Your 15th Club: The Inner Secret to Great Golf (Hardcover)

by Dr. Bob Rotella (Author), Bob Cullen (Contributor)
Key Phrases: real realism, putting yips, inner arrogance, Padraig Harrington, Tiger Woods, Putting It All Together (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"As I progressed through the ranks of the European Tour toward a major championship, Bob Rotella was by my side every step of the way. With Your 15th Club, you can benefit from the same good advice he gave me. This is the one Rotella book I may not recommend to my fellow competitors. It might be too helpful.-- Padraig Harrington, 2007 British Open champion

"After my first few events as a professional in 1999, I realized I needed to find a way to quiet my mind and focus my thoughts. Since then, Dr. Rotella and I have focused on target, routine, and acceptance. Though I have not yet perfected it, I continue to work on it daily and have reached a career-high 12th in the official world golf ranking."-- Trevor Immelman, 2006 PGA Rookie of the Year

"Golfers ask all the time how to play better golf. Your 15th Club is the answer to mastering the game. That doesn't mean that it is easy to do, but if you practice what Dr. Rotella suggests in this book there is no doubt you will become a better player. It is a must read for anyone trying to improve." -- Brad Faxon, eight-time PGA Tour champion

"I've read all of Bob Rotella's books and there is nothing like them -- if you pay attention, he can completely change the way you play golf !The lessons in this book will give you the focus you need to play well in practice and the confidence to bring those skills to competition. You've never heard it like this before." -- Sean O'Hair, 2008 PODS champion

Product Description
All golfers have fourteen clubs in their bag, but the real winners have a little something extra -- that mental attitude that puts their game above the others. Dr. Bob Rotella, author of the bestselling book Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, brings together his skills and years of experience as a golf psychologist to give readers the insight they need to improve their game -- before they ever step up to the tee.

The 15th Club is the tool that golf stars like Tiger Woods use to block out negative thoughts, doubt, and fear. It is what allows champions to perform at their peak both in practice and during the game. Golfers who lack it find the game elusive and frustrating. Confident golfers play the game as they have always sensed they could play it. Now, one of the most renowned golf writers offers up the foolproof methods that will allow golfers at any skill level to give their game that extra boost.

Dr. Rotella provides tips and techniques for how to learn from better golfers, overcome fear in pressure situations, and keep a clear mind, no matter what. He tells golfers that inner arrogance is not a negative trait, but instead is something that can improve performance on and off the course. In order to perform at peak levels and achieve your goals, you must believe that you can win. Positive thinking is an incredibly powerful tool, and it can change the way a player approaches the game. Knowing how to focus on the challenge at hand and understanding your own talent are crucial parts of becoming a confident golfer.

Dr. Rotella provides a detailed plan that anyone can use to build the self-image of a winner.He offers a one-year schedule in diary and calendar form that will incorporate the daily mental routines that he assigns to players on the PGA Tour. This is how the pros learn to ignore negative influences, focus on productive advice, and take pride in their abilities.

Your 15th Club will tell golfers of all abilities how to develop the confidence they need to maximize their physical gifts and defeat the Tigers of their world, whether that world is the PGA Tour or the third flight of the club championship.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (May 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416567968
• ISBN-13: 978-1416567967
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,319 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars NOT ROTELLA'S BEST, March 3, 2009

By	D. McAllister "MRD" (Somewhere in the Field) - See all my reviews

I first became acquainted with Bob Rotella, as many others did, through his book, GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT. So well written, so straightforward and so applicable, PERFECT spoke to all of the mental concerns that I have with my golf game.

So, naturally, it made perfect sense to get Rotella's newest book, YOUR 15TH CLUB: THE INNER SECRET TO GREAT GOLF, especially since Rotella had positioned this book as a companion volume to, PERFECT, the landmark work that so many had read and loved.

At first, 15TH CLUB seemed to be everything that I hoped it would be. Aside from a few sections where Rotella seems to get too enamored with his own psychology, the book seemed to flow and read just as well as PERFECT.

But, just when things seemed to reach the denouement promised in the title, namely revealing the SECRET TO GREAT GOLF, Rotella completely falls off the planet. Enter Padraig Harrington and Rotella's previously unknown position as President of the Padraig Harrington Fan Club! Two tedious, inexplicable chapters emerge wherein Rotella simply sings the praises of Paddy without really relating anything to the abandoned reader. Yes, the first of the chapters, titled "What I Learned from Padraig Harrington," seems to promise the reader a chance to learn some important mental tips from the Irish champion but then becomes Rotella's regurgitation of how Paddy played this tournament or that one.

But as I finished wading through the mess, the next chapter title seemed to offer some hope. Titled "Putting it All Together," this final chapter would surely get things back on track and, at long last, reveal the secret to great golf promised by the author. I couldn't have been more wrong. The final chapter was nothing more than Padraig Harrington - Part Deux!

Oh! One last thing. If you want to get the Yips, the neurological putting problem that plagues many of the game's best, simply read 15TH CLUB's Chapter 13: Nip the Yips. Nothing that I have ever read will put the wrong putting thoughts into your head more than this well-meant but surpassingly misguided chapter!

Stick with Rotella's excellent book, GOLF IS NOT A GAME OF PERFECT, and forget this one.

THE (GOLFING) HORSEMAN

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book from Bob Rotella, May 26, 2009

By	Stephen J. Powers - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Before reading `Your 15th Club' I thought `Golf is not a game of perfect' was the best golf book I have read. Now Bob Rotella has matched that and taken it to the next level. I've read the previous reviews and some don't seem to agree with my opinion. I don't think they grasp what Rotella is saying about the importance of self confidence. But more than explaining the importance of self confidence Rotella explains how to build and maintain self confidence. Some of the things in this book I had stumbled upon and was all ready doing and some I have learned from this book's marvelous way of conveying Bob Rotella's thoughts. The thoughts and ideas in this book can help anyone improve their golf game.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bad thoughts list, October 24, 2008

By	Ajay Gautam "http://www.ajaygautam.com/" (New York City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you want a list of nicely done negative thoughts and self doubts, read this book.

I got the audio version of the book, and listening to almost 2 and a half (out of 5) discs made me feel much worse than I felt before picking it up. I am not sure what the author is trying to achieve by repeating negative thoughts over and over again, all the while emphasizing how bad negative thoughts are for your game. The book also tells you that (pretty much) repetition sends your conscious thoughts to your sub-conscious. I can't understand why then, is the author repeating so much negativity. I think I am discouraged enough to not complete the audio book.

Not sure if I feel this way because, being an absolute beginner, I had no real problem with my golf game. Perhaps I might try listening again, in a year or so, when, I think, I would have real problem(s) with my game.

This is the first golf mental game book that I started reading. If other mental game books are like this.... we are doomed. PS: I have no experience with the author's other writings.

This book is too negative. Perhaps naivety is the key :) Be Naive, Be Happy, Play good golf.

I gave this book 2 stars because I learned 2 things that may help me: Good shots journal, and Writing affirmations. But the ratio of helpful stuff to bad thoughts is just way too over whelming.