Winning Golf: The Mental Game (Creating the Focus, Feeling, and Confidence to Play Consistently Well)

by Saul L. Miller

Overview

One of the world’s leading sport psychologists offers practical techniques to improve your golf performance and learn the peak performance mindset

In Winning Golf, Dr. Saul L. Miller, one of the world’s leading sport psychologists, describes eight of the most common problems limiting golfing performance and in the process gives readers powerful, practical techniques to overcome these challenges. With his guidance, you’ll learn the performance mindset and emotional management to play with more impact, consistency, and pleasure.

Do you want to discover what the pros do to prepare mentally and excel under pressure? Winning Golf’s mental training program comes with input from over 70 of the world’s top golfers. There is specific advice on how to improve your short game, develop an effective shot routine, tune out negative and anxious mental chatter, play calm and strong, master the “yips,” and use performance-enhancing self-talk and imagery to strengthen confidence and develop a more competitive golf identity.

You will also get insights from the Sub-60 Club — the elite set of PGA golfers who shot sub-60 rounds on regulation courses — and hear from several pro athletes from the NHL and NFL about how the mental training they did with Dr. Miller has transferred to and improved their golf game.

Bottom line, Winning Golf: The Mental Game will significantly improve your golf game, and the very same techniques will enhance the quality of your life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781778520419
Publisher:	ECW Press
Publication date:	10/25/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	232
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Dr. Saul L. Miller is one of the world’s leading performance and sport psychologists. For over 40 years, he has helped athletes excel under pressure. His clients include PGA and collegiate golfers and athletes in the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, European pro teams, and Olympians from the USA, Canada, and Europe. He divides his time between British Columbia and California.

Read an Excerpt

Mapping Out the Mental Game

“Success in golf depends less on strength of body than upon strength of mind.” — Arnold Palmer

Excellence in any sport is the result of the successful integration of physical, technical, and mental factors. While most athletes and coaches would agree that success on the golf course is at least 50 percent “mental,” there remains a disproportionate emphasis on training the physical and technical aspects of the game, while mental training is underrated.

But not by winners. As Jim Flick, one of golf’s most prolific and influential instructors, stated, “I’ve found that the player with the best mind trumps the player with the best swing.”

The way I see it, the mind is a supercomputer, capable of processing tens of thousands of thoughts, images, and feelings every day, and it’s always on. Most golfers I work with are healthy people, with sound, high-functioning minds. As such, they are capable of running positive, empowering mental programs. My job as a sport psychologist is to show my clients how to develop and run high-performance programs and how to eliminate negative, anxious, and limiting thoughts and feelings. That’s what Winning Golf is all about.

Max Homa put it this way: “I really enjoy working really, really hard. That’s kind of my MO. And I realized that I wasn’t spending enough time working on my brain. And that can get to you out here. It’s a grind. We have an awesome job, but it’s very lonely in your brain at times on the golf course. You have bad shots and you start kicking yourself… . If I’m going to work as hard as I do on the range, on the chipping green, on the putting green I need to be putting that time on myself. And that’s been cool because now I feel like I’m just walking around enjoying my opportunity to compete.”

Table of Contents

Section 1 Introduction

Chapter 1 Mapping Out the Mental Game 3

Chapter 2 The Problem 11

Section 2 Right Feeling

Chapter 3 Managing Emotions - Conscious Breathing 25

Chapter 4 Changing Programs - The Release Reflex 38

Section 3 Right Focus

Chapter 5 Power Thinking 57

Chapter 6 High-Performance Imagery 69

Chapter 7 Exceptional Performances - The Sub-60 Club 83

Section 4 Right Attitude

Chapter 8 Commitment 111

Chapter 9 Confidence 125

Chapter 10 Identity 145

Chapter 11 Balance and Lifestyle 157

Chapter 12 Individual Differences 168

Chapter 13 Transferring Mental Skills 180

Chapter Summaries 192

The Remarkable Cast of Characters in Winning Golf: The Mental Game 197

Acknowledgments 208

Notes 210

Editorial Reviews

It’s likely that most golfers will finish this book taking deep breaths and visualizing their next perfectly struck tee shot.” — Booklist

“Golf is a game where you can go from feeling very relaxed to experiencing stress within minutes. Conscious breathing is just one technique Dr. Miller describes in this fascinating book that will help everyone reduce their stress level before an important shot and generally play with more consistency and impact.” — Bob Gelesko, Golf Professional, Rams Hill Country Club, Borrego Springs, CA

“Winning Golf: The Mental Game provides great insight into the mental side of succeeding on the golf course and in everyday life. Saul has really touched on several areas where high level players and weekend warriors struggle whether they actually realize it or not. A great read and for me a great tune up to regain my mental edge on the course.” — Rhein Gibson, PGA Tour Pro and Guinness record holder of the lowest score in a round (55)

“Dr. Saul’s techniques helped me play the best hockey of my career, particularly during our winning Stanley Cup season. These techniques continue to serve me in life and on the golf course. Reading Winning Golf and continuing to work on the exercises prescribed will improve your performance and pleasure playing golf.” — Bret Hedican, 17-year NHL veteran, Olympian, TV broadcaster, and recreational golfer

“This book can help you to strengthen your mental game and play happier, better golf.” — Nancy Lopez, LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member (48 LPGA victories)

“This is a very clear, comprehensive, and well-organized approach to developing a player’s mental game. Any serious competitor would do well to follow Miller’s suggestions and practice his exercises as much as they work on their mechanics and their physical fitness. I will recommend this work to everyone and I think it could be especially useful to young kids who are mature enough. It’s a great plan for life in general.” — Jim Petralia, member of California PGA Teaching Hall of Fame and one of Golf Magazine’s top 50 American instructors

“Winning Golf: The Mental Game will improve the quality of your golf … and your life. Trust me, this stuff really works.” — Cliff Ronning, 18-year NHL veteran and sub-70 recreational golfer

From the Publisher