Customer Reviews

Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
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The problem with Fearless Golf by Dr. Gio Valiante is that he really has very little to say. There are, basically, only two ideas put forth in this book. (1) Golfers motivated by a desire to master the sport tend to perform better than those whose motivation is to impress other people. (2) People who possess high self-confidence in their skills tend to perform better than those who don't. Thank you, Captain Obvious. Fearless Golf is primarily an exercise in how many slightly different ways, and how many times, it's possible to say those two things. Valiante spends tedious amounts of time in the book's middle discussing how having "mastery golf" attributes is better than not having them (I'm talking 150 pages here, folks), to the point we want to scream, "Okay, we get it! Move ON." It's not until Chapter 4, page 198, that he begins talking about how to improve, how to get from "don't have" to "have". Even then, his advice could be summed up as, "Change, because that would be good." There are no specific exercises, no step-by-step progression put forth.

Understand, I'm not saying the ideas in this book are bad. They're not. It's just that the text is extremely padded, resulting in a slow, boring read. There are five chapters, an introduction and an epilogue in Fearless Golf. If you were editing this book, you could include the Introduction entire, take Chapter 1, cut it in half, skip ahead to Chapter 4, cut it in half, keep most of Chapter 5, lose everything else, and when you were done you'd have a taut, peppy 50-page essay giving you everything of substance in the 275-page Fearless Golf.

valiante takes golf psychology to a new level with this book. whereas rotella's message is very anectodal and breaks down to something like "equipment and your swing don't matter, stop trying to be perfect and accept things more," valiante's message has more a lot more depth. he acknowlegdes the importance of a good swing and the right equipment and his message is well grounded in psychological research. although breaking his message down to a few points is no easy task (as a matter of fact, he goes out of his way at the end to say it's really up to the individual to frame a message in their own context), it would be something like:

- don't attempt to try and control emotions by pretending they don't exist and that you're not nervous, rather condition yourself to respond productively when these feelings arise;
- focus on things you can control such as preparing properly, developing a plan for the course and the target for your next shot, rather than things you can't control such as what other players are shooting or the weather;
- practise makes permanent rather perfect, so be realistic about what it is you need to work on to get better and how accurately your practise routine reflects these items;
- strive to maintain a light grip, because when the nerves tense up you will lose feelings in your outer extremities and without realizing it, you will grip the club much tighter and hit poor shots as a result.

there are other important elements of this book that from someone else's perspective might be prioritized differently (consistent with the notion of what's key for each individual), but these are the keys for me. clearly, the principles laid out in this book transcend golf and provide a framework for success in life. this is one of the few books of any kind that i am certain to re-read from start to finish -- it's really so powerful that you'll want to make sure you don't miss anything and are left with the right plan for you.

my one criticism is the book's format: several exemplary stories about golf professionals (nicklaus, woods, dimarco, stewart, toms, mickelson, etc etc) are inter-woven throughout the chapters but in odd spots where if you want to read the story it interrupts the flow of the chapter or section. most of them are worth reading, however it would have been a lot better to put them at the end of sections to reinforce the point(s) that had just been fully articulated.

but that said this is clearly an instant classic and becomes the new standard that replaces the works on golf psychology that preceded it.

bravo gio!

I know that sounds like ridiculous hype, but it's true.

I swear I'm not the author's brother, cousin, agent or employee. I am a weekend golfer - not even every weekend. I live up north so only play 4 or 5 months out of the year. I've consistently scored 103 to 107 per round over the past 4-5 years.

At the driving range, I hit the vast majority of my shots right down the middle, or at least well enough so that they'd be in play 90% of the time. It's when I get out on the course that it all falls apart. So I knew my technique was okay... it had to be a mental problem. I was thinking of seeing a sports hypnotist but couldn't find one and besides, I just don't play that much golf - maybe about 9 holes a week - and didn't want to invest the time or money.

So I went online to see if I could find a book that would address my problem and found Fearless Golf. There is no technique in book, so if your swing or putting stinks, look elsewhere. This book is all about what's going on inside your head. For me it was a bullseye.

When I first started reading it, I was a little defensive; I'M not fearful... I'M not afraid. But as I went though the book, I realized that I was and just didn't realize it. I was afraid of going with what works... I was holding back and sabotaging myself. I was "afraid" of posting yet another lousy score, "afraid" of losing another $10 bet, "afraid" of wasting my valuable time on another awful round. , etc., etc. This book helped me figure that out and get things straight. Why do I golf? Why don't I trust my swing like I do at the range? Why do my bad shots turn in to more bad shots? I got answers to these questions and more importantly, a few solid, concrete things to do mentally before each shot that have made a huge difference.

The results: on my first 9 holes after finishing the book I went birdie-par-bogey-par and ended up with a 45 (there was a 9 in there). My next 9-hole round was another 45 including another birdie and a few pars. That may not sound so great to you, but in my world pars are rare and birdies were extinct! Those two rounds added up to a 90 - or 13 strokes less than my low-end typical 103!! And 17 less than my typical high-end 107! I've seen all the infomercials on TV and in the magazines of products "guaranteeing to shave 5, 10 or 15 stokes off your score", but this one really worked, not that there's any such promise in his book.

