Psychosocial factors predicting the usage of technology by golfers

Abstract

Technology has become an important resource in sport that can help athletes improve their performance. However, the factors that predict the use of technology among athletes are unknown. In an effort to understand the current use of technology, we examined factors that impact technology use in sport. Human technology research in other domains suggests that an individual's trust in technology may be an important predictor of whether they use technology. Specific to sport, an athlete's use of a coach, self-regulated learning, skill level, playing experience, and gender may also influence their technology use. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine which factors predict golfers’ use of technology and, through a secondary analysis, to explore how predictive factors differed between athletes who used technology and/or a coach. A one-time survey that gathered demographic and golfing-specific (Skill Level, years of playing Experience) information, and measured technology use, coach use, trust in technology, and self-regulated learning was completed by 313 golfers. Logistic regression determined that golfers’ use of a coach, trust in technology, self-regulated learning, and skill level predicted their use of technology. Further, a two-way factorial analysis of variance demonstrated that there were differences in trust in technology, self-regulated learning, and skill level between golfers who did and did not use technology. The findings of this novel study create a foundation for future research in this area and are the first step in determining how athletes can best use technology in their training and competition.