Friday, September 04, 2009

How Great Golfers Think: Improving Your Mental Game

As I mentioned earlier this week, I’ve just finished reading Bob Skura’s book, How Great Golfers Think: Perfecting Your Mental Game. I wanted to let the message sink in for a few days before I tackled a brief review.

Bob is a local golfer, businessman and resident. Apparently he also enjoys juggling while riding his unicycle. I’m not sure if he integrates any of that into a typical round of golf. Perhaps I’ll have to ask someday.

How Great Golfers Think, as may be obvious from the title, urges golfers to strengthen the mental side of their game, and importantly also offers a complete tool set for doing so. I found it to be well organized, highly informative, and also easy to revisit.

This is not a book you read once and then put on your shelf. To get any value from How Great Golfers Think, you must work through the exercises and integrate the many approaches and tools into your golf routine. And the rewards will be well worth the effort!

The book follows the summer-long journey of a regular four-some, comprised of four very different individuals, as they sit in on bi-weekly lessons offered by their mentor, Doc. It’s written in novel/story form, much like Dave Chilton’s The Wealthy Barber. Bob has kindly bolded many important passages throughout the book, making it easy to refer back and review specific sections.

As I read a book, I tend to turn over the corner of any given page that I really want to easily find again. In this book I’ve done so to well over 20 pages!

The vast majority of golfers, those that rarely or never compete, and even some that do compete, are notorious for playing far too much, and practicing and training far too little. And those that do practice and/or train, are often found pounding balls on a driving range, thus working on less than half of their game. Very few spend more than half of their practice/training time on their short game.

And what’s worse, VERY few ever focus on a huge part of golf, their mental game. Have you ever played a round that was an emotional roller coaster? Ever lost your temper or composure on a course? Ever given up on a round because you felt you blew it on the first few holes? Has your game ever plateaued, such that you just couldn’t improve no matter what you tried? Ever lost your determination to get better? Have these questions touched any nerves?

You can learn far more about How Great Golfers Think at the books website, http://www.howgreatgolfersthink.com/.

You can also sign up for Bob’s monthly newsletter, ForeThought.

The book and author have received many accolades and high praise from countless renowned golf instructors, players and coaches.

If you’re at all serious about your golf game...
No, let me correct that. If you enjoy golf, and think it might be nice to get even MORE enjoyment out of golf, I urge you to pick up a copy of How Great Golfers Think: Perfecting Your Mental Game.

Oh, I must add one last point. This book isn’t simply about golf. We all know that any round of golf is a wonderful metaphor for life itself. Similarly, this book is really, ultimately, about life. If you’ve read just a few blog entries here, you know that I’m a firm believer in intentionality, focus, belief, and all else that is noted in the movie The Secret.

Bob’s book could easily be re-titled, How Great People Think: Improving Your Mental Life.

Enjoy!

No comments: