Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

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The best place to be is in the “now.” Now is the happening place. You need to frequently ask yourself, “What should I do now?” to keep yourself focused in the present. Your reaction is everything – Your reaction is your choice. You can choose to dwell on a bad shot and feel sorry for yourself or you can choose to stay calm and maintain your composure. Either way, the choice is yours. Look at the ball, look at the target, roll it” golf is very much like life and this book advocates for gaining control by letting go. All though I don’t agree with some aspects of the book one main point which serves as a key takeway for life, golf and adversities which is: It is not crucial to focus on results but rather having the right mindset when doing a complex task. Accepting not everything is in our control, being mentally prepared and letting go. A golfer cannot let the first few holes, shots, or putts determine his thinking for the rest of the round. A golfer should strive to be looser, freer, and more confident with every hole. This will combat the tendency to get tighter, more careful, and more doubtful. As a boy, he was small, needed glasses, and wasn't even the best junior golfer at his club. His dream seemed so unlikely that when he was fourteen or fifteen, his parents took him to see Lionel and Jay Hebert, the former touring pros. Tom's father wanted the Hebert brothers to tell Tom something discouraging, to tell him how high the odds were against him. The dreams I want to hear of excite some fortunate people from the time they wake up each morning until they fall asleep at night. They are the stuff of passion and tenacity. They might be defined as goals, but goals so bright that no one need write them down to remember them. In fact, the hard task for the professionals I work with is not recalling their dreams, but occasionally putting them out of their minds and taking some time off from their pursuit of them. The dreams I want to hear about are the emotional fuel that helps people take control of their lives and be what they want to be. Time and again, I have heard stories of dreams that are intimately connected to the ability to play great golf. In fact, this is the first mental principle a golfer must learn:

In each chapter, mixed among the many stories of challengs, triumphs and defeats of amateur and professional golfers and their coaches, are italicized principles and rules for thinking well as a player. In this appendix, each is listed on its own. to develop a reliable routine, it must be followed and practiced time after time until it is fully ingrained and will show up under any pressure or situation.Rotella, a renowned golf psychologist, not only gives solid psychological advice--he also shares intimate stories about encounters with fellow scholars and his more famous clients: Brad Faxon, Fred Couples, Tom Kite, etc. But they and other champions all have a few common characteristics. They are all strong-willed, they all have dreams, and they all make a long-term commitment to pursue those dreams. Golfing potential depends primarily on a player's attitude, on how well he plays with the wedges and the putter, and on how well he thinks. of your practice time (whether on long or short game) should be on acceptance, targets and routines, 40% on technicals.

Pretty informative. Some what dated with golfers who played a long time ago. Including Tom kite who never really impressed me. Ch 10 instructs that putting is about attitude and confidence. You must believe that putts will fall, even after missing short ones. Being tentative and overthinking putts is death. Everyone’s mechanics (stance, grip, stroke) differ; that’s because putting is about feel, confidence, and tempo. Pre-shot routine matters: read the green, see the line & target, take practice swings looking at the target, stand over the ball, look at the target, look at the ball, and let it go. 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 ever I have asked a fellow golfer about the best golf book to read for game improvement, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect was recommended frequently, which gave me the reassurance that it was well worth a read.As ball-striking skills improve, it becomes a greater challenge to love putting and the short game and to maintain a positive attitude toward them. I suggest reading the full book, but for those who don't want to (or don't have the time), I'll leave a list of what I've judged (based on the notes I've been taking) to be Rotella's most important advice: On the first tee, a golfer must expect only two things of himself: to have fun, and to focus his mind properly on every shot It is more important to be decisive than to be correct when preparing to play any golf shot or putt. Rotella discusses the irrational belief athletes hold that they will succeed in whatever shot or task is presented to them. It is irrational because statistically it is not expected, but it is seemingly a required approach for humans to circumnavigate doubt and anxiety. This draws an interesting distinction to other domains outside of sport where irrationally is eschewed and blind confidence can be fatal. Hence, developing and applying this irrational mindset is important in particular instances.

Everything that happens from the tee to that 120-yard range is almost insignificant compared with what happens thereafter. In fact, I’ll occasionally tell a player that I don’t care what he does with his long game – whether he focuses on a target and follows a routine or not – as long as he tries what I suggest about wedging, chipping, and putting. Each tab is a passage that I found meaning in.A good competitor never allows herself to intensely dislike another player. She might be paired with her for an important round. Ch 6 conveys old Scottish wisdom: one cannot think about the details of swing mechanic details and perform a successful shot. This was lost through technology, teachers with "secrets", and the golf world's obsession with and misperceptions of Ben Hogan. His victories came not from hours of training and a pure swing, but beginning in 1946 when he trusted that he knew the fundamentals and no longer worried about them.