Books for Mental Aspect of Golf

[boogielicious]

23 minutes ago, Zengolfer said:

Golf is mostly a mental game because its more about controlling your emotions and not getting out of your own head because all the ball is just sitting there, so its not so much about athletic ability or reaction time.

Thats why so many people can hit the ball well on the driving range but when they are on the course where it matters, they cant do it.  It also explains why you also have some golfers who are quite good in a casual round where it doesnt matter but when its tournament golf, they fall apart.

Supposedly, Bobby Jones once said,"golf is a game that is played on a 5 inch course - the space between your ears."  

This has been discussed ad nauseam on this site. On the range, you have 70 balls to do it right and when you luckily hit a good one, you con yourself into thinking you are good. On the course, you have one ball.

 

[iacas]

46 minutes ago, Zengolfer said:

Golf is mostly a mental game because its more about controlling your emotions and not getting out of your own head because all the ball is just sitting there, so its not so much about athletic ability or reaction time.

Thats why so many people can hit the ball well on the driving range but when they are on the course where it matters, they cant do it.  It also explains why you also have some golfers who are quite good in a casual round where it doesnt matter but when its tournament golf, they fall apart.

Supposedly, Bobby Jones once said,"golf is a game that is played on a 5 inch course - the space between your ears."  

Uhhhh, no.

Like Scott said, discussed many times. Look for those topics.

[leftybutnotPM]

9 hours ago, Zengolfer said:

Golf is mostly a mental game because its more about controlling your emotions and not getting out of your own head because all the ball is just sitting there, so its not so much about athletic ability or reaction time.

Thats why so many people can hit the ball well on the driving range but when they are on the course where it matters, they cant do it.  It also explains why you also have some golfers who are quite good in a casual round where it doesnt matter but when its tournament golf, they fall apart.

Supposedly, Bobby Jones once said,"golf is a game that is played on a 5 inch course - the space between your ears."  

Oh Gawd - unbelievable.

[mvmac]

If your index is in the 40 range you're going to see the most improvement, by far, working on technique/mechanics.

Mental game doesn't matter much if you can't hit it solid. Also, as your technique improves, typically your "anxiety" will lessen. 

To try and answer your question, I haven't read many golf mental books but one book that has helped my "perspective" in tournaments is Stillpower by Garret Kramer. If you follow him on Twitter you'll basically get the jist of his stuff.

https://twitter.com/GarretKramer

If you wanted more of a game plan to implement swing/athletic cues on the course or better ways to practice, I'd check out this guy. 

mentalperformance

 

[SemperFi]

19 hours ago, mvmac said:

If your index is in the 40 range you're going to see the most improvement, by far, working on technique/mechanics.

Mental game doesn't matter much if you can't hit it solid. Also, as your technique improves, typically your "anxiety" will lessen. 

To try and answer your question, I haven't read many golf mental books but one book that has helped my "perspective" in tournaments is Stillpower by Garret Kramer. If you follow him on Twitter you'll basically get the jist of his stuff.

https://twitter.com/GarretKramer

If you wanted more of a game plan to implement swing/athletic cues on the course or better ways to practice, I'd check out this guy. 

mentalperformance

 

Thanks, I will check him out. I have invested the past year in lessons and practicing at Golf Tec.  At the range and at home.  My swing and confidence are better.  But both need more work.  I had no idea how technical the golf swing is. I will forever be a work in progress as I love this game.  Thanks for all the replies.  

[amished]

The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey is one of the better mental game books out there, but the biggest parts that I took from it has to do more with how you should practice and how to view your game.  

It definitely tries to emphasize that if you practice properly and can trust the movements that you're physically doing, you're going to get your best performance by not thinking about what you're doing mechanically (limiting swing thoughts).  It also talks about keeping a level head while practicing or playing, finding other ways to measure success or to not let the pressure get to you.  What's the worst that could happen during a round?  You lose a couple balls and you have something to work on, essentially.  Putting too much pressure on yourself makes it harder to keep those mechanical thoughts out of the way, so it's advocating a way to focus on certain things or to not let things bother you.

Short version: as long as your physical ability is where you want it, this book will try to get you playing more in the "Unconsciously competent" range of activity, so you're not thinking about your swing, or where your weight is, or anything other than the result you put in front of yourself.

[Foot Wedge]

On 7/20/2019 at 2:47 PM, saevel25 said:

Perspective is a big thing. It's also a simple thing. 

@SemperFi, this^.  For me, any day I get to play golf is a good one.  Shit, any day I have a job, friends, family, and a home is a pretty good one.  My family comes from a country where the average person is much worse off than they are here, so it's fairly easy for me to be relaxed and enjoy a round of golf.  Also, what do I have riding on that 160 yard tee shot over water?  Absolutely nothing. OK maybe a $2 Kirkland Signature.

On 7/21/2019 at 6:26 AM, Zengolfer said:

Golf is mostly a mental game because its more about controlling your emotions and not getting out of your own head because all the ball is just sitting there, so its not so much about athletic ability or reaction time.

Unless you're telekinetic, the only way to get the ball in the hole is with the physically technical and athletic act known as the golf swing (or putt for semantics sake).  You know what makes it easier to play golf?  Having a good golf swing.  You're a number of strokes better than me, so I'm sure yours holds up quite nicely even if you're not in the best mood.  See my comment above, if a rough round of golf is the worst thing that happened to you today, you're doing alright.