the golfer's mind by dr bob rotella(chapters 0ne - fourteen)

some thoughts from the book -quotes or paraphrases------

use your mind to achieve greatness
play to play great; don't play to play poorly
love the challenge of the day
get out of results and get into process
be in a great state of mind on the golf course
be careful about caring too much in the outcome
believe in yourself so you can play freely
have faith in yourself
see where you want the ball to go on every shot
be decisive, committed and clear
be your own best friend
LOVE YOUR WEDGE and YOUR PUTTER
bring the best possible attitude to play and practice
necessity of trust in your swing
don't swing while sorting out bits and pieces of conflicting advice
your mind is powerful, but you must control it and use it properly
to be committed takes discipline and practice
virtually every golfer has the potential to be MUCH better than he or she is
and using the mind is one way to do it
commit to developing physical and mental skills
have fun doing it

golf is a game of confidence and competence
if you trust a bad swing it will still give bad shots
there is no such thing as muscle memory; muscles have no capacity
to remember anything. memory resides in your head;
muscles are controlled by your mind
golf is a game of mistakes and unpredictable fortune
don't end up a ninety year old wondering when if the game will come together
don't be consumed by anxiety and tension
react to the inevitable mistakes and misfortunes
one thing you can be about your game is to be proud of how you react to mistakes
you cannot have complete control over the golf ball, but you can control your
attitude
don't respond passively to what happens on the golf course;don't let how you play
dictate your attitude
*mastering this concept helps determine how good a golfer you become and how
fun you have along the way
a player's worth is not directly correlated to the score he shoots
but you must care enough about the score to want to practice and improve
be an optimist
don't be a sponge who listens to everyone who has advice on your game
learn when to listen to someone you trust and when to be self reliant and learn
the difference
THE QUESTION IS WHETHER YOU ARE WILLING TO PUT IN THE TIME AND ENERGY TO DEVELOP
THE TALENT YOU HAVE
real people are always out of balance in some way; at some point they keep redressing
the balance
playing to play great is not playing recklessly
playing to be good can keep you from becoming great
control your destiny as a golfer; you have free will
make the4 right choices so you can look back on the part of your life you devoted to your golf game and say "that was great"
you control your self image; you create it yourself and you can improve it
your subconscious never ignores a destructive thought; it's always listening
make sure helpful thoughts dominate
recent thoughts have more impact than older thoughts
process goals- trust myself and my swing on every shot
golf is a game of mistakes
the key to scoring well is to make your misses better
remember your good shots- feel joy about them
forget your bad shots almost as soon as they happen and get ready for the next shot
have compassion for yourself when you mishit a shot
think about what you want to happen on the golf course and not what you don't
want to happen
focus the mind and think about the ball going to the target
confidence about a shot is no more than thinking only about the ball going to
the target
stay in the present- golf presents numerous opportunities for the mind to wander
stepping onto the tee thinking that this is a birdie hole means you are already
thinking 2-3 shots ahead-think only about how and where you want to hit your tee
shot;;;;;; you hit the tee shot; you accept the shot; you find it; you think
about the shot you have now and you repeat the process until the ball is in
the hole; and you do that until you run out of holes; you don't think about how
you are playing as that would be staying in the past;don't judge or critique;
nor do you keep a running score total(past and present)
if your mind is truly in the present you don't play tight and scared; you don't
get overly excited or discouraged on the golf course
don't think about the outcome and don't stay mired in past mistakes
during the round there is only trust and acceptance
you want the smallest possible target you can see easily; look at it with soft eyes;
don't be rigid
don't guide or steer the ball-swing freely
the more your mind is consumed with the target, the more your instincts and
sub-conscious will help you
if you are angry you are focused on the last shot; anger is a choice
accept whatever happens to a shot and move on-mistakes are going to happen
if you play golf you have to accept that weird things are going to happen to your
golf ball
a good round starts with a good game plan-and an honest assessment of your strengths
thinking confidently is not thinking recklessly
you must trust your swing on the golf course - you must believe it will work
the idea isn't to try your hardest, it is to try your best
why should you trust a flawed swing?
the correct response to a bad shot is to forget about it
on the next shot do your pre-swing routine and trust your swing
if you cannot trust the swing you are about to hit, then go ahead and change it
to a swing you can trust;don't just hit it anyway
you are better off hitting a five iron you trust than a driver you don't
and just accepting less distance from it
around the greens hit a shot you can trust-putt instead of chip for example
TAKE THE CONSCIOUS,DOUBTING,SELF-CRITICAL, ANALYTICAL, AND CAREFUL SIDE OF YOUR MIND
AND STICK IT IN YOUR LOCKER BEFORE YOU PLAY; FIND A WAY TO GET THE BALL INTO THE HOLE
UNCONSCIOUSLY
if you don't trust yourself, you will only trust your swing when it is working
perfectly
think about swing mechanics only on the practice range

the perfectionism syndrome can lead to mood swings, depression, increased anxiety,
and reduced self-esteem; all advice is perceived as critical and he gets
defensive; this leads to more frustration
--- learn to like yourself; you must be able to leave the course and enjoy
yourself in the evening regardless of how you played that day
setbacks are opportunities for growth and improvement
perfectionism is an easy problem to fix
you should play as if missing fairways and greens don't matter rather than be a perfectionist