Rating: 
Summary: Playing Golf in the Zone
Review: The most enjoyable golf you can play is effortless and pressure free. "Doc" Rotella's "Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect" has literally liberated me from myself. I was definