Psychology Books

Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game

Joseph Parent

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• Mental Game
• Hard Cover

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Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Buddhism
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> Psychology
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Improve my game!! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I am a beginner golfer and this book is helpful for the mental part of golf! I would suggest it to anyone that plays golf. I gave to a friend that throws clubs in frustration and she played a round for the first time with no broken clubs and was relaxed, she says the book is helping her too

I am enjoying golf again 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

After being frustrated with myself on the golf course during the past few months I was beginning to wonder if I might stop playing.I have a handicap of 19 and was really struggling to play to it.Once I had a bad hole I would get down on myself and the whole thing would snowball.
After reading Zen Golf and putting into practice some of the techniques I have played two lots of 9 hole stableford competitions and had 23+25 points.
I have played 2 rounds of 18 holes in competition.The first round of our club championship at 85-19-66 (par is 69).In our annual men's tournament 83-19-64.During these rounds I have only had one 7 and nothing higher.
Most importantly I have actually been enjoying myself.
I am certain this booked has really helped me and I will continue to use the techniques that I have learnt.I will probably read this book over and over when I need to as there are several more things I want to try.

Editorial Review:

Clear, concise, and enlightening, this book introduces a unique perspective combing modern psychology, Buddhist wisdom, and professional golf instruction in order to master the mental game. Dr. Parent guides golfers with simple yet powerful techniques to prepare for, execute and respond to the results of any golf shot. By applying classic insights and stories from the Buddhist tradition to the challenges of golf, Zen Golf shows how to make one's mind an ally instead of an enemy: how to stay calm, clear the interference that leads to poor shots, and eliminate bad habits and mental mistakes.

Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia

David L. Cook

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Features:

• Paper Back
• David Cook, Ph.D.
• Foreward by Tom Lehman
• Seven Days At The Links Of Utopia

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Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Sports
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> Psychology
Subjects -> Sports -> Golf -> Inspiration

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Best reading in years 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I don't give myself much time to sit and read books, even though I am currently reading three books and haven't finished any of them. When I received this one, I honestly couldn't put it down. Golf's Sacred Journey is so much more than a book of golf. It is a motivational book on life. I have taken some of the lessons that are mentioned in the book to my own personal life and has helped me deal with tough situations. It has also helped my game during the times that I used to get frusturated after a few bad shots, to get back up top and control my game (not someone else's).

Editorial Review:

You never really know when you might meet someone who will change your life. Golf's Sacred Journey is a story about a "chance" meeting between a fictitious golf professional and his unorthodox mentor. As the story unfolds, we-along with the pro-learn lessons about golf and life that we never expected to learn in places we never expected to learn them. "David Cook is a man of faith," writes Tom Lehman in the foreword. "He has made it perfectly clear how faith can and should interact with all areas in our life."

Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

Dr. Bob Rotella

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Features:

• Mental Game
• Hard Cover

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Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General AAS
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> Psychology

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 77 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Far from perfect but a worthwhile cure for insomnia 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

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 I did:

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.

Editorial Review:

One of golf guru Jim Flick's mantras is that golf is 90 percent mental, and the other 10 percent is mental, too. Dr. Bob Rotella, a noted sports psychologist and performance consultant, roots around the golfer's mind to expose--and analyze--the doubts, the fears, and the frustrations that haunt anyone who's ever picked up a club and swung it. Through anecdote and aphorism he suggests how these mental and emotional hazards can be played through, and, regardless of skill level, how teeing off with a more positive and confident outlook will translate into better performance.

Your 15th Club: The Inner Secret to Great Golf

Dr. Bob Rotella

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Features:

• Hard Cover
• The Inner Secret To Great Golf

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Self-Help -> Motivational
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> Psychology
Subjects -> Sports -> Golf -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

confidence 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The 15th Club is an excellent book for players at any level.
It will definately help your score and your ability to enjoy the game.

Bad thoughts list 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

If you want a list of nicely done negative thoughts and self doubts, read this book.

I got the audio version of the book, and listening to almost 2 and a half (out of 5) discs made me feel much worse than I felt before picking it up. I am not sure what the author is trying to achieve by repeating negative thoughts over and over again, all the while emphasizing how bad negative thoughts are for your game. The book also tells you that (pretty much) repetition sends your conscious thoughts to your sub-conscious. I can't understand why then, is the author repeating so much negativity. I think I am discouraged enough to not complete the audio book.

Not sure if I feel this way because, being an absolute beginner, I had no real problem with my golf game. Perhaps I might try listening again, in a year or so, when, I think, I would have real problem(s) with my game.

This is the first golf mental game book that I started reading. If other mental game books are like this.... we are doomed. PS: I have no experience with the author's other writings.

This book is too negative. Perhaps naivety is the key :) Be Naive, Be Happy, Play good golf.

I gave this book 2 stars because I learned 2 things that may help me: Good shots journal, and Writing affirmations. But the ratio of helpful stuff to bad thoughts is just way too over whelming.

