Rating: 
Summary: Train Your Brain!!!
Review: 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)
Rating:
Summary: Reinforces many of the basics that I had forgotten !
Review: As a low handicap amateur who had lost confidence in my own ability this book (audio version) was a breath of fresh air. I am now playing with a renewed confidence in my own ability and my scores are back !! BRILLIANT...
Rating:
Summary: A book with something for all who play golf
Review: As someone who has just taken up the game this year and had the benefit of lessons from a pro, I found that Rotella's book struck a cord from the first page.The book helps you to think like a pro even if you can not hit as far or as straight. I found the guidance on playing off the tee and putting to be of great value. I passed this book on to my father in law who has been playing golf as an accomplished amateur (you should see the trophies in his dinning room) for 40+ years.He could not put it down. We're both sold on Rotella's insight and case study writing style and look forward to reading his latest book.
Rating:
Summary: Play Smart, Score Better and Have Some Fun for a Change!
Review: Bob Rotella's book opens the door for the uninitiated on what you should and should not be thinking about while playing a round. He has some marvelous tips about what kinds of attitudes you have to have to get past the bad shot we all hit without letting it color (and wreck!) the rest of the round. He will also help you structure your practice time, so that it will have a positive impact on your scoring. Start to finish this quick read will have you itching to implement his suggestions. This is a "must read" for anybody who has aspirations of being a better golfer. I bought four copies for my golfing relatives. What else can I say? Buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: I had my doubts.........
Review: but I was very happy with the results. I read the book during the winter as a break from Connelly and Hiaasen novels, and I doubted the information would have any effect on my game. My first round of 1999 was the most enjoyable round I've played in a long time. Why? I didn't spend the whole round worrying why I wasn't hitting perfect shots, and then trying to fix my swing. I selected the right club, went through my pre-shot routine, concentrated on the target, and trusted my swing. It wasn't perfect, but I got into less trouble, got out of trouble easier by playing the smart shot, and walked off the course smiling. Didn't do that too much last year!
Rating:
Summary: Good Things Do Come in Small Packages
Review: Every once in a while I stumble across a book that improves my ability to do something I enjoy. Several years back I read a book called "Fly Fishing Small Streams" which profoundly improved my fly fishing success. Now, I have read Bob Rotella's "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect" and it seems to be in the exact same category. As an eternal 18 handicap who always seems to be one or two stupid holes away from a great round, this book has helped me find a frame of mind that at least reduces the impact these bad holes have on my game--and increases my enjoyment of the game. The book is filled with straight-ahead, commonsense advice. I seriously doubt that you will read many new ideas in this book. What Rotella does so well is tell stories--he presents the ideas--in a way that makes the advice impactful. I remember his advice during a round. Additionally, the book is clearly written and is easy to read. I suspect the average reader could complete this book in four to six hours. In my case, these were four-to-six hours well spent. Key lessons include not becoming too concerned with your swing mechanics, how to practice, how to focus on a target, how to respond to a mistake or bad shot, the consequences of always looking at your score and figuring what you need to "break 85", conservative course strategy, and simply trusting your swing. Along the way, we read stories of many famous golfers who have dealt with these issues and more. We see how some have responded well, and we also see how some of these golfers could improve. The book is a nice blend of testimonial, stories, and sound advice. The author directs the Sports Psychology program at the University of Virginia and works with players such as Tom Kite, Nick Price, and Brad Faxon. He seems well positioned to write a book such as this. I would not consider this book to be arm-chair psychology. Dr. Rotella gives sound advice in an easy-to-read form. In short, I am giving book copies to some of my best friends. I have been pleased with the results I am showing on the course and practice range since reading this book. I would like to share those results with my friends. I am playing better and enjoying the game more. Thanks Doc!
Rating:
Summary: Good Things Do Come in Small Packages
Review: Every once in a while I stumble across a book that improves my ability to do something I enjoy. Several years back I read a book called "Fly Fishing Small Streams" which profoundly improved my fly fishing success. Now, I have read Bob Rotella's "Golf is Not a Game of Perfect" and it seems to be in the exact same category. As an eternal 18 handicap who always seems to be one or two stupid holes away from a great round, this book has helped me find a frame of mind that at least reduces the impact these bad holes have on my game--and increases my enjoyment of the game. The book is filled with straight-ahead, commonsense advice. I seriously doubt that you will read many new ideas in this book. What Rotella does so well is tell stories--he presents the ideas--in a way that makes the advice impactful. I remember his advice during a round. Additionally, the book is clearly written and is easy to read. I suspect the average reader could complete this book in four to six hours. In my case, these were four-to-six hours well spent. Key lessons include not becoming too concerned with your swing mechanics, how to practice, how to focus on a target, how to respond to a mistake or bad shot, the consequences of always looking at your score and figuring what you need to "break 85", conservative course strategy, and simply trusting your swing. Along the way, we read stories of many famous golfers who have dealt with these issues and more. We see how some have responded well, and we also see how some of these golfers could improve. The book is a nice blend of testimonial, stories, and sound advice. The author directs the Sports Psychology program at the University of Virginia and works with players such as Tom Kite, Nick Price, and Brad Faxon. He seems well positioned to write a book such as this. I would not consider this book to be arm-chair psychology. Dr. Rotella gives sound advice in an easy-to-read form. In short, I am giving book copies to some of my best friends. I have been pleased with the results I am showing on the course and practice range since reading this book. I would like to share those results with my friends. I am playing better and enjoying the game more. Thanks Doc!
Rating: 
Summary: Not the book I expected it to be
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: But nothing else ever again if not this book!
Review: Forget all them new fangled clubs, those Titanticesque drivers, those Callaway Heavy Helens. They may make you look rich to your friends, but they don't help lower your score if you're expecting perfection from them. So, dump those biggies, go to blades and small headed metals, read this book, and score better than you are currently with those jumbos!
Rating:
Summary: Golf is Not a Game of Perfect is an exceptional book.
Review: Golf is Not a Game of Perfect is the best non-fiction book I have ever read. It has helped me to improve my game and to get more enjoyment from the game. I would recommend the chapter How Stuart Anderson created his own reality to anyone who has ever played competitive sports.
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