Teaching Games for Understanding in Golf I. Game Form As a game, golf is classified as a target game. The fundamental goal of golf is to stroke (skill) a ball with a club (equipment) into a cup (target) in the fewest strokes possible. While the rules of golf provide for a unique game (e.g., playing field, equipment, specialised skills, etiquette), as a target game it shares similar strategic concepts found in other target games such as croquet, bowling, and pool. That is, the game is played by individuals (not teams) who make decisions regarding strategic ball placement, equipment selection, skills to be executed, playing conditions, psychological characteristics to be embraced and the like. II. Game Appreciation A game is defined by its' rules. Rules constrain the time and space in which a game is played, dictate scoring and penalty procedures, specify equipment and determine requisite skills. Before successful participation in a game, a player must understand the rules. The greater the understanding of the rules, the more options a player has available in playing the game and the less chance the player will inadvertently violate the rules and incur penalties. III. Tactical Awareness With an understanding of the rules, the player then begins to determine the tactics to be used in playing the game. In golf, this normally involves making decisions that will place the ball into the hole in the fewest possible strokes while avoiding penalties. Such decisions lead to further decisions that will put the ball closest to the hole with the best lie and angle for subsequent shots. Risk and reward become significant factors in making these decisions as does a player's knowledge, skill and confidence. IV. Decision Making In making decisions to execute the desired strategy as determined by the previous step, a player must answer two questions: a. What do I do? While there are common strategies in any game (e.g., hit the ball into the fairway as long and straight as possible), conditions continually change (e.g., there is a strong wind blowing left to right across a short, narrow fairway with water on the right). In deciding what to do, each situation needs to be assessed. The ability to recognise important situational cues and predict possible outcomes is, therefore, of great importance for a player. b. How do I do it? Once the decision is made as to what is to be done, the decision remains as to the best way to do it. The selection of an appropriate response is critical. In the situation above a possible response would be to play

the shot low with a draw, moving the ball from right to left that would keep it more or less straight in the wind and away from the water, letting the ball roll down the short fairway. V. Skill Execution Skill execution is the actual production of the required movement to meet the decisions made above. Skill execution includes both the mechanical efficiency of the movement, its' relevance to the particular game situation, and the abilities of the player. The skill should always be viewed for its appropriateness to both the situation and player. In any given situation, one shot might be appropriate for Tiger Woods and an entirely different shot would be appropriate for somebody else, as we are all different players. The more skills a player can develop under more situations, the better they are able to meet the final phase of this model. VI. Performance This is the observed outcome of the previous processes measured against criteria that are independent of the learner. This is the actual game or tournament round. It is within this phase of a model that a player can be determined as strong or weak as it is a measure of both the appropriateness of their responses (tactical decisions) and efficiency of their technique (skill level).