Why this conference was important

Over the past two decades there has been a dramatic increase in the number of sport psychologists working in golf. Motivation, confidence, concentration and handling pressure are all familiar terms when we talk about getting the best out of the players we work with. This conference brought together internationally renowned speakers who  simplified the mental game.

 

 

 

Peter Mattsson is the Director of Coaching at the English Golf Union. He has coached Swedish teams and individual players at European and World Amateur Championships, at the World Cup, and on the men's and women's professional tours. Peter holds a BEd in physical education and is enrolled in doctoral studies at the University of Orebro in Sweden. He has also published a number of books including 'Golf, Steps to Success'. Peter was previously on the board of the Swedish Sports Psychology Association and has served on the steering committee of the Swedish PGA Teacher Education. He has presented internationally at the Golf Magazine's Top 100 Golf Instructors Teaching Summit, and at the European PGA Teaching and Coaching Conference. He has also presented for the Finnish Golf Union, and the Danish, German and Dutch PGA's.

 

Joan L. Duda, originally from the United States, is a Professor of Sports Psychology at The University of Birmingham, UK. She has been a mental skills / performance excellence consultant for over 20 years, working with athletes and coaches at the recreational and youth levels as well as with Olympic and professional-level performers. Joan is widely published and internationally known for her research on motivational processes in sport and exercise. In partnership with the PGA, she developed the sport psychology component of the current Applied Golf Management Studies degree programme.

 

Aidan Moran is a Professor of Cognitive Psychology at University College, Dublin, and a consultant to some of Ireland's leading professional golfers. A Fulbright scholar and former Olympic Team Psychologist, he is Editor-in-Chief of the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. He has published nine books (most recently, Pure Sport: Practical Sport Psychology, with John Kremer; Routledge, 2008), two self-help audiotapes (including The Pressure Putt: Doing Your Best When It Matters Most in Golf) and many papers in scientific Journals on concentration and imagery processes in athletes.

 

Allison Dyer is a chartered and accredited sport psychologist, and is the resident sport psychologist for the PGA EuroPro Tour. She also works with numerous Challenge and European Tour golfers. Allison's reputation as one of the leading golf-specific psychologists in the country has grown following a variety of successes from the numerous golfers she works with. Her passion for her subject is contagious and she has an ability to translate evidence-based psychological research into real and meaningful terms. Her wealth of hands-on applied experience was a valuable contribution to the conference.