Yoga and golf mix in new book

Picture the explosive swings of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Delete those pictures and you might begin to comprehend “Om Golf,” a new book built for the driving range by Aloha Section PGA Pro Kevin Ralbovsky.

“Om” is a mantra that usually begins and ends yoga class, basically signifying the union of mind, body and spirit. Ralbovsky’s book — subtitled “A Golfer’s Connection to Mind, Body and Breath” — brings his lifelong love of golf together with his more recent passion for yoga.

That started not long after he began his KMR School of Golf about 20 years ago at Ko‘olau Golf Club. While he was coaching kids like Stephanie Kono and Tadd Fujikawa, he started taking Yo-Golf classes from Kiyoko Sieradzki.

When she and husband Dick, also a golf pro, retired, Ralbovsky began teaching and incorporating yoga into his golf instruction. He started working with Brigitte Snyder in Kailua to enhance his understanding of yoga.

By the time he gained his 200-hour yoga certification by immersing himself into a 22-day training period in Bali, yoga and golf had become one.

He characterizes the book as 80% golf and 20% yoga. It is also about 80% pictures — most with an awesome backdrop of the Ko‘olau Mountains — and 20% simple explanation to “understand the simplicity of the golf swing and its link to the yoga practice.”

He calls it a “visual guide” and it is small enough to fit in a golf bag. Its cover is waterproof, confirming his Ko‘olau roots. The design is for use on the driving range and at home.

He self-published about 150 copies that arrived in December. Most have been purchased by his current students, an all-adult group that includes Carolyn Vos Strache, recently named the Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association Most Improved Golfer of the Year. One book was sought out by Vijay Singh’s trainer at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

“I wanted to do something not so cookie cutter, not some golf swing theory book,” Ralbovsky says. “I do enjoy theory, but I like the balance of keeping it simple and also the study of anatomy — how a body is moving into the golf swing. It’s more interesting to me than the theory of how a club should move.”

He believes PGA Tour trends of explosive swings and more injuries are not coincidental.

“Where I’m going is the opposite direction,” says Ralbovsky, whose Instagram handle is @handstandgolfer. “Going in the direction of easy power, less strain on the body, maximum efficiency, minimum amount of effort.

“Yoga has taught me this. It’s a special balance. It’s been my calling and specialty in yoga.”

His “Om” book begins with breathing and stretching warmups, then he goes into the grip and “basic” and “driver” swings, showing them from four angles. His swing model is “a stick moving an object with leverage.”

He calls it “fusing more of what I call an intuitive swing … basically takeaway, turn at the top, shift weight, release and that’s it. … You don’t have to think about 100 things, but 100 things are happening.”

The book closes with home yoga practice for flexibility.

Ralbovsky, 52, was born in New York and attended Chaminade and the University of Hawaii. He worked at Waialae Country Club and became a PGA of America member in 1991. Golf Digest ranked him Hawaii’s top teacher in 2001.

He tried to qualify for the Champions Tour last year. Along with teaching golf, every other Saturday afternoon he has a two-hour class that starts with yoga and ends with golf, followed by a little party.

“That’s also part of the yoga world — a sense of community,” he says. “I wanted to incorporate that too and get people interacting and sharing. It’s a big part of golf too. It’s not all about score and results. It’s enjoying the camaraderie of the people you are playing with, meeting new people and sharing.

“You get a little stretch and a golf lesson. Pretty cool.”