Golf: The Mental Game

by Thomas N Dorsel

Overview

A golf psychology and instruction guide to address your mental mindset and attitude and improve your game.

Any experienced golfer knows that a pleasurable day at the course can quickly turn to frustration if your game isn't going your way. In Golf: The Mental Game, Tom Dorsel, who has written about the psychological side of golf for Golf Illustrated, Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, and Golfweek, teaches you how to break down your thinking, emotions, and actions to raise your performance and help you fall back in love with the game.

Topics include:

• The basics: getting started right, using the clubs correctly, and scoring
• Thinking clearly: concentrating, what you should be thinking about, eliminating negative thoughts, keys to developing a great swing, and visualizing doing it right
• Controlling emotions: building confidence, sharpening mental toughness, making your personality work for you (not against you), relieving stress through talking to yourself, and handling pressure
• Effective action: practicing your skills, warming up, playing the game, and improving your game through goal-setting
• Mental mysteries of golf: slumps, the effect of your good moments and bad, the mental gymnastics of putting, and collapses

From casual weekend golfers to competitive professionals alike, Golf will appeal to readers of Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf, W. Timothy Gallwey's The Inner Game of Golf, and Dr. Bob Rotella's Golf is Not a Game of Perfect.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781581826494
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	04/01/2008
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	1,038,539
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Tom Dorsel, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and has been a professor of psychology at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC, for more than 20 years. Widely recognized for his contributions to the field of sports psychology, he has been listed by Golf Magazine as one of the leading golf psychologists in the country. He is the author of The Complete Golfer: Physical Skill and Mental Toughness, and dozens of scholarly and popular articles in the fields of psychology and sports.

Table of Contents

Preface     11
Acknowledgments     13
Introduction     15
The Basics
Getting Started     21
What Exactly Is the Mental Game?     23
The Nine R's of Golf     31
Equipment Has a Mental Side, Too!     37
Leave Your Ego in the Locker Room     41
Behavior Modification for Slow Play     47
Faster Play-10 Steps to Achieve It     51
The Score     57
Four Things in Every Round that Determine Your Scores     59
Count All Your Strokes-Keeping Accurate Score Improves Your Game     65
How to Determine Your True Handicap     71
Measure Your Progress with Alternative Scores     77
The Scoreboard-Should You Look?     81
The Case for Serious Golf     85
Clear Thinking
Concentration     91
Maintain Focus-A Can't-miss State of Mind     93
Just What Do You Focus on During the Swing?     99
Isolate Yourself to Improve Your Focus     105
Tips for Eliminating Negative Thoughts     109
Swing Keys and Visualization     115
Swing Keys and Mental Images Can Lower Your Scores     117
How to Use Swing Keys More Effectively     123
Visualize Success-Every Shot Pretty as a Picture     129
Play Slow-motion Golf for Better Results     135
The Most Important Millisecond in Golf     141
Controlled Emotions
Confidence and Mental Toughness     149
How Your Personality Can Affect Your Game     151
Seven Ways to Build Confidence on the Course     157
Sharpen Your Mental Toughness     163
Pressure and Choking     169
Six Ways to Prevent Choking     171
Handling the Pressure of Partner Golf     177
Making the Big Putt     183
Golf's a Struggle-So Why Not Enjoy It?     189
Effective Action
Practice     197
Make the Most Out of Limited Practice Time     199
Hitting Great Shots Under Pressure     205
Rise Above the Situation-Make Similarity Your Friend     211
Playing the Game     217
Getting Ready-The Proper Way to Warm Up     219
How to Play the Mental Game for 18 Holes     225
Eight Secrets for Better Course Management     231
Gain Control of Your Game-Learn to Place the Ball     239
Staying with a Bad Round     243
How to Get Your Head Back in the Game     247
What Every Player Wants      253
Game Improvement     259
Preparing for the New Season-Seven Tips     261
Seven Things You Can Do to Improve Scores and Lower Your Handicap     269
How to Reach Your Goals This Season     277
Aggressive Play-Why Going for the Pin Pays Off     285
Take Your Game to the Next Level     289
Win Tournaments-Think Like a Champ     295
Stay Sharp During the Off-season     301
The Strange Game of Golf
Golf's Mental Mysteries     309
Breaking a Slump-Six Ways to Get Your Game Back on Track     311
Golf's Best and Worst-Simultaneously     315
The Mental Gymnastics of Putting     321
Solving Golf's Mental Mysteries     327
How the Pros Do It-Make the Most Out of Attending a PGA Tournament     335
Conclusion     341
Index     343