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