Many sports create a distinction between individual game and group game. In fact even at the Olympic Games there is a provision to have different rules and regulations that govern each type of participant depending on whether they are competing as a group or they are competing as individuals. Each of these disciplines requires different skills and attitudes.
We will explore some of the differences in approach using the specific case of golf for illustrative purposes. It is not meant to be a comparison between the different types of sport or an expression of a preference over one type. Rather it is just an observation of what actually happens when people play as a group when compared to when they play as individuals.
Working as a team in golf
Team work is never easy. The collaborative nature of the undertaking means that the mindset goes away from the individualist tendencies that were harnessed before. Some people can switch between the different disciplines but likewise many just can’t cope and end up specializing on one or the other depending on the circumstances at the time. In group sports you are relying on other people to do their duty as well as you expect and as well as you do your own so that you can overcome the task that is ahead of you. The ability to effectively rely on other people is a skill that might even require extensive training in order to master.
Many people cannot just fathom the possibility that they will not be able to accomplish everything unless they trust their colleagues implicitly to accomplish the tasks that have been set. The area of conflict management is also one that is fraught with difficulties particularly if the golf players come from different backgrounds. The egos that go into creating a winning formula have to have to be harnessed in such a way as to promote the overall good of the team. No one member can be allowed to own the team or to dictate all the proceedings that need to be carried out. Working in a golf team means that you go out of your way to recognize the individual talents and abilities of even the least members of the team because these abilities are crucial to compensating for the general weaknesses within the team.
It also takes some people plenty of practice before they can realize the need to take ownership of both success and failure in a group tournament situation. When you are playing golf a team, the ability to win the game depends on the cumulative efforts of the individual members. Likewise the propensity to lose is related to the ability of each individual member not to undertake their responsibilities effectively. When failure occurs there might be a tendency for some members to say that they did their work well but were let down by the rest of the team. This is the kind of attitude that can take the fun away from golf. The coach will need to move people away from their individual egos to a collective spirit.
