Our Project

Cognitive Growth was founded in late 2021 as a research project focused on enhancing reasoning, risk analysis in golf, and decision-making processes.

Throughout 2022, the study progressively incorporated other cognitive domains, including attention, memory, perception, and coordination.

Led by Ali Berk Berker, who collaborated throughout this period, significant achievements began to emerge by the end of 2022. Between October 2022 and March 2023, these accomplishments included five victories, notably the Spanish Under-18 Championship, along with several top-10 finishes in competitions under the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

In parallel, in October 2022, a neuropsychological study of a professional golf player was initiated in collaboration with a neurorehabilitation center, a neuropsychologist, and a sports science graduate. This study lasted five months and involved analyzing the player’s cognitive abilities both in a lab setting and through a series of tests in the context of golf practice. The results were remarkable, showing a strong correlation between cognitive improvement and enhanced performance both in practice and competition.

In the spring of 2023, a series of trials were conducted regarding the development of the Alcaraz Test Battery with high-performance players, including a member of the Spanish national team. These trials also examined the relevance of mental calculation skills in competitive golf.

Once the final version of the Alcaraz Test Battery was completed, and thanks to the vision of their Head Coach Benjamin Schlichting, it was implemented between June 2023 and September 2024 with a small group of junior players from the Sant Leon-Rot Golf Academy in Germany. These players achieved multiple victories in World Amateur Golf Ranking tournaments, including the German Under-18 Championship in 2023 and 2024, both individually and as a team, as well as the Bundesliga in 2024.

Regarding the broader study, 2023 saw the publication of the book «Calculation Exercises for Golf Players and Caddies», which has been used by various golf federations in their high-performance programs. In 2024, the book «Golf and Neuropsychology» was published, serving as the foundational text for the course being presented here.

Finally, it is worth noting that the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, led by its Sports Director, Don Ignacio Gervás, was the first golf federation to receive training in this area and to implement it in their BLUME high-performance program.