You possess more natural ability to play the game than you think. Call it intuitive knowledge, call it an inner genius-the fact is, it is there', Scott Cranfield, PGA Master Professional. This book will show you a new way to learn the game, a way that allows your body to tap into your intuitive ability by freeing both your body and your mind. It will show you how to develop your own golf swing - rather than someone else's - and play your own game. Armed with this approach, you will finally be able to free yourself from fear and play the game you have always wanted to play. It's the natural and easy path to having more fun on the course and playing better golf.
Nick Faldo is considered one of the world's most complete golfers. For years he analysed his game in search of the perfect swing. In this extensive book-the fully updated and revised version of a timeless golf classic-he shares his experience and the skills of that game. Faldo explains the principles behind his flowing, consistent swing-a swing to apply to every club in the bag. He discusses driving strategy, short-game technique, bunker play, and the art of putting, and includes new information on fitness, equipment, his philosophy of golf, new developments in his swing, and more. Supporting these principles are 250 superb photographs that illustrate how to swing, no matter what part of the course you're on. For experienced golfers, Faldo's strategy on "working the ball" will surely fascinate, as will his philosophy of "taking your game to the course." He stresses that practice and confidence go together-and in this essential book, filled with the same drills and exercises he personally uses for tournament preparation, will help readers create their own "swing for life."
A detailed plan for conquering the FEAR that sabotages swings and ruins psyches, from the pioneering psychologist whose techniques have benefited Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, and numerous other world-class golfers. As Jack Nicklaus once observed, fear is the golfer’s greatest enemy, inspiring Tiger Woods to "refuse" to give in to this debilitating emotion. It can turn professionals into jelly and dominate the games of most amateurs. It alters swing paths, causes “tap-in” putts to go awry, and transforms a golfer from a brilliant shot-maker on the practice range into an incompetent hack on the course. Most golfers understand this, but do not have the tools to overcome it. That’s where Dr. Gio Valiante comes in. A pioneering sports psychologist, Valiante has studied the sources of an athlete’s fear, investigated the physiological and neurological impact of fear on performance, and, most important of all, developed a groundbreaking program for conquering it. With Valiante's help and by applying Fearless Golf, Justin Leonard went from three consecutive missed cuts to three consecutive top tens, and Chad Campbell recently moved from 98th in the world to 7th. Davis Love III went from zero wins in 2002 to four wins in 2003, and Chris DiMarco made the 2004 Ryder Cup Team. Emphasizing the need to replace a fixation-on-results with a commitment to mastery of one’s body and one's mind, Valiante’s approach will not only help golfers reach their true potential, it will make playing every round fun again. Through concrete confidence and mastery drills, he presents specific ways readers can break free of fear’s grasp and perform at their best—even under the most extreme pressure. With detailed quotes and anecdotes given exclusively to Dr. Valiante from the best players in the game—including Jack Nicklaus, Ernie Els, and other tour professionals, Fearless Golf is the ultimate guide to the mental game, the hottest topic in golf today.
A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.
A highly original and groundbreaking book from a noted PGA coach and Buddhist instructor • “The lessons in Zen Golf make the mental game seem so simple. Dr. Parent has given me very effective methods for working with thoughts and emotions, and for taking the negatives out of the picture.” —Vijay Singh, Masters and PGA Champion By combining classic insights and stories from Zen tradition, Zen Golf helps eliminate the mental distractions that routinely cause poor shots and loss of concentration, allowing golfers to feel in “the zone” that professionals have learned to master. The best players know that golf is a game of confidence, and most important, concentration–the ability to focus and block out distraction. The goal of achieving clear thought is also at the heart of Buddhist teachings. PGA coach and Buddhist instructor Dr. Joseph Parent draws on this natural connection and teaches golfers how to clear their minds, achieve ultimate focus, and play in the moment for each shot. Zen Golf presents a simple system for building “mental game mastery.” Dr Parent’s unique PAR Approach (focusing on Preparation, Action, and Response to Results) guides golfers with specific techniques for each aspect of their games. In chapters such as “How to Get From the Practice Tee to the First Tee”, “You Produce What You Fear”, and “How to Enjoy a Bad Round of Golf”, the author shares a personal teaching regimen that has helped improve the games of professionals and amateurs alike. Clear, concise, and enlightening, Zen Golf shows golfers how to prepare for, execute, and equally important, respond the results of any golf shot. A different approach to golf instruction, this book shapes ancient philosophies into new teachings.
“In the hands of Mike Leach and Buddy Levy, the story of this brilliant Apache leader comes into sharp focus, both in their narrative of his life and in spirited commentaries on its meaning” (S.C. Gwynne, author of Pulitzer Prize finalist Empire of the Summer Moon). Playing cowboys and Indians as a boy, legendary college football coach Mike Leach always chose to be the Indian—the underdog whose success turned on being a tough, resourceful, ingenious fighter. And the greatest Indian military leader of all was Geronimo, the Apache warrior whose name is so symbolic of courage that World War II paratroopers shouted it as they leaped from airplanes into battle. Told in the style of Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power, Leach’s compelling and inspiring book examines Geronimo’s leadership approach and the timeless strategies, decisions, and personal qualities that made him a success. Raised in an unforgiving landscape, Geronimo and his band faced enemies better armed, better equipped, and more numerous than they were. But somehow they won victories against all odds, beguiling the United States and Mexican governments and earning the respect and awe of those generals committed to hunting him down. While some believed that Geronimo had supernatural powers, much of his genius can be ascribed to old-fashioned values such as relentless training and preparation, leveraging resources, finding ways to turn defeats into victories, and being faster and more nimble than his enemy. The tactics of Geronimo would be studied and copied by the US military for generations. Pain, pride, humility, family—many things shaped Geronimo’s life. In this “compelling book that humanizes a man many misunderstood” (New York Times bestselling author Brian Kilmeade), Mike Leach illustrates how we too can use the forces and circumstances of our own lives to build true leadership today.
From top players on the professional tours to weekend hackers, golfers have paid thousands of dollars to study with Jim Flick. Now in paperback, Flick's book makes his unique, golfer-friendly, one-on-one teaching method accessible to anyone who wants to play the game.
Ben Hogan is legendary, intriguing, and mysterious. It's a combination that has contributed to Hogan being the most interesting golfer of all time. Aside from his amazing competitive record, his secretive and solitary personality provoke wonder and devotion among thousands of golfers worldwide who attempt to unlock Hogan's secret code of how to swing a golf club and strike a golf ball. Hogan himself has fueled this intrigue, mainly because he openly declared that he had a "secret," one that he never publicly revealed. Many top professionals have speculated on what they thought Hogan's secret might be, but until now those speculations were not supported by any revelations from Hogan himself. Now, author Larry Miller, who was mentored by Tommy Bolt, who in turn was one of Hogan's protÉgÉs, shares Hogan's secret as he learned it. This secret fundamental, which Miller breaks down into two aspects and explains with the aid of full-color photography and illustrations, will help the average golfer implement Hogan's teachings to benefit his or her game.
