions to identify the dimension or attribute that
caused the distraction. The most common distractions
might be:
1. Switching focus from feel to line (Direction)
2. Shifting awareness to technique (Orientation)
3. Giving themselves mental instructions (Scope)
4. Thinking about how the putt will affect their score (Time)
5. Nervous about making a correct stroke (Intensity)
17Jones & Albaugh 2020

18. How To Get Students
Engaged with
Performance Skills
 Find ways to communicate regularly
• email, newsletters, social media, podcasts
• Talk to students.Ask questions about their round
 Conduct assessments
• GolfTec: 25% of US lessons, $65 million revenue.Their
secret: Assessments +Curriculum
• Combines, surveys, personality tests
 Design your curriculum
 Defined lesson packages, small groups, recurring classes,
supervised practice
 Defined progression and pathway
 Build a Pre-Shot Routine with students
 Conduct playing lessons emphasizing execution
 Teach Students how to practice (block practice,
performance training, and execution practice)
 Recommend Resources: books, articles, videos,
training programs, etc.
In order for students to prioritize performance skills,
you’ll have to prioritize them as part of your regular
student interactions and coaching sessions
18Jones & Albaugh 2020

19. TAKE AWAYS
 The ADM is legit. Understand why the USOC
created the ADM, how it led to PGA. Coach, and
why it is a better model to help you, your
students, and your business
 PGA.Coach key program points: age & skill
appropriate coaching, quality coaching,
and pathway for life
 What are performance skills, what are mental
techniques, and where can they be integrated
into your coaching, particularly through a
curriculum
 Importance of self-coaching, switching flow of
information from player to coach through
questions
Action Steps
 Get PGA.Coach certified
 Integrate performance skills into your
coaching
 Develop your curriculum, leverage your areas
of strength to create a pathway
 Action Step: Develop ways to talk to your
students about other parts of the game in
addition to technique: assessments, emails,
newsletters, Instagram, clinics, webinars, etc.
Takeaways &
Action Steps
“Behind every great athlete, there’s been a great
coach. The great coaches don't just teach you
how to play the game: they help you play your
best game, discovering the endless possibilities
of performance within you”
19Jones & Albaugh 2020

20. Free
Resources
Dr. Glen Albaugh, PhD
galbaugh@sbcglobal.n
et
Eric Jones, PGA, MA
ejones@ericjonesgolf.c
om
thank youFree book Free book
To get your complimentary
Pro digital version of the
books, please email Eric
Clutch
Interviews
Clutch Assessment
Test
The Clutch Interviews and the Clutch
Test are available free to you and your
students at www.iGolfU.com
Please visit PGA.Coach
online to begin your
certification and gain access
to Apps, tools, and
resources
20Jones & Albaugh 2020