Editorial Review:

Every golfer has 14 clubs in his bag, but the golfers who win-on tour or in their foursome on any public course in America-have something extra. It's their 15th club, and Bob Rotella, author of the classic Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, is here to show you how to use it. This major work gives golfers a plan to play at peak levels by practicing with their most underused asset-their mind.

Every Shot Must Have a Purpose: How GOLF54 Can Make You a Better Player

Pia Nilsson, Lynn Marriott, Ron Sirak

Amazon Price: $15.30 List Price: $22.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Gotham Amazon Marketplace: 61 new & used starting at $2.00

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Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> Psychology
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> General
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 36 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

It’s not about changing your swing—it’s about changing your mind: Two legendary coaches give golfers a powerful new approach to the game... and to life.

As coaches to some of golf’s top players, Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott have designed and refined a revolutionary way of teaching the game, with phenomenal results. They don’t believe in prescribing the same stance, grip, and swing to everyone, followed by hours of purposeless drilling. They don’t even believe in beginning with physical technique. Their success has proven to them that a great game begins with a great vision.

Unlike any other golf book, Every Shot Must Have a Purpose offers cutting-edge techniques for integrating the physical, technical, mental, emotional, and social parts of a player’s game. The book’s revolutionary pre-shot routine will improve your focus, leading to a golf swing that is not only successful but can be repeated under extreme pressure. Emphasizing the individual golfer rather than a rigid set of mechanics, their VISION54 method takes the frustration out of the game. Why 54? Because they believe it’s possible to shoot a 54 (making a birdie on every hole of a par-72 course) if you have the right mind-set and well-honed intuitive power.

An engaging read for the beginner or the seasoned golfer, Every Shot Must Have a Purpose is inspiration for life, not just the links.

“I have been impressed by Pia ever since I saw her in action in the late 1980’s, first as a player and then as my coach. Pia is open-minded and intelligent and possesses the desire to constantly help others develop... I have been inspired to follow her beliefs and life philosophy.”
—Annika Sorenstam, LPGA

Zen Putting: Mastering the Mental Game on the Greens

Joseph Parent

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Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> Psychology
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> General
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From Dr. Joe Parent, noted PGA Tour Instructor and bestselling author of Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game comes a new book of simple yet powerful techniques for success in golf's game within the game: PUTTING

Confidence, as every golfer knows, is the key to peak performance on the greens. ZEN PUTTING builds your confidence through a thinking-outside-the-box approach that helps golfers of all levels get out of their own way and roll the ball better than ever. In chapters such as "Already in the Hole," "Stop the Bleeding," and "Turn Knee-knockers into Tap-ins," you'll find the insights and methods that will help you take your putting to the next level, with more consistency, less frustration, and lower scores. Using his distinctive blend of sports psychology, Zen wisdom, and practical golf instruction, Dr. Joe Parent shares the lessons and practice exercises that have dramatically improved the putting of PGA professionals and amateurs alike.

In clear, concise chapters, ZEN PUTTING covers everything from warm-up and practice programs to the ideal routine for setting up to and executing a putt. You'll discover how to synchronize body and mind to make your smoothest stroke time after time and build your confidence round after round.

ZEN PUTTING brings a fresh perspective to the art of putting, leading golfers to the effortless focus and confidence of being in the zone, the feeling that they can make every putt they look at. It is a book all golfers will want to return to again and again.

Golf in the Kingdom (An Esalen Book)

Michael Murphy

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Features:

• Novel
• Paper Back

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Self-Help -> Motivational
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> United States -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Michael Murphy: Revolutionary Thinker 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I met Michael Murphy in the late 1960's. The charismatic leader of the human potential movement captured my attention and admiration immediately. Mr. Murphy was one of those characters who sparkle with mystical magic. His life reads like a calendar of magical events. At every turn he seems to either run into or encounter the most provocative people one can imagine: Steinbeck, Spiegelberg, Brodie, Price, Aurobindo, Thompson, Maslow, and many, many more.
With the publication of Golf in the Kingdom (His first book), he managed to create a new movement, which came to be known as The Sport and Yoga Movement. The book is a delightful integration of sport, mysticism, and yoga, with a whole lot of magic sprinkled between the lines. I am amazed at its dissenters and critics. It is not "junk" as some need to say. For those of you who say it is "not for golfers", I think I can safely assume that you are regularly shooting twenty to thirty over par. There are some that say that this is just another worn-out philosophical rag, trying to integrate what's common, and I would think for them mundane, with the paranormal and mystical energies that hover all around us. To them, I would say that there is a shread of truth to their thoughts. I would like to ask those people to provide me with any literary references, expousing this thesis, that pre-date Mr. Murphy's book. For those that claim that this is just another clever contrivance for making a quick buck, I would say you are about as far off the mark as those that dismiss the book as "junk". Mr. Murphy was born wealthy. At some point in his life he inherited a large sum of money, most of which he either donated or spent in efforts to enhance the human condition. When I met the man, I believe that it was in 1969, he was driving an aged 1962, six cylinder, stick shift Cheverolet. He had bought the car new, and at that time felt that he could get at least another ten years out of it.
Bravo, Michael. Bravo for Golf in the Kingdom, and bravo for a life well lived.

