Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect by Dr. Bob Rotella
The single greatest book ever written on any sport or activity where it is you vs. yourself
Topic: Sports Psychology / Confidence
This is perhaps the single most important book I’ve ever read. Golf, unlike most sports is you vs. the ball. You have a ton of time to think about what you are about to do. Therefore, it lends itself to golfers self-sabotaging and not getting out of their own way.
Summary
I came to this book not as a golfer but as a former college kicker and punter. I was a practice hero. I could kick well when it didn’t matter, but crumbled when it did. I was so low I was ready to call it quits. Then, I stumbled upon Rotella’s book here. In this book you’ll find…
Don’t Say Don’t:
The single word that can’t be understood by the mind is the word don’t. The mind is more like a picture book than it is a paperback. Whatever you tell it, it will imagine. When you say “don’t miss” what you are really doing is re imagining missing, the shame, the doubt and the fear. You get tentative and miss.
Swing To Make, Don’t Swing To Not Miss (yes, I said don’t):
Are you swinging to make or are you swinging not to miss? There is a very fine line between fully expecting the ball to go where you want it to go and expecting it to, and then blowing your cool if it doesn’t. There’s never been a perfect swing in the history of golf, but whatever swing you woke up with is always going to be good enough to get the job done.
Love The Putting Green:
Great golfers love to putt. Their short game is their passion. Amateurs spend their weekends on the driving range and also end up losing more often than not. Whether it is golf, kicking or business, a consistent short game of hitting the shots you know you can hit are always going to turn out better than trying to hit the shots you think you should take.
You Can’t Be A Prisoner Of Your Practice Reps:
Amateur golfers are shackled to their first few warm up swings. If they hit a few great ones early on in their warm up, they start swinging more confidently, more relaxed. Conversely, if their first few swings aren’t great, they get down on themselves, starting tinkering too much with mechanics and then swing worse. What is going to get you a better result: Sticking with the swing you’ve had your whole life or reinventing one five minutes before tee time? Stick with the swing you know.
Golfers With Great Dreams Are Capable Of Great Things:
Dreams are the spice of life. They compel and propel golfers forward through the eventual tough times they will encounter along the way. Even if you fall short of an audacious goal like wanting to receive a full ride to play golf at USC, you will still accomplish more than you probably thought possible.
Routines Win:
Since golf doesn’t have continuous action, it is difficult to get yourself into a state of focus and flow. Therefore you need to induce it through having a sound pre shot routine. Simply look at the target, look at the ball, take a breath and swing. Every golfer will have their own unique routine, but the principle is that you need to develop one if you are get out of your own head. You cannot think and golf at the same time.
Greatness Requires A Thick Skin:
It doesn’t matter what you are trying to achieve — half of the world will love you, the other half will hate you, but at least they will all be talking about you. Most people wouldn’t even dare to try something that you’ve failed at. As sad as it is, a majority of their world is OK with mediocrity. When you go for greatness, it’s going to make those around you uncomfortable because if you could do it, why can’t they?
My Favorite Dr. Bob Rotella Quotes:
Hit the shot you know you can hit instead of the one you think you need to.
You can’t think and swing at the same time.
I don’t care what you do. Half the world is going to love you, the other half is going to hate you, but at least they’ll all be talking about you.
It’s OK son — you can’t be perfect every time.
Golf is a game played by people and all people have problems. Therefore golf is largely a game of mistakes. It’s not a game of perfect.
Just remember, no one came to see you play. (Dr. Rotella on kickers and punters)
America loves winners but hates confident people.
Only For Golfers?
Dr. Rotella has used the work of Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect to work with NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL professionals as well. Most notably, his work was popular with The Miami Heat’s Pat Riley, and the NFL’s kickers Olindo Mare and Ryan Succop.
Summary
Any student-athlete or person stuck inside their own head would benefit from reading this book. Simply replace the word golf with whatever thing you are struggling with and it is really a psychology of success book. I rarely go back and reread books, but this book I have gone back and reread about 7x now.
Hate Reading? Try Audible
While the original book is about 150 pages, not everyone’s a reader. Audible did a great job of compressing the most useful and powerful 20% of the book into a 45 minute audio version. I personally have used this audio version to play before I go kick or play golf just to remind me of my inner game. It will run about 8.99.
