Kathmandu:

Why do we play sports, even if it is just as a hobby? To relax. This is correct. But if you keep on losing time after time, do you think it is going to help you relax. Of course not. It will only add to your stress and relaxation goes flying out of the window.

However, as is often said — it is all in the mind. So it is with playing a sport, and playing it well.

To hone your mental skills, Gokarna Forest Golf Resort and Spa has introduced the Art of Living ‘Spirit of Golf’ camp under the slogan ‘True golf is played not on a course, but in the mind of the player’. The resort’s director Suman Sachdev rightly said, “What does golf involve? Golf course, nature, you and yourself.”

After seeing many renowned golfers like Tiger Woods, who meditates a lot to keep the mental side of his game strong, Sachdev came up with the concept of mixing spirituality with the sport. The idea is to enable golfers to have their inner peace as well as the power to stay still and play well despite obstacles.

While players are busy learning the physical side of the game — holding the club right, getting the right posture, the right swing and hitting the ball straight, they can also learn the mental side of the game through this five-day Art of Living course.

This mind side of the game will be taught by Rukmani Prabhakar and Vikram Hazra. The five-day retreat on gaining the knowledge of staying controlled and concentrated during one’s round started on April 19.

The retreat will allow one to take what one learns in each mornings workshop straight on to the course and put it into immediate practice.

(For more details log on to www.thespiritofgolf.org)