Men's golf tries scientific approach

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – He didn't sink a lengthy putt to win the 2019 American Athletic Conference men's golf championship or post three rounds in the 60s to help the University of Memphis to its first league title seven years.

Yet, Daniel Greenwood received a championship ring from Tigers golf coach Blake Smart

Although he wasn't a member of the UofM golf program, Greenwood was an integral part of the team's success, lending expertise as beneficial as a perfectly struck approach to a well-bunkered green.

Greenwood – as in Dr. Daniel Greenwood – is the Human Performance Center Director for the UofM School of Health Studies. During the 2018-19 season, he lent his sports science skills to Smart's team and the results spoke rather loudly for themselves. The Tigers won the AAC championship by an impressive 12 strokes and earned their first NCAA regional trip since 2016.

The process Greenwood used was simple, direct and effective. The golfers evaluated themselves in multiple categories, from their sleeping and eating habits to their mental approach to a competitive round.

Smart and UofM assistant Will Pearson detailed for Greenwood what they were seeking, including more consistency over the three rounds of a typical college golf event. Greenwood, who spent 15 years mentoring Australian Olympic athletes, responded with a workable plan.

Greenwood said the difference between winning and losing -- and from being the 80^th-ranked team in the nation or the 30^th-ranked team -- "is not a skill-set problem; it's an execution problem."

"The reality is they weren't getting enough out of their training," Greenwood said. "In golf, it's process driven."

So Greenwood sent the team a brief survey at the same time each day. The golfers were asked to respond to a variety of questions, from: `Did I physically warm up for training? Did I mentally warm up for training? Did I have a goal for my (practice) session? Did I achieve my goal for my session? Am I aware of my limitations on the golf course?' "

Smart said interaction with Greenwood played heavily into the team's late-season success.

"He came to a head coaches meeting late in the fall of last season (2018-19)," Smart said. "He introduced himself to the coaches as a resource. I followed up with him and we started working together early in the spring (of 2019) semester."

Smart met Greenwood at a coffee shop after Greenwood spoke with the athletic department's head coaches. Working with Greenwood intrigued Smart.

"When he came over as a sport scientist and offered up potential resources, I made it a pretty quick priority to talk with him," Smart said. "That evolved into the projects we took on with him."

While it was a different approach to reach his team, Smart said some of his golfers seemed as interested as he was. Nick Giles, a senior from Germantown, admitted he welcomed a different voice and the surveys.

"I was probably as excited as anyone," Giles said. "I really embrace the mental side of the game. So I was looking forward to what he had to offer. He is such an expert. I thought for sure he would bring something good to the table and he really did."

Giles said Greenwood made the golfers "reflect on their daily goals."

"He touched on how we were preparing in every aspect of the game, from sleep, nutrition, hydration, warm-up," Giles said. "We had to give ourselves a rating. We had to be honest with ourselves and know where we were at and how we were going to improve."

Smart came from the University of Oklahoma, where he said athletics had "three or four or five" psychologists at their disposal, but often weren't utilized "out of ignorance or fear or the unknown."

"I think checking all the (available) boxes is something we are going to have to continue to do as A) a recruiting tool and B) for the current guys to maximize their performance," he said. "But I was all in after (Greenwood) spoke to the coaches."

Smart said the players were given questions to answer about themselves and their preparation for two weeks so enough data could be collected.

"At the start of the (surveys) I would say 20 percent of my guys woke up with some idea of what they were going to do every day," Smart said. "By the end of the project, I got some hard data and was able to have (productive) one-on-one meetings with guys.

"To be honest, I credit (those surveys) during those two weeks with us winning the conference championship. I really think that after (taking the surveys), guys were much more focused and woke up every day a lot more intentional about what we were trying to do."

Greenwood brings an impressive background to the department.

"The human performance center, we are situated within the school of health studies," Greenwood said. "And the role of the center, mainly, is to work with the Tiger athletes, essentially bridging the gap between the sport science and the needs of Tiger athletics coaches and athletes."

Before coming to Memphis, Greenwood worked with Olympic athletes in Australia. He came to the U.S. to apply the same sports science approach with Tiger athletes.

"I've basically been spending time with all the coaches across campus and finding what their needs are and where their gaps are for their athletes and where they think sports science can help them," Greenwood said. "We put together little projects based on what they are trying to achieve."

Giles said had he been introduced to the program as a junior golfer, he would be "way ahead of the game." It's an observation with which Smart concurs.

"I'm 39 years old," Smart said. "And I'm still grinding trying to figure this stuff out. If you are starting to grasp it at 20 years old, you've got a chance to really be successful in life – as a friend, a husband, an employee or a boss. At 20 years old you're getting hold of some information that's pretty powerful."

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