Monday 13 April 2015

Golf and Yoga

Golf and Yoga

Intrigued by the title? Well, this has been my theory that golf is very much like yoga योग . My golfing partners have heard it from me many times. But you may ask 'How is Golf like Yoga' or vice versa?


Yoga is all about concentration and control of your mind or the inner self. And so is golf.


For those of us who love golf, will vouch that golf is a mind game. The day you can keep your mind under check, you will keep your scores low. But the day you let go of your mind on the golf course (and give up saying 'it is not my day' or some such excuse), you hit a 'century'. For non-golfers, hitting a century i.e. returning a card of  '100', is an extremely poor score for amateur golfers like me. Other golfers reading the blog will most likely echo the sentiment!

OK, yoga is about the mind. What else is Yoga? Bhagwad Gita भगवत गीता says Yoga is the journey of the self...


Another take on yoga is that it is 99% practice and 1% theory. And so is Golf. Practice and more practice is the only way to keep your scores low and maintain the handicap.


Talking of keeping your cool while playing golf- the new Masters Champion Jordan Spieth is a live example. This 21-year old golfer set many a record last week in Augusta Masters Tournament 2015.
 


Jordan plays a superb game. But he also makes mistakes. He also drove his tee-shots into the trees or roughs. But it was his ability to remain cool and stoic in such situations, which gave him the inner strength to recover.He was a picture of concentration whether lining up for a putt or driving off the tee box while thousands of eyes were watching.



Talking of concentration, we all need it in our lives. Whether at work or golfing or mowing the fairways in a golf course, concentration does it. See the picture of Augusta Golf Course below.




So, take up yoga if you wish to achieve better mind control in your life. Whether you play golf or not does not matter. But if you are a golfer, remember golf and yoga are alike. Both require concentration and mind control.

My yoga practitioner friends may say yoga is much more than mind control. No issues with that.

Hope you enjoyed the likeness between yoga and golf. The previous post on golf can be browsed by clicking the link below:
Why I love Golfing? 

I would like to close with a quote from Gautam Buddha:



Have a great day!
Bye till the next post,

     - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 13th April 2015


Note: Copyrighted pictures of Masters 2015 Championship and Jordan Speith from the net are gratefully acknowledged.

14 comments:

  1. Well captured similarities between yoga and golf. These two are my favorite 🕉🙏❤️

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  2. Guess all sports are like yoga


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  3. Fully agree. Am intrigued how people equate yoga with Hinduism. Many of the tenets of Bhagat Gita , Buddhism and ten commandments have universal appeal.

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  4. Very true, the similarity between Golf. & Yoga. Though I am not a Golfer, but regular Yoga routine, I can relate to bot
    - Capt P K Jindal

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  5. Golf and Yoga certainly have much similarities.Apart from inculcating peace of mind much essential in golf,yoga keeps our body strong and flexible,a prerequisite for the highly demanding game.
    For seniors who lack flexibility and balance,yoga provides much needed physical support.One can easily notice the difference between practitioners and a non yoga golfer on the course.
    Inability to place ball on tbox,difficulty in picking up the tee on the ground,inability to repair pitch marks and place marker without discomfort are some examples.
    Therefore,for a serious golfer,yoga is a prequisite.In fact golf coaching institutions commence training with yoga session.As per trainers,strengthening the muscles that come into play is most essential to prevent injuries.
    Happy yoga and golfing to all.

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  6. A thought provoking comparison.

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  7. Beautifully captured similarities between yoga and golf .Both require concentration and mind control.
    🙂🙂

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  8. Sooper submariner ahoy!

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  9. Very true. Both yoga and golf are predominantly mind focus and control.

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  10. Peter de Padua21 June 2023 at 19:36

    A nice article indeed sir..so true,inner calm and mindfulness are so relevant to both.Regards

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  11. Very true.
    I have the same feeling when i go for mountain biking.
    The forest,the steep climing,and me with myself in meditation

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  12. Indeed a comparison which doesn't occur to one naturally but is quite apt when one thinks about it a bit deeper. Thanks for stimulating this deeper thinking.
    🙏

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