Breathing for Better Golf

Breathing is the essence of life and a vital part of maintaining composure, clarity and creativeness on a golf course. Sufficient oxygen is crucial for your muscles, brain, lungs and heart to work efficiently, especially to work together in situations that involve stress or extra pressure. Remember the times when you have been short of breath because of some physical exertion and how hard it was to concentrate on what you wanted to accomplish. It is even difficult to focus clearly on something even when you are breathing "normally." On the other hand, there are ways to breathe that enable you to not only relax physically, but to really excel at staying focused, clear and imaginative.

Deep breathing has long been a fundamental discipline of masters, be they yogis or competitive archers. It has been practiced for thousands of years as a way to calm and balance the internal life forces that determine our vitality and clarity of mind. Now think golf! How many times during a round of golf could you have benefited from a quieter heart? How much easier is it to putt a four footer when your mind is clear and your body calm?

Practice breathing. Not, everyday, ordinary autonomic breathing, but a purposeful and conscious act; deep, even, easy and thorough. Find a rhythm and pace for inhaling and exhaling. Make sure that you feel your breathing is connected to the lower portions of your abdomen. The yogis refer to this as breathing from a "soft- belly." In this way, you connect the three vital neurological centers in your solar plexus, heart and brain. The simple and immediate effect of this measured breathing is increased clarity of focus, a relaxed and responsive physical body and a greater chance to imagine and visualize your next shot.

Below, I have provided a slideshow of golf course photos for you to practice your even-paced breathing; inhale during one scene and exhale during the next. Remember - easy, even and deep. Find your own rhythm. These slides are set at a fairly typical breathing rate, yours might be easier at a different pace.

Notice that in timing your breathing to the slideshow, there are many moments that you were thinking of nothing else but your breathing. The same experience happens on a golf course, creating moments where you not only relax your body with breathing, but you also shift your focus onto something other than the last shot.


My thanks to Wayne Freedman, the San Francisco ABC news reporter for the terrific pics. All Rights Reserved. To stay updated to his ever growing collection of golf course photos, visit his site:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/channel?section=news/sports/pro/golf&id=5837624

First Tee Jitters

Preparing to launch this new site, I have been aware of a certain anxiousness about posting for the first time. Being a newcomer to the blogosphere, I am feeling awkward about standing up here, in front of the world, club, I mean keyboard, in hand.

How perfect! My first topic was going to be "first tee jitters"! As a mental game coach, I am often listening to stories describing intense and unnerving fear taking hold of players as they start their rounds, especially when the 1st tee gallery is larger than usual. For many of us, standing on the tee box waiting to start our rounds can be a wild mixture of thoughts and feelings such as; "can I hit the ball as far as the first two long-ball smackers?," "will I wiff it into the water on the right?," "who are those people watching over there?" Or, "I'm not warmed up enough!" "Remember the last time and my quadruple bogey?" Learning to deal with these distractions can be a valuable skill for any player, recreational to competitive.

Here are three commonly used techniques for calming the First Tee Jitters:

* Become Aware - Utilize your ability to sense, listen and notice any of the signs of distractions. Become aware of the noises before they interfere with your swing. Much of what fills your mind is automatic and habitual. Becoming aware allows you to be present, interrupting the process of your habits and giving you a new chance to focus on what really matters, your target.

* Breathe - Easy, deep, "soft-tummy" breathing helps to focus your mind and body, establishing a clear, calm and energized readiness. This will also help you to concentrate on the target. Concentrating on your breathing replaces the automatic and unthinking habits of your unconscious mind, giving you the control over your actions.

* Pre- shot Routines - Yes, of course, one more time! I am sure that you have heard this already a thousand times, but the value of a simple pre-shot routine cannot be over-emphasized. It is a sequence of mental, visual and physical reminders which all act to trigger a well practiced familiarity with the shot you are about to make. When you step into this sequence, you can make a clean break with the distractions, whatever they are, and enter into a zone - a performance zone. In this "zone", you are free to concentrate and more enabled to execute your task.

It's easy! Start the next time you play a round. Remember these three elements, use them on the first tee and then employ them with every shot you make throughout the day.

Don't expect miracles to happen, right off. Be patient, practice and be open to learning what will work for you. The whole idea is to find ways to help you clearly focus on your targets.

Let me know how it goes for you as you begin to eliminate the First Tee Jitters!