I remember posing this question to a group of golf professionals who came to a training seminar I was running at The Belfry some years ago; it was met with guffaws of laughter which quite shocked and disappointed me at the time but, if you follow my work you will know that I’m all about challenging the golf community to commit to ‘work on self’ as well as working on swing technique, and this includes bringing athleticism into your game.
The debate ‘Are golfer’s athletes’ together with the question ‘Is golf a sport or just a game?’ have been raging for the past couple of decades. Opinions and research polls see golf come in an embarrassing 51 out of a possible 60 sports (just ahead of ice dancing) for those who see it as a just a game, to those at the other end of the spectrum who believe golf to be the most difficult and demanding of all sports because it takes years to master, players compete in tournaments which are played over 4 days with rounds of approx. 4 hours and because it requires no less than 17 muscle groups involved in coordinated movement.
There seems to be no definite answer and to determine whether golfers are athletes and if golf is really a sport seems to be a matter of personal opinion.
Perhaps a better question is “How can I bring more athleticism into my own game?”I’m glad you asked!
One definition of an athlete is that they love adversity; they like to be challenged to the extent where they have to push themselves beyond a certain level, but the mainstream approach to a more athletic golf game seems to be all about working out at the gym.
I love the gym, it’s great for cardio and interval training, for toning or building muscle and developing a more aesthetic physique; but will it serve your golf game? Here’s the view of one of my personal students, John K.
“I have gained significant power and accuracy through Jayne’s teachings which combine breathing and controlling my biomechanics. As an over-40, to go from 100mph to 105mph in three years of working out at the gym, to 112mph only through these deep practice techniques is nothing short of incredible. I feel I am achieving my potential through Jayne’s programme”.
So, what’s the best way to bring athleticism into your game? Well, my approach has always been to offer you a new paradigm and to challenge you to make special effort with the promise that if you commit to the training, your golf will improve exponentially, and more than that, you will continue to play better over time and soon reach the ultimate goal in performance enhancement which is the ability to ‘self-coach’.
What’s the new paradigm? It’s using principles and training from the East, including martial arts and Zen to improve golf performance. What’s the challenge? To commit to a style of mental and physical training which I call ‘Deep Practice’, with Meditation as the bedrock discipline. What’s the promise? Do this and you are guaranteed to be playing a significantly better and infinitely more enjoyable game in a matter of a few weeks.
