USU men's golf is bringing back yoga

USU men’s golf is bringing back team yoga to improve their flexibility

By Weslie Hatch

USU men’s golf is bringing back team yoga after a few years break to keep its flexibility and improve overall performance.

“We had tried it years ago and we feel like we play our very best when we’re in our best shape,” Dean Johansen, the head coach, said. “We played really well in the fall and want that to continue so we thought we’d try bringing yoga back.”

Johansen said there are a few teammates who are older and have been doing the same things over and over so they’re excited to switch up the normal workout routine.

According to Johansen the team usually works out in the winter by doing core training to stay in shape. But he said while the team plays in the summer it lifts weights because the two compliment each other. Johansen said if the athletes were to lift weights in the off-season they would become less flexible.

“More important than anything, in golf, is flexibility,” Johansen said. “There are a few men on the team who are not flexible at all so this should really help them as well as the whole team.”

Johansen said Coach Skinner, the assistant coach, has connections to the Sports Academy. This made it easy for him to schedule yoga sessions there. The team plans to attend the sessions at 7:30 a.m. twice a week, starting in January.

“Most of our tournaments are 7:30 a.m. shotguns,” Johansen said. “This is another thing we battle because most of the athletes are in school from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. so we rarely do anything in the morning. The team usually performs better in the afternoon.”

Johansen thinks by going to yoga in the morning it will help the team perform better in its early morning tournaments as well as the afternoon.

“Flexibility really isn't my strength,” Tanner Jenson, a junior on the team, said. “It's something that I think if I work at, will help me quite a bit during competition.”

Jenson said before Tiger Woods there wasn't really any working out or fitness incorporated into golf. He said now almost all D1 schools have incorporated some sort of work out to keep up their stamina and strength.

Jenson thinks doing yoga will help bring the whole team together during the off-season.

“We already have a close group of guys on the team that hang out with each other a lot,” Jenson said. “But having more time together can create confidence between each one of us which will transfer to the course.”