A longitudinal phenomenological analysis of coping effectiveness among Scottish international adolescent golfers

The aim of this study was to explore coping effectiveness among international golfers. Five Scottish international adolescent golfers (mean age 16.6 years, s = 0.6) maintained daily coping effectiveness diaries over a 28‐day period during their competitive season. Data were thematically analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (Smith & Osborn, 2003). The participants reported 56 effective coping strategies and 23 ineffective coping strategies. The unique finding from this study is that the same coping strategies were often rated as being both effective and ineffective, even when they were employed to manage the same stressor. This suggests that the goodness‐of‐fit approach and the choice of coping strategy theories may not be adequate explanations of coping effectiveness. Applied practitioners working with golfers are encouraged to teach their clients a variety of coping strategies, which should be deployed in combination.