Golf is Not a Game of Perfect [Hardcover]

Dr. Bob Rotella (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 9, 1995

Dr. Bob Rotella is one of the hottest performance consultants in America today. Among his many professional clients are Nick Price (last year's Player of the Year), Tom Kite, Davis Love III, Pat Bradley, Brad Faxon, John Daly, and many others. Rotella, or "Doc," as most players refer to him, goes beyond just the usual mental aspects of the game and the reliance on specific techniques. What Rotella does here in this extraordinary book, and with his clients, is to create an attitude and a mindset about all aspects of a golfer's game, from mental preparation to competition. The most wonderful aspect of it all is that it is done in a conversational fashion, in a dynamic blend of anecdote and lesson. And, as some of the world's greatest golfers will attest, the results are spectacular. Golfers will improve their golf game and have more fun playing. Some of Rotella's maxims include:

* On the first tee, a golfer must expect only two things of himself: to have fun, and to focus his mind properly on every shot.

* Golfers must learn to love 'the challenge when they hit a ball into the rough, trees, or sand. The alternatives -- anger, fear, whining, and cheating -- do no good.

* Confidence is crucial to good golf. Confidence is simply the aggregate of the thoughts you have about yourself.

* It is more important to be decisive than to be correct when preparing to play any golf shot or putt.

Filled with delightful and insightful stories about golf and the golfers Rotella works with, Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect will improve the game of even the most casual weekend player.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com 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.

Review

Tom Kite from the foreword In the first twelve years of my life on the PGA Tour, I had established myself as a pretty decent player, but had only won five official tournaments. In the ten years since meeting Doc, I have won fourteen tournaments, played on the Ryder Cup team, and won my first major, the U.S. Open. To say that I think Doc has helped make me a better player would be an understatement.

Nick Price Bob Rotella's knowledge and practical approach to psychology have been an enormous help to me. He has an uncanny knack of being able to turn the most complicated situation into a simple one.

Pat Bradley Bob Rotella helped me to be my own best friend and to get to the next level of my career.

Brad Faxon I was at a point where I was taking golf so seriously that I wasn't enjoying it any more. Bob Rotella taught me to throw away doubt and fear, and as a result I am enjoying golf, learning more, and playing better.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Edition Unstated edition (May 9, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068480364X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684803647
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Coaching > Golf
  • #22 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Sports Psychology
  • #25 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Golf

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Train Your Brain!!!, September 22, 2000

By 

J. Duncan (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Golf is Not a Game of Perfect (Hardcover)

As a 7 handicap trying to figure out how to shave those extra strokes off to get into the low single digit territory this was a nice surprise which helped to complete my library of essential golf books.

the seminal work on golf (and perhaps) sports psychology from Dr. Bob Rotella. The book works on a number of levels as follows: #1. as a rare and excellent guide on how to prepare oneself mentally for the game and how to remained focused during a match; #2. as a series of anecdotal chapters covering a number of the game's top name players and how they are using Rotella's straight forward and insightful techniques to play better golf; #3. as an instructional piece and #4. as a guide for getting the most out of your practises.

Any one of the above would make it good, all 4 in combination make it a must have for golfers at all levels.

(ps I'd also recommend as essential golf reading Jack Nicklaus's "Golf My Way," Tom Watson's "Getting It Up and Down from 40 Yards and In" and, of course, Harvey Penick's "Little Red Book)

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tournament Tough, January 12, 2000

By 

Jonathan Reeder (Lewisburg, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golf is Not a Game of Perfect (Hardcover)

This book provides incredible insight into the game of golf. Rather than attempting to teach the infamous "perfect swing," Dr. Rotella allows the reader to maintain his current swing and instead he addresses the mental side to lower scores. Whether you are a beginner or carry a low handicap, this book is sure to knock strokes off. This book enables a player to think correctly on the course and develop confidence in his game. It is easy and fun to read since Rotella recalls past memories that support his point. I'd recommend this book for yourself or as a gift. I re-read chapters nightly before playing in tournaments as an instrument to mentally prepare myself. It has helped me to win national junior events and I guarentee that it will help you as well. Hit 'em straight!

78 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the book I expected it to be, May 27, 2003

By 

LANCE R LINDLEY "hagakure" (Yokosuka, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Golf is Not a Game of Perfect (Hardcover)

For me, the book was a huge disappointment. Despite the zen-like, poetic title, there is nothing artistic or inspirational about this book's writing style, and the little bits of instruction scattered among the author's self-congratulatory anecdotes have by now become absolute common knowledge -- as fundamental as a book on how to carry your golf bag. Most of the advice is along the lines of picture the shot you want to hit, pick out a target and hit your ball to it, don't dwell on bad shots, hit each shot with a fresh mind, clear your mind of swing mechanics while on the course, etc.

The book was written in 1995, so justifications can be made for its style and lack of innovation. Perhaps these ideas have just been so thoroughly accepted into the mainstream that in hindsight they seem obvious. Perhaps sports psychology was such a bizarre notion in 1995, that Rotella felt compelled to continually hammer us with how "ordinary" his advice is and how accepted it is among his PGA friends. Regardless of what the book was in the 90's, to the 21st century buyer, it is singularly un-useful. One copy each of Golf Digest and Golf Magazine will give you the same tips on the mental approach and will be far more entertaining to boot.

The most wearisome aspect of the book is author Rotella's incessant name-dropping of famous clients, friends and associates. Rotella seems more intent on telling you how successful and right HE is than on how to improve your own thinking and ultimately your golf game. Anecdotes have a place in instruction books, certainly; but they need to be entertaining and informative. Very little of this book is really entertaining, and the copious anecdotes tend to simply support the underlying theme that the author has befriended golf's elite.

In a typical example, Rotella opens Nick Price's eyes with the flabbergasting revelation that when things go wrong on the course, Nick could envision things going right, rather than getting down on himself. Rotella closes the tale by saying, "After listening to this for awhile, Nick said, 'If I had known this was what you were going to talk about, I would have come to see you a long time ago.'
'Why didn't you?' I asked.
'I was afraid you'd be into something weird. I didn't realize it would be this logical and sensible.'

Rotella spends most of the first three chapters convincing you that he is logical and sensible, and dropping as many names as he can to support his claim. The entire experience reads like a pitch to a publisher or the inside flap of a dust cover more than a book on how to improve my own mental approach to golf. Similar "me" stories continue to pop up throughout the book, drawing your attention away from any few helpful tips and brings that attention back squarely onto the author, which appears to be where Rotella really wants it.