Practical coaching guidance to help you communicate clearly, build confidence and create structured sessions that support learning and enjoyment.
Every golfer processes information, responds to their environment and approaches challenge differently. Intellectual impairment can affect conceptual, social and practical skills, but its impact varies from person to person and may change with familiarity, fatigue, anxiety or the complexity of the task. Learning may therefore be slower, different or uneven. The starting point is to look beyond labels and understand what helps the individual golfer communicate, participate, learn and succeed.
Consider spoken language, demonstrations, gestures, pictures, written prompts and the amount of language used at one time. With the golfer’s agreement, involve a parent, teacher or support person who knows how they communicate and can share useful communication cues.
Ask: How would you like me to explain or show the activity?
Some golfers benefit from one instruction at a time, repeated demonstrations, consistent language and opportunities to teach the task back.
Ask: Would it help to see that again or practise one step first?
A golfer may need time to become comfortable, may interpret social cues differently or may prefer predictable interaction.
Ask: Would you rather begin individually or with the group?
Reducing avoidable noise, organising equipment and defining a clear practice area can make the task easier to understand and complete.
Ask: Is there somewhere here where you would find it easier to focus?
Agree a simple way to pause, reset or change the task. Avoid interpreting distress as poor behaviour without first considering the cause.
Ask: What usually helps when something feels difficult or does not go to plan?
Presume competence. Make the task easier to understand without making the golfer feel younger, less capable or excluded from decisions.
Clear communication reduces uncertainty. Keep language respectful, concrete and connected to something the golfer can see or do.
Check whether the golfer is looking, listening or otherwise showing readiness.
Are you ready for the next step?
Use the golfer’s name, reduce competing noise and position yourself where communication is easiest.
Notice whether the golfer begins the intended action or appears uncertain.
What are you going to do first?
Use short, concrete phrases such as “aim at the blue flag” rather than abstract technical language.
Identify which visual cue the golfer follows most easily.
Would you like me to show you?
Demonstrate from the golfer’s viewpoint and use the same cue consistently.
Wait for the golfer to respond through speech, gesture or action.
Do you need more time?
Use silence deliberately and avoid answering for the golfer.
A clear beginning, middle and end helps the golfer understand what is happening now and what will happen next.
Break the activity into manageable parts, reinforce what works and change one variable at a time.
Identify the movement, target or routine the golfer can already complete.
Can you show me how you normally do this?
Add only the next useful step and retain familiar cues.
Check that the golfer knows where the ball should go and how success will be recognised.
Which target are you aiming for?
Use coloured zones, large targets, scoring games or simple choices.
Identify the action, decision or effort that contributed to the outcome.
What helped that shot?
Use feedback such as “you looked at the target, then started” or “your second try used the same routine”.
Watch the golfer attempt the task before adding further information.
Can you show me what comes next?
Invite the golfer to demonstrate or explain the task in their own way.
Use a simple process that gives the golfer time to settle, learn, practise and finish positively.
Pause and consider communication, pain, fatigue, anxiety, sensory overload, uncertainty or loss of routine before treating the response as non-compliance. Reduce the demand, restore predictability and seek guidance from the golfer or their support person.
Use these prompts to prepare for a session, respond to challenges and review what worked. They are practical starting points and should always be adapted to the individual golfer.
Use the golfer’s name and preferred terms. Avoid childish language, speaking unnecessarily loudly or discussing the golfer as though they are not present. Give genuine choices and allow the golfer sufficient time to answer.
Agree who will do what. A support person may explain established cues, routines and signs of distress, but the coach should continue to communicate directly with the golfer wherever possible.
Keep groups small and manageable, with sufficient support for every golfer. If demand is high, run several smaller sessions. Use visible stations, clear boundaries and short waiting times. Pair golfers thoughtfully, explain turn-taking and ensure that each golfer has an active role rather than remaining on the edge of the group.
Progress distance, target size, club selection, decision-making or environmental challenge separately. Retain a familiar routine so the golfer can recognise what has changed.
EDGA provides coach education workshops combining theory and practical training. Special Olympics also provides learning resources for coaches working with athletes with intellectual disabilities.
These stories show how different golfers experience communication, routine, anxiety, confidence and competition.
Watch Michelle share her experience of golf, communication and competition.
Focused practice, family support and a sense of belonging have helped Felix develop within golf.
Read Felix’s story →
Thomas explains how anxiety, social situations and emotional regulation can influence performance.
Read Thomas’s story →
Natasha describes golf as a place of confidence and calm while managing autism and auditory processing.
Read Natasha’s story →Contact EDGA for coach education, practical advice or support in creating an appropriate coaching environment.
