Today I want to share with you one of the biggest Secrets in golf that will transform your game. It is as basic and fundamental to human life as it is to your golf game.

Quite simply is about the breath. That's right it is breathing. It is how and when you breathe that will not only help you tap into the rhythm of life but also into the rhythm of your golf swing.

Most golfers move into position over the golf ball, they get it into their stance, go through their routine, their set up and hold their breath throughout the golf swing.

Whether it is nerves, or they are simply unaware, or they are stuck in their head with all sorts of internal chatter it robs them. Unfortunately in holding their breath they lose their natural swing and quite often can cause themselves injury because they have frozen the rib cage. By breathing in a particular pattern you free up the rib cage and your full movement and play through the ball rather than to the ball.

Most golfers will try to hit the ball and in doing so quite often there is a pulling back which results in slicing, hooking, top hitting or even duffing the ball. And, even worse hitting the ball out of play or into a hazard of some sort.

Essentially, being out of your body, not having a feel for the club, the ball or the shot you simply lose control over the shot and you lose strokes on every hole.

I strongly suggest that in your practice routine you start to practice breathing. Practice breathing in on the backswing starting from the time you start moving the club back to the top of the swing, then the natural changeover into the downswing is when you start breathing out in a nice even out breath, out through the ball and don't stop breathing out until your club is pointing towards the target. So again, breathing in on the backswing and breathe out through the ball to the target.

Here is a hint. Play to the target not to the ball.

If you haven't been conscious or aware of it before notice your breathing and whether you breathe when you are over the golf ball. It is recognised in most sports that people are at their highest strength, balance and rhythm on the out breath. We see this most vividly in weightlifting, boxing and martial arts.

The breath is a crucial key to high performance. In addition to allowing you to tap into your own natural rhythm, it keeps your physiology, your body in peak condition for high performance.

Not only that, breathing is crucial in your shot routines including in helping you to manage your emotions and to stay relaxed. Have you noticed that whenever you become frustrated, angry, upset, or flustered on the golf course you breathe less, your breathing becomes shallow, faster, you swing faster, you make more mistakes and spiral into your worst round. Your routines go out the window and you become inconsistent.

Breathing is a wonderful anchor within your routines as well. It will transform your golf swing. Interestingly by playing your golf swing to your natural breathing pattern your swing gets closer to the ideal ratio of 62% of time in the backswing and 38% in the downswing. If youknow your mathematics and physics this ratio was referred to in ancient times as the Golden mean.

Breathing also allows the mind to be clear and your physiology to work as one moving towards a decision and your commitment to play to your target.

Warning...practice this before you play a round. The fastest way to learn anything or to embed it in your mind and body is to have repetitive, conscious, slow motion practice.

Add it to your pre shot, shot and post shot routine. It will change your game and possibly save you valuable shots when it counts.

Enjoy your golf.