Breathing Exercises to Refocus Your Golf Game
Jul 7th 2017
Golf is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. It is hard to focus on your target when your mind is preoccupied with other thoughts. From trying to fish your ball out of shallow water to chipping your way out of a bunker, to sinking your final putt, there are many stressful moments during a game where you need to keep your focus.
Breathing techniques have been scientifically proven to lower your body’s stress response and reduce nervousness. It can also help to relax the body physically. Stress can cause us to breathe shallowly, robbing our muscles of the necessary oxygen to perform. Stress also causes tension in the muscles, which can negatively impact your game.
If you find you struggle to keep your cool during the game’s more stressful moments, regain your focus with these simple, but effective breathing techniques, and watch your game improve.
The “Power 10”
Dr. Leah Lagos is a sports psychologist who has worked extensively with professional golfers on the PGA tour to help them manage their stress. She has also conducted research on the effects of deep breathing techniques on golf performance, which have shown vast improvements in putting and driving distance.
One of the techniques she suggests in the “Power 10.” Many golfers get stuck in a downward spiral of poor performance after a bad hole. Lagos suggests using the “Power 10” to clear your mind after a bad hole and, essentially, “reset” your focus.
To perform this technique, inhale slowly and count to four. Then, exhale slowly while counting to 6. Repeat this process nine more times. The slow breaths will help to better deliver oxygen to your brain, which helps you to refocus.
Make sure you are actively counting during your breathing exercise. The counting is important because the area of the brain we use to count is the same area that is used when we are anxious, and it is difficult for the brain to perform both functions simultaneously.
Alternating Nasal Breaths
The following breathing exercise is based on pranayama breathing techniques used when practicing yoga. The aim is to find a calm place within yourself so you can pay more attention to your game. This breathing technique is about being mindful of your game. Mindfulness isn’t just effective for improving overall psychological health but can also be used more specifically to improve focus in all aspects of your game and help you train like the pros.
The other benefit of using alternating nostril breathing is that all the breathing is done through the nose. Nostril breathing automatically makes you take deeper, slower breaths, which helps to reduce stress and take in more oxygen into your lungs.
To practice alternate nostril breathing, stand in a neutral position, and it may help you to relax if you close your eyes. Take your right hand, and block your right nostril with your thumb. Inhale for 5-10 seconds, until you feel as though you cannot take in any more air. Then, block your left nostril with your ring finger, unblock your right nostril, and exhale slowly. Repeat the cycle again by inhaling through your right nostril, then exhaling with your left. Repeat this for 5-10 breaths.
Abdominal Breathing
One of the unfortunate effects of the body’s stress response is tension in the muscles to get ready for that “fight or flight” reaction. Tension during a swing can turn one bad hole into a disaster of a game. Tension affects your posture, alignment, and grip, which are all important factors contributing to your swing.
Abdominal breathing is a great technique for reducing the physiological effects of stress, as it has been shown to reduce blood pressure and lower your heart rate after just one session. This technique, in turn, relaxes your muscles, reducing tension and allowing you to focus better on the psychological component of the game.
To practice abdominal breathing, place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your diaphragm. Inhale deeply through your nose, expanding your abdominals as though you are inflating a balloon. When you feel as though you cannot take in any more air, exhale slowly through your nose by contracting your abdominal muscles, squeezing the air out from the bottom to the top of your lungs. Repeat 5-10 times.
Final Thoughts
There are many stressful, pressure-filled moments during a game, and this stress can have a significant impact on your golfing performance. Deep breathing can help you by reducing stress and calming your mind, which can let you refocus on your game.
You don’t need to practice these techniques before every shot. Learn to identify when you feel most stressed, take some time to practice some of these deep breathing techniques, and refocus your game.