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Citation for published version: Shapcott, S & Carr, S 2020, 'Golf Coaches’ Mindsets About Recreational Golfers: Gendered Golf Experiences Start on the Practice Tee.', Motivation Science, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 275-284. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000154 DOI: 10.1037/mot0000154 Publication date: 2020 Document Version Peer reviewed version Link to publication Publisher Rights Unspecified ©American Psychological Association, 2019. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/mot0000154 University of Bath Alternative formats If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact: [email protected] General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 29. Sep. 2021 Motivation Science Golf Coaches’ Mindsets About Recreational Golfers: Gendered Golf Experiences Start on the Practice Tee Susan Shapcott and Sam Carr Online First Publication, July 18, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/mot0000154 CITATION Shapcott, S., & Carr, S. (2019, July 18). Golf Coaches’ Mindsets About Recreational Golfers: Gendered Golf Experiences Start on the Practice Tee. Motivation Science. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/mot0000154 Motivation Science © 2019 American Psychological Association 2019, Vol. 1, No. 999, 000 2333-8113/19/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/mot0000154 Golf Coaches’ Mindsets About Recreational Golfers: Gendered Golf Experiences Start on the Practice Tee Susan Shapcott and Sam Carr University of Bath Gender gaps in golf participation persist. Women make up less than 20% of golf’s population in the United Kingdom and United States. Their underrepresentation detri- mentally impacts the golf industry, society, and women who are excluded from golf’s well-documented benefits. This article connects theoretical constructs from motiva- tional psychology with issues of gender discrimination in golf. In this article we examine the relationship between golf coaches’ perceptions of recreational women golfers (their mindsets) and women golfers’ coaching experience. Specifically, two studies identified that (a) golf coaches reported more of a growth mindset about men golfers compared to women golfers, (b) that these mindsets were significantly related to the adaptiveness of coaches’ feedback, and (c) that growth mindsets about women golfers’ ability can potentially be fostered through experimental manipulation. Results are discussed in the relation to their significance for addressing gender gaps in adult recreational golf participation. Keywords: coaches’ mindset, gender, recreational sports participation Donald Trump told USA Today (DiMeglio, fessional Golfers’ Association of America, 2015), “I’ve done deals on the golf course that 2014). I would have never made at a lunch or a series Unfortunately, golf has a persistently large of lunches.” The relationship between golf, gender differential in relation to its participation power, and business is recognized so broadly rates that minimizes women’s access to golf- that it is becoming customary practice for busi- associated power networks (Reis & Correia, ness schools to offer golf classes in the curric- 2013). In golf’s core markets, women make up ulum alongside accounting, entrepreneurship, only 15–20% of the golfing population (Na- and marketing (Michigan State University, tional Golf Foundation, 2014; Sport England, 2015; Purdue University, 2016). It is unsurpris- 2014). Arguably, how women fare in golf pro- ing, therefore, that while only 7.8% of the vides insight into a powerful subculture of in- American general population plays golf (Na- fluence that has, until recently, been a sphere tional Golf Foundation, 2017), an estimated reserved almost exclusively for men (Stempel, 90% of American Fortune 500 CEO’s do (Pro- 2006). The underrepresentation of women golf- ers parallels women’s underrepresentation in other male-dominated industries, professional This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. organizations, and corporate boardrooms (Bron- This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. stein & Fitzpatrick, 2015; Hideg & Ferris, 2016; X Susan Shapcott and Sam Carr, Department of Educa- Myers & Fealing, 2012; Tsang, Wijeysundera, tion, University of Bath. Alter, Zhang, & Ko, 2011). Therefore, given the Information about obtaining data and materials underly- ing this article can be found at Shapcott, S. (2019, May 8). status and symbolism of playing golf, reducing Golf coaches’ mindsets about recreational golfers: Gen- the underrepresentation of women players dered golf experiences start on the prractice tee. Retrieved serves an economic, social, and political pur- from osf.io/zegt9. pose (Pomfret & Wilson, 2011). Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Susan Shapcott, who is now at Department of Kinesiology, In addition to its economic advantages, golf University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706. E-mail: also offers lifelong health and social benefits [email protected] (Farahmand, Broman, de Faire, Vågerö, & Ahl- 1 2 SHAPCOTT AND CARR bom, 2009; Gao, Hui-Chan, & Tsang, 2011; grams (International Golf Federation, 2013, Kyle & Chick, 2004; Murray et al., 2017; Park- 2017; North, 2007; Pennington, 2011). The suc- kari et al., 2000; Siegenthaler & O’Dell, 2003; cess of this strategy, however, depends on the Stenner, Mosewich, & Buckley, 2016; Zunzer, effectiveness of the golf coaches delivering von Duvillard, Tschakert, Mangus, & Hofmann, such programs to women. One concern is the 2013) and has relatively few physical barriers coaching culture. Golf coaches in the United that prevent participation (McGinnis, McQuil- States and United Kingdom are over 95% men lan, & Chapple, 2005). Therefore, it is unsur- (N. Henderson, personal communication, Octo- prising that golf is in high latent demand for ber 7, 2014; Z. Kendall, personal communica- many women who want to participate in a sport tion, January 8, 2015; see Walker & Bopp, that can advance their careers, promote physical 2010; Wallace & Kay, 2012) and embedded in activity, and facilitate social networks (National a culture rife with negative stereotypes about Golf Foundation, 2014; Sport England, 2014; women golfers (McGinnis et al., 2008; Reis & Syngenta, 2014). Correia, 2013). The present study critically ex- amines this coaching workforce by exploring coaches’ theories of others’ golf ability (their The Gendered Nature of Golf mindset about others’ ability) and how they When women take up golf, 54% of recre- manifest in coaching practice. ational players (who play for enjoyment, not competition) give up the game within five years Mindsets (Beditz, 2006). This high attrition rate suggests that the golf experience reduces women’s mo- In this study we use Dweck’s mindset theory tivation to play. A male-dominated culture to frame the experiences of women in golf. In (Morgan & Martin, 2006) is also reflected in the 1988, Dweck and Leggett published a seminal contemporary golf experience (McGinnis, Gen- paper that continues to guide researchers inves- try, & McQuillan, 2008; Shapcott, 2011). Al- tigating how mindsets about intelligence, or though clubs with overtly discriminating play- ability, influence behavior and motivation. In ing policies are now a small minority, the early studies, Dweck and Leggett (1988) found game’s history manifests itself in the contem- that children endorsing a fixed mindset toward porary golf experience for women (BBC Sport, intelligence—those who perceived intelligence 2014, 2014a, 2016, 2016a; Hundley, 2004; as a fixed, innate trait, demonstrated maladap- Nickerson, 1987). For example, the golf culture tive learning behavior (Dweck, 2007; Li & is full of negative stereotypes about women Xiang, 2007). (McGinnis et al., 2008), and women are fre- In contrast, children with a growth mindset— quently targets of jokes and discriminatory who perceived intelligence as a malleable com- treatment at golf facilities (McGinnis et al., modity—were more likely to engage in adap- 2005). The cumulative effect of golf’s history, tive learning behavior. For these children, their policies and experiences diminishes women’s level of intelligence was dependent on what sense of belonging in golf, and subsequently they did to increase it. Endorsing a growth their retention in relation to participation (see mindset, regardless of domain, appears to be Good, Rattan, & Dweck, 2012). beneficial to one’s motivation, learning strate- This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. gies, and performance (Heslin & Vandewalle, This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. 2011; Hui, Bond, & Molden, 2012; Job, Wal- How the Golf Industry Is Addressing ton, Bernecker, & Dweck, 2015; Knee, Patrick, Women’s