Yesterday I played in a company tournament of which I play 2 or 3 a year. In this pressure situation, on a totally unfamiliar course (in 95 degree heat), I scored a 96, still 7-10 strokes lower than my usual. Several times during play, I realized that I was forgetting to do the mental "warm-up" before each shot and as soon as I went back to it, my shots instantly got better.

Not only are my scores much better, but 80% of the frustration is gone. Whereas last year I was thinking about quitting the sport, I now am thinking that consistent play in the high 80's is realistic. (Hey - I only missed by one stroke on those two 9-hole rounds!)

If my story sounds like you - good at the driving range but much worse on the course, then buy this book. It costs less than a dozen decent golf balls and was EASILY the best $15 investment I've made in years.

I bought this and Pia Nilsson's "Every Shot Must Have a Purpose" at the same time, and I found Pia's book to be much better from a standpoint of having practical information that you can start using on the practice tee and on the course. This book was more academic and less practical. However, I did think that many of the ideas he presented apply not just to golf but to life, and from that standpoint the book had value to me as an inspirational or self-help type book. On the other hand, I think his golf-related ideas could have been presented in a book of half as many pages.

Dr. Valeante's focus on fear and mastery is unique among the mental game gurus.
I've always been intrigued by how the fear of a three foot putt can paralyze a perfectly healthy man. (I've been there.) As Dr. Valiante points out, a lot of it has to do with ego.

When you're preoccupied with what other people think, you can't perform up to your potential. But it's hard to escape ego-oriented thinking. The achievement orientation that's so pervasive in our society feeds into it. For better or worse, we're taught to judge people, and we subconsciously know that we're being judged.

But this book will help you reframe your thinking and minimize the effects of ego on your golf game. It will help you forget about the bad shots, and focus on the positive process of improvement.

There are so many books on the mental side of golf, it's getting to the point of oversaturation. They all offer good insight and helpful information, but some are more applicable than others. This one falls right about in the middle. Dr. Valiante offers plenty of antidotes from tour players to illustrate his ideas, and he makes a very important point... that every round of golf should be approached as a learning experience.

Before purchasing this book I had purchased Bob Rotella's classic title "Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect". I found the Rotella book a little disappointing. Rotella's book didn't seem to have a "if you have this problem, here's a strategy to correct it" organization. It seemed to be a lot of vignettes about professional golfers he's dealt with.

You get more strategies for conquering fear from "Fearless Golf". Valiante talks about mental approaches to golf's mental problems:

-- What does it mean to have "mastery" over your game?
-- What separates "ego" golfers" and "mastery" golfers
-- How to handle "nerves"
-- How to improve your concentration
-- What to think of as you swing the club (the answer is surprising)
-- How to increase your confidence

You won't come away executing shots like Tiger Woods because, as Valiante points out, Tiger has spent his life honing his physical skills and making the most of his physical gifts.

You probably haven't put in the time to get to Tiger's level (who has?) but you can help yourself by getting a better mental outlook on the course.

Once I read this book, I shaved 4 strokes off my handicap index within three weeks (18 to 14.1). I attribute it to the things I learned in this book.

I liked this book immensely and plan to re-read it before every season starts.. so that I can get my "mind right" and execute better. I won't be perfect, but I won't be as tension-filled as I otherwise would be.

Being a golfer who can shoot in the 70's on one day, then in the 90's the next, I figured the best thing I could add to my bag was a book or several on the mental aspects of the game. And, this is one of the most useful I've read. The author applies Professor Albert Bandura's credible concept of self-efficacy to a game that is oh so mental (I suggest you read Bandura's 1994 hallmark paper entitled "Self-efficacy" for more insight). Clearly, this book is helping me go lower and play more consistently. My primary criticism of the book is that the author takes way too long to deliver the message. I was compelled to skip pages containing endless examples and redundant messages. I guess Valiante wanted to hit the 200 page standard to justify the price, but he could have written it in 50 pages.

Nonetheless, if you experience rather wild fluctuations in performance, this book will likely ring true for you.

I have only read 1/3 of the book and it has already helped me. The instruction on reducing grip pressure is worth the price of the book. I played yesterday and consciously tried his suggestions and shot an 81 on a very tough, tight course. I only remember about 3 or 4 bad shots the whole round. I'm a 10 handicap so, this was an unusually good round for me. I had 3 three putt greens, so I'm anxious to read what he says about putting.
It Helps, Buy It
Perry

I have to agree with other reviewers. The message is a good one but it takes way too many pages to make the key points. There are also too many stories of PGA golfers and not enough of regular Joes using his technique. He writes well and the science was interesting but I didn't really get to the meat until the last 60 or 70 pages.

Dr. Valiante makes his mark as the superstar he is becoming within the world of golf psychology. With a decisive assertion that fear is eminent within every golfer of every ability level, Dr. Valiante revolutionizes our learning of how to positively respond to these emotions. Dr. Valiante's exemplary book combines a tremendous amount of personal research with stories of golfing superstars such as Nicklaus, Hogan, Woods, Mickelson, and Love III, that effectively complements his vast knowledge of the game of golf. As a student of the game, I strongly believe that this book can transcend every golfer into a fearless competitor. Dr. Valiante should be commended on such an incredible accomplishment, as the game of golf is about to see an explosion of the effects of how intregal this book will be to golfers of every level.