Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

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The correlation between thinking well and making successful shots is not 100 percent. But the correlation between thinking badly and unsuccessful shots is much higher." Brad Faxon I was at a point where I was taking golf so seriously that I wasn't enjoying it any more. Bob Rotella taught me to throw away doubt and fear, and as a result I am enjoying golf, learning more, and playing better. If you want to do a "speed read," then I would focus on the following chapters (I feel these are the most important): In fact, I think it's often more difficult for a person branded with what most people perceive as potential to become great than it was for, say, Pat Bradley.

On the first tee, you should have two immediate goals. One is to have fun. The other involves the process of playing, not the results. The goal is to get your mind where it’s supposed to be on every shot. If you do that, you’ll shoot the best score you’re capable of shooting that day, whether it’s 67 or 107. We each have the power to construct our own self-image and that the self-image we construct will very likely determine what we become in life.” You cannot hit a golf ball consistently well if you think about the mechanics of your swing as you play.” Golfers must learn to love 'the challenge when they hit a ball into the rough, trees, or sand. The alternatives—anger, fear, whining, and cheating—do no good.I read this book before Christmas, along with the John Richardson one I wrote about yesterday, and it has also helped me in a number of ways. So, here is my “potted version”, a list of the salient points which I have gleaned that made the most impression on me. Your pre-shot routine is very important. He suggests: (Choose) Club, Target, Stance, Visualise, Grip, Practice, Waggle, Look at the target then at the ball. If you're going to be a victim of the first few holes," I said, "you don't have a prayer. You're like a puppet. You let the first few holes jerk your strings and tell you how you're going to feel and how you're going to think.” Ch 7: your 3rd eye is what the mind sees when hitting a shot (instead of thinking of mechanics). Focus on the smallest possible target very intently. Your mind will make your body respond. Some also visualize the ball flight to that target just before swinging. Others also use an intermediate mark on the ground 10 yards ahead for alignment. Swing with trust to the target. The correlation between thinking well and making successful shots is not 100 percent. But the correlation between thinking badly and unsuccessful shots is much higher.

The thing is, Golf is not a game of perfect. Golfers of all levels make many mistakes during every round. What do we do when we’re not perfect golfers? Rotella has made his fame and fortune answering that question in this book and his many other books. Best Selling Golf Book Another great piece of advice (that is not so much about golf) I’ve adopted from this book was oddly a piece about basketball. The author talks about his sports psychology coaching and how a professional player was missing free throws. This was his job and he was missing a bunch yet not getting frustrated, instead he was smiling! The basketball player stated when confronted, “a missed shot doesn’t lower my chances, it just raises the probability that the next shot will make it.” The first year after our visit, she won five tournaments, three of them majors. She nearly won the Grand Slam of women's golf. I attended the one major she lost that year, the U.S. Women's Open in Dayton, Ohio. She lipped out putts on two of the last three holes and lost by a shot or two. MauritiusGolfTourism.com offers a wide selection of golf courses, ranging from championship courses designed by world-renowned architects to hidden gems nestled in the heart of the island's lush landscapes. All their courses offer stunning views of the ocean and mountains, and are designed to challenge and inspire golfers of all levels. I never do that. Whenever someone introduces me or identifies me as a shrink, I am tempted to correct him. I'm not a shrink. I'm an enlarger. I am not in the business of telling people that they don't have talent, that their dreams are foolish and unnattainable. I want to support people's talent. I believe in human abilities.I also found his writing to be very patronizing, as though it assumes the reader is dumb and incompetent. His philosophy for improving the mental aspect of the game is very interesting, but the manner in which he writes about it feels as though he talks down to the reader. No doubt everyone has room for improvement, but Rotella believes the reader has no conception of how to "properly" play. I believe people learn more when they feel respected.

Dr Bob Rotella is one of the hottest golfing performance consultants in the world today. Unlike other performance consultants, Rotella goes beyond the usual mental aspects of the game and the reliance on specific techniques. Since golf doesn’t have continuous action, it is difficult to get yourself into a state of focus and flow. Therefore you need to induce it through having a sound pre shot routine. Simply look at the target, look at the ball, take a breath and swing. Every golfer will have their own unique routine, but the principle is that you need to develop one if you are get out of your own head. You cannot think and golf at the same time. There is no such thing as a golfer playing over his head. A hot streak is simply a glimpse of a golfer's true potential."Confidence is crucial to good golf. Confidence is simply the aggregate of the thoughts you have about yourself. I'm currently a 10.5 handicap. I like studying the game and trying to improve. Rotella hit on a number of ideas/principles that I have not been thinking about, such as: