As golfers are amidst another summer filled with pressure-packed moments, both amateurs and pros are searching for any prescriptive edge to lower scores and raise trophies. One increasingly popular training methodology with growing empirical support is heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback training. But what exactly is HRV, and how can it transform your golf game when it matters most?
WHAT IS HEART RATE VARIABILITY?
HRV refers to the variation in timed intervals between successive heartbeats. It is an indicator of the body’s ability to adapt to physiological and psychological stressors. Higher HRV levels suggest a well-tuned, resilient nervous system, while low HRV is associated with inflexibility and vulnerability to stress.
HRV biofeedback training utilizes wearable sensors to establish a golfer’s baseline HRV then provides personalized breathing and recovery protocols to drive improvements over a structured training period. Techniques promote activation of the parasympathetic “rest-and-digest” system to calibrate sympathetic-parasympathetic balance. The end goal is optimizing the stress response for peak performance.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND HRV BIOFEEDBACK
A 2011 case study followed a female collegiate golfer through 10 weeks of HRV biofeedback paired with resonant frequency breathing exercises. Over the training period, anxiety and sensation-seeking decreased while HRV indices increased, reflecting greater parasympathetic tone. When translated to the course, significant improvements were found in scoring average (a 16-stroke decrease), driving distance and putts across 18 virtual holes.
These results align with earlier research on HRV’s ability to enhance performance in precision-based sports from archery to shooting to golf Experts suggest biofeedback conditions athletes to regulate physiological arousal, leverage stress to their benefit, and achieve flow states more consistently. This leads to both objective performance gains and subjectively better experiences in competition.
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES IN PRO GOLF
The transformational impact focused HRV training can have on major championship performances is perhaps best illustrated through real-world examples from the highest level. In 2020, South African pro Dylan Frittelli entered the Masters tournament having never finished better than 31st in any previous major start. However, a targeted four-week training program that tapered strain and emphasized HRV recovery helped Frittelli shoot an opening-round 65 that had him tied with eventual winner Dustin Johnson.
Frittelli’s Whoop data showed his resting heart rate dropped while his HRV rose sharply in the two weeks leading up to the Masters. He then recorded some of the best sleep and recovery scores of his career during tournament week. This allowed Frittelli to post an 11-under-par score and tie Rory McIlroy for fifth place — by far his best major result. (Frittelli also finished fifth at the 2021 British Open). He credited the structured workload and expertly timed peak as the difference.
Long Drive specialist Kyle Berkshire also turned to HRV training before his breakthrough performance at the 2021 World Long Drive Championship. Just as Frittelli did on the PGA Tour, Berkshire set a personal best on the big stage, claiming the first World Championship of his career in mesmerizing fashion. His average drive topped out at over 210 mph exit velocity.
Berkshire had focused all year on controlling breathing patterns to stimulate parasympathetic response and recovery between repetitions of all-out swings. His championship victory provides yet another real-world endorsement of HRV biofeedback’s ability to tailor both body and mind for peak performance when it matters most.
IMPLEMENTING AN HRV TRAINING PROTOCOL
Curious if HRV training can take your own golf game to the next level? Luckily implementing a structured protocol is relatively simple. Here are five steps to incorporate this proven performance enhancer:
- Obtain a consumer wearable HRV sensor like Whoop, Biostrap, or Oura to establish your baseline.
- Progressively build aerobic capacity and fitness over 4-6 weeks through strain from workouts.
- Shift emphasis to recovery and light training 2 weeks out from key events.
- Utilize resonant frequency breathing, visualization, and other tools to drive HRV gains at just the right time (an upcoming article will dive into this topic in detail).
- Maintain focus on process to allow your newly resilient physiology to handle competitive stressors.
While the field still requires more randomized trials, the early returns for golf performance enhancement through HRV biofeedback cannot be denied. From collegiate players all the way up to major champions, the rates of adoption speak to lived effectiveness on and around the greens. So as you gear up for your own career round for the ages, be sure to train both body and nervous system via this breakthrough protocol — your best game yet may soon follow.