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Books on the mental aspect of golf

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lilbilly

lilbilly

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So I'm sure I'm not alone, but I struggle with focus when it comes to golf. The mental side probably costs me a few strokes per round, maybe more.

I don't tend to get overly upset on bad shots, or ride emotional highs, but I tend to lose focus every so many shots. Not thought out chip shots or follow up shots, or occasionally I'll not really think through a putt well.

Any recommendations on a book that has helped you with this?

Those are always strokes I look back on and wish I had back, because they're always just mental lapses and errors, rather than poor form or technique.
 
There is no helping me, but I read http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Scoring-On-Course-Technique/dp/B0043RT8N6 last night and found it to be very focused on mental part of game.

The basic gist of it was that you need 3 basic shots that cover %75 of all shots in golf. Then it goes into depth about 3 more shots that would help in more awkward situations. But the main takeaway from the book for me was that you always need to visualize the shot and know your percentage chance of making said shot and the probability of where failure is gonna land and end up. Also talks about keeping score. Not just usual scorecard, but how far away was approach shot and where did it land? how far away was the putt and what did it leave? What type of lie/ difficulty was shot?. that kind of stuff so you start thinking about your misses a little better.
 
I just finished reading Zen Golf and I really enjoyed. I made a short list of some of the things discussed and read it before each round and it has helped. You have to stick with it.
 
Bob Rotella - Your 15th Club.

He has another book (that came out before that one) too, but the title escapes me at the moment.
 
O'Carroll said:
Bob Rotella - Your 15th Club.

He has another book (that came out before that one) too, but the title escapes me at the moment.
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+1 on Your 15th Club!

Golf is not a game of perfect is his other book. I've never read it though, but I loved Your 15th Club!
 
Rotella's "Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect", is very good.
 
Any of the Rotella books. My take is that The Unstoppable Golfer was the best no punches pulled one of the bunch.

Zen Golf and Zen Putting were great reads too but in a way much deeper than Rotella's books.

It doesn't matter which you choose. What matters is the work you are willing to put into making the mental game work. Whichever you get, be prepared to read and reread it to get the most from it.
 
I have to give Dr bob Rotella a nod, I've enjoyed reading his books. But I feel like you have to be open minded, and read to look at the ugly to get the biggest bang for your buck out of them.
 
+3 for the Dr. Bob Rotella line of books and thinking. I have couple of his books and they are a great read. Hes very basic, but indepth about his thoughts behind the mental game. I really like his thinking.
 
I always liked Frank Chinnock's book "How to Break 90 Consistently". Takes the reader through a complete round, and discusses each shot. Helped with my thinking while I play.
 
Penick's Little Red Book.
 
I have a book that I read years ago titled something like "Focus Like Tiger (Woods)".

I don't remember much about it, but something tells me it's not selling a lot of copies in the Post-Serial Womanizing era.

I always think of that book (at least the title when I see highlights of his short game from his last couple of tournaments).
 
There was a great article in Golf Digest this month about the first game of the season. It said how taking breaks helps with focus. And how invigoration caused by the excitement of finally getting out there also helps with maintaining focus. And the fact that it's the first game of the year takes all the pressure off. It basically said these 3 things can cause you to have a stellar first round of the year that might set the bar too high for subsequent rounds.
 
I have read and reread the little red book and have taken a few things from it. I bought "The 15th club" yesterday. Looking forward to reading it after hearing all the positive reviews here.
 
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