Breathing and the Golfer.

The game of golf is played with the most amazing piece of equipment in the game, and no it is not the latest Scotty Cameron, or Taylormade driver, it is in fact YOU. The human body is the one actually allowing the club to do the job, providing the body is in a state to allow the swing to reach its full potential, (99.9% of the population are far from ideal in this respect). Remember the environment in which you live will dictate how your body moves, your movements become your posture and you posture will become you structure. Today we will have a brief look at how breathing can aid your short game.

Now inhalation, sees a lengthening of the spine, you actually get taller as you breath in due to the curves in the spine reducing. Inhalation therefore facilitates extension, supination, and external rotation of the extremities, other wise seen as one moving away from the fetal position.

Exhalation sees the spine shortening as the spinal curves increase, thus flexion is now facilitated with pronation, and internal rotation of the extremities, a moving towards the fetal position.

Just from this brief description we can see that breathing can change the way in which the body moves, now the short game requires good stability and the ability to control distances, therefore the way we breath can ensure a repeatable motion. 

So before you settle in and hit your next chip or putt, experiment with this idea, inhale through your nose until the cavity is charged midway between both inhalation and exhalation, pause and hold your breath until the shot is completed, this ensures that the golfer is in between both flexor and extensor facilitation, this inhalation creates a stabilizing effect of both body and mind.

Try this and watch how an understanding of the way in which the human body works can improve your golf.

Happy Golfing ;)

Carl Crown.