Golf, as we all know, can be a mind-mangling pursuit. The storm-tossed waters of a golfer’s psyche are so tumultuous, some of the defeatist thought processes that surge through our heads as we ponder a 7-iron over a pond should be accompanied by a series of warnings from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Scott Dixon, the long-serving professional at Dalmahoy, knows a thing or two about being all at sea with this furiously fickle game. Thankfully, however, he found a calming port amid the tempest and is now looking to help others chart a smoother golfing course with a number of two-day, residential wellness retreats at the Kirknewton-based hotel and country club.
Building on the game’s recent boom, while promoting its wider benefits for body and mind in these covid-ravaged times, Dixon will encourage golfers and stressed-out souls to channel their inner Zen through a holistic package that merges physical action with spiritual awareness.
The 47-year-old’s initial journey into mindfulness wasn't quite some intrepid venture that The Beatles used to embark on when they sought the wisdom of the Maharishi. Instead, it began much closer to home.
“It’s a long story,” said Dixon. “My golf was in such a terrible state. I’d been for lots of technical lessons but had just tied myself in knots. I had such pain in my game and was trying so hard and shooting 85s. I almost needed counselling for my golf. I didn’t know how to play anymore and I got the full game yips. I felt like a fraud because I was a professional giving lessons but I couldn’t actually do what I was coaching people.
“About 18 years ago, one of the members at the club said to me, ‘I’m playing golf with a monk tomorrow’. I was intrigued and joined them. He was a normal guy – he worked in computers - but he had committed himself to a certain way of teaching meditation. He gave me a meditation lesson, I gave him a golf lesson and that’s how it started.”
In the years that followed, Dixon would become completely immersed in a new way of living.
“I went on a six-month training course to become a monk in a retreat up in a mountain in Spain,” he explained of a path one can’t imagine good old Monty veering off down. “When I commit to something, I tend to go all in. It’s not half-assed. At the time, it was the best thing I had ever done. I found peace. It got to the stage where my nervous system would be so relaxed, I’d hardly need to sleep. I could meditate for 15 hours.
“I do breathing techniques, I meditate, I do yoga. Once you start the journey there is so much to explore. Initially, I was doing all this to get better at golf but I realised it was helping me get better at practising life.”
While this correspondent’s contemplative repertoire tends to be limited to a muttering, cursing glower to the heavens after hoiking one off the hosel, Dixon’s deep, tranquil, restorative approach is something he is keen to nurture in others to help them become more present and focussed golfers.
“Where is your attention when you’re standing over the ball?”, asked Dixon as he pondered the mental fog that can easily cloud the golfing judgement. “Are you in your head with a bunch of thoughts and worries or are you present with the club and feeling what it’s doing and what your body is doing?”
The on-going pandemic has impacted everybody in some way. Dixon, who has been at Dalmahoy for 26 years, has not been immune to its burdens but his soothing disciplines have provided a comforting crutch. For those who sign up to his retreats, Dixon hopes he can enhance both their golf and their lives.
“Just because I do all these techniques it doesn’t mean I wake up every morning with birds singing and the sun shining,” he said. “I had some tough times during lockdown but I have a support network I can call on.
“We all need to take time to look after ourselves. If you don’t, you’ll never thrive in whatever you do. If you want to be a good golfer, you have to look after yourself. If you want to be happy, you have to take time to look after yourself. Hopefully, I can help.”
Dixon’s sanctuary sounds like the perfect escape.
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