The Journal of Applied Sport Psychology will be publishing a report by Dr. Paul Freeman (University of Exeter) illustrating performance improvements elicited via social support.
…including listening to the golfers as they talked through their problems, offering encouragement and reassurance before competitions, and helping with practical issues, such as organising accommodation during competitions.
The average score improved 1.78 shots in a round so it wasn’t exactly night and day improvement. The sample size: 3 golfers; not exactly a deep study. But it does trend in line with other studies that have shown that people do better when encouraged. Go figure!










