Mostly common sense

Dr Bob Rotella is extremely well known in golf education for his advice on how to train your mind to play your best golf. He has helped some distinguished players including Tom Kite.



His basic philosophy is:

1. Believe you can achieve your golfing dream.

2. Have no swing thoughts or any thoughts about swing mechanics when you play.

3. Focus on a target for the ball: the smaller the better.

4. Stay in the present: forget previous shots (good and bad), don't think about the score for the round (good or bad). This will only distract you.



I have awarded this a one star. This is perhaps harsh, perhaps a three star would be appropriate. But here is why:



My average handicap is 25 (27 in competition). I have been playing for three years and in the past 7 months as much as 5 or 6 times a week. I eat, sleep and dream golf. I devour new books and DVDs from the big names and some of the less well known.



I regularly watched the golf channel UK (RIP) and read Golf Digest online. My best rounds are around 85. My theoretical best (best scores per hole on different days) is 63.



In spite of starting this great game of golf at the age of 40, I've done well in many other sports and activities (squash, snowboarding, fencing, motorsport, aviation) and believe I should be able to play at a good level: regularly in the 80s and why not, with training and perseverance, in the 70s.



In short, my profile matches that of the target reader for this book. I had high expectations of this book and was hoping to discover new information and techniques on how to train my mind to get the best from my golf.



In reality, I found nothing new here. Most of the advice really is common sense and common place in all the golf related material I've encountered. Bob spends too much time covering what not to think. In the audio version, Bob drones on so much he sent me to sleep. Sadly, I have to say, the book is not worth the money and I can not recommend it.