Ronald James

Editorial Review:

Esalen Institute founder Michael Murphy's divine meditation on the royal and ancient game defied categorization when it was first published in 1972, and it still does. Instantly hailed as a classic, Golf in the Kingdom is an altogether unique confluence of fiction, philosophy, myth, mysticism, enchantment, and golf instruction. The central character is a wily Scotsman named Shivas Irons, a golf professional by vocation and a shaman by design, whom Murphy, as participant in his own novel, meets in 1956 on the links of Burningbush, in Fife. The story of their round of golf together culminates in a wild night of whiskey and wisdom where, as Shivas demonstrates how the swing reflects the soul, their golf quite literally takes on a metaphysical glow. The events alter not only Murphy's game, but they also radically alter his mind and inner vision; it's truly unforgettable. For a golfer, Murphy's masterpiece is as essential as a set of clubs.

The Golfer's Mind: Play to Play Great

Dr. Bob Rotella

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Features:

• Mental Game
• Hard Cover

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Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> Psychology
Subjects -> Sports -> Golf -> General
Subjects -> Sports -> Golf -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A great Mental aide 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Since Golf is, in my opinion, a "mental" game, this book really helped me over the hurdles of negative thoughts. Took Dr. Rotella's "therapy" with me on the course......Truly, helped to improve my game I highly recommend it.

"Typical" 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was a typical Rotella book. Really, it is a compilation of statements made in his other books..."Golf is Not a Game of Perfect",
"Putting Out of Your Mind", Golf is a Game of Confidence", and "The Golf of Your Dreams." Now, I have six of his books (including Life is Not a Game of Perfect"; and, although enlightening, he's pretty much said it all a couple of times.

Editorial Review:

Here is Dr. Bob Rotella's new reference guide on the essential elements of golf. It includes "Rotella Rules," which will reinforce the attitude needed to maximize a player's performance. In format and style, it's designed specifically for easy transport and use. Each chapter is dedicated to a discipline of the mental game, including confidence, concentration, attitude, and competition, among others. The chapters conclude with quotes from golfers, athletes, and coaches. Rotella's thousands of followers will love this convenient tool when they need quick access to the basic points of his teachings.

Extraordinary Putting: Transforming the Whole Game

Fred Shoemaker, Jo Hardy

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Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> Psychology
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> General
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the bestselling author and world-renowned coach, a unique approach to the often neglected art of putting that reveals three important keys to unlock the secrets to improved performance and overall satisfaction.

E xtraordinary Putting offers an innovative approach to improving the overall golf game by focusing on putting, which accounts for more than one-third of the strokes in a typical round. Although not a tips-and-techniques book, Extraordinary Putting features a series of illustrated exercises that will help players develop:

- inner freedom to trust themselves and to recognize self-imposed barriers
- peace of mind that comes from eliminating mental chatter and self-judgments
- increased awareness that allows them to pay attention to their experiences, to understand the differences in those experiences from stroke to stroke, and to master the art of self-coaching

More than a dissertation on the "mental" game, Extraordinary Putting aims to help players let go of expectations, find true enjoyment in the game, and, above all, develop the ability to self-coach that is critical to ongoing success.

Extraordinary Golf: The Art of the Possible

Fred Shoemaker, Pete Shoemaker

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> General AAS
Subjects -> Sports -> Coaching -> Golf -> Psychology

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Enlightening Book on Golf 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is an excellent presentation of the spiritual side of the game. Filled with unique drills designed to bring out the "inner athlete" in us all, Showmaker has created a classic exploration of the real reasons we should all be enjoying the game of golf.

Truly a mind-opening read - great for golfers and instructors alike

Excellent Reading 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Extraordinary Golf: The Art of Possible is a book that anyone who plays the game of golf should read. I wish I could have read it or something near it twenty five years ago.

Unlightening 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Having read Golf in the Kingdom, and Inner Game of Golf some time ago, I looked forward to this more recent book on mental aspect of golf.
My handicap has drifted up from 3 to 6 over the last year, so I was looking for a fresh approach. The day after reading the first 130 pages, I resolved to play without fear, not be upset by bad shots, and enjoy my playing partners.
With OB left, trees to the right, I striped my drive on the 440 yd par 4, followed by a 5 iron to 8 feet, and drained the putt. What a great book!
Four hours later I found myself in the clubhouse having shot a 90 for the first time in over 20 years, with four OBs and five 3 putts.
It's a good thing that "looking good" was no longer important to me, as I endured the ribbing, jabs and outright taunts of several of my fellow players.
I'll finish the book. But most likely you'll find it listed on the Used Books here very shortly.

Editorial Review:

A renowned golf teacher gives golfers a new perspective on the game by combining a host of practical and proven exercises with a whole new way of thinking.