Notes on a Performance Practice

How can you step away from the mainstream and build your belief in a simple, body-based performance process??#golf #performance #practice

My work isn’t for every golfer. It’s only for the golfer who wants to be their best and is prepared to put in the necessary work. This work might not be what the majority of swing coaches or mental game coaches talk about, but that’s because it provides a bridge or link between the two. In other words, the training on offer here, helps to bring mind and body, mental game and swing mechanics together.

Chi Performance challenges conventional thinking, (in fact, it challenges thinking altogether!) and will continue to do so. Just because everybody on social media tells you something, it doesn’t mean it’s true. You need to verify from your own experience how the best golf shots emerge from a quiet mind and an athletic yet relaxed body, and not from a pre-shot routine that is dominated by thoughts of getting your technique right.

What I’m advocating is not a quick fix but it is a permanent solution to the mainstream which wants you to think about how you’re thinking and layer this with more thinking about how you’re going to move. It’s a unique form of body-based and breath-work coaching and if you love other sports besides golf, and enjoy lifting weights, doing strength and conditioning training and are also someone who thrives on routine, discipline and has the strength of character to persevere, then this training is for you.

Why is it necessary? Well, even those at the very top of the game can fail to understand how traditional Eastern practices, such as those on which my methodology is based, have the power to maximize performance. Many tour pros mistakenly believe they can “think about the present moment” and in fact, this comment by Rory McIlroy recently caused a flood of messages to my inbox from clients and readers aghast at this seemingly innocuous error which the majority of coaches, players and even the golfing press wouldn’t pick up on.

In reality, the purest golf, when the ball striking is sweet and the quality of the shot almost takes you by surprise, is always marked by a significant lack of analytical thoughts. To paraphrase Bobby Jones, when you play good golf, you think very little but when you play great golf you hardly think at all.

But is it really that simple? Can you play great golf by getting off the driving range and instead start a daily Performance Practice of 20 minutes breathing, formal meditation and postural body work? After all, it was good enough for Tiger Woods, right?! The question is; are you the sort of golfer who really wants change and is ready to transform?

Let’s hear from a client in Scotland who has been training steadily over the past year and wrote to tell me about his success. What’s interesting here is that Andy, like many other clients has begun to embody a connection between mind and body, which has been honed in daily practice and then applied before each shot.

“There is no finer feeling in golf than making an effortless swing and seeing the ball soar towards the intended target. At times the feeling is so pure that a bad bounce on landing cannot diminish the pleasure of the shot. It can happen on the green when a long putt travels inexorably to the hole. It is almost certain that there was no technical swing thought in the preparation and execution of the shot. Since working with Jayne, I am experiencing these feelings more than I have ever before in 50 years of playing the game. I am able to achieve the holy grail of the flow state with increasing regularity. I am able to recognize that bad shots are caused by a lack of adherence to her teachings because no matter what they tell you on You Tube, the golf swing is inherently simple. “Two turns and a swish” as John Jacobs and Ian Woosnam advocated. By following Jayne’s principles and applying them as a performance process before every shot, I have greater stability in the legs, a calm mind, and a longer, more powerful swing. There is also more acceptance of the bad shots and an ability to move on to the next shot, which can turn a poor start into a good round. More importantly I now appreciate the beauty of the courses that we are privileged to play on and feel a sense of gratitude. 20 minutes of practice a day has dramatically enhanced my playing experience and my life”. – Andy W.

Start or develop your Performance Practice now.

Get your copy of Breathe Golf; The Missing Link to a Winning Performance. (Available online and in bookstores).

Read or listen to Connected Golf; Bridging the Gap Between Practice and Performance. (Order on Amazon or from your favourite bookseller).

Email [email protected] for details of 1-2-1 coaching at Blacknest Golf and Country Club, situated on the Surrey/Hampshire border.

Email [email protected] for details of lessons on Skype/Zoom.

Visit the online Shop and learn at home with an eBook or audio programme.

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I’ll be with my team of coaches at The Women’s Open, Walton Heath next week. Perhaps you’d like to meet us there? If so, send a message and we’ll see what we can arrange.

Happy training!

Jayne