Dixon encourages golfers to channel their inner zen at Dalmahoy retreat

In this grand old game that has always teased and tormented the mind, the mental fog that can quickly shroud a golfer’s thoughts should be accompanied by a yellow warning from the Met Office.

With the kind of calamitous decision making that tends to be the reserve of a pheasant at the side of a busy A-road, the muttering phrase “what the heck was I thinking?” often echoes over the course as an ill-judged 5-iron sails towards a grisly fate.

Sound familiar? Well, PGA pro Scott Dixon is here to help. “Where is your attention when you’re standing over the ball?”, said the long-serving Dalmahoy head professional. “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?”

In order to answer these questions, Dixon is offering golfers and stressed out souls the opportunity to sign up to one of his two-day residential wellness retreats at the Dalmahoy Hotel & 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 the participants to channel their inner Zen through a holistic package that merges physical action with spiritual awareness.

The 47-year-old’s own journey into mindfulness began almost 20 years ago as he endured a torrid time of golfing trouble and strife.

“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. “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.”

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 his deep, restorative approach 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 an ideal escape.

The Golf and Wellness Retreats at Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club will run on 27-29 March 2022, 19-21 June 2022 and 03-06 October 2022 (3 nights).

CLICK HERE to find out more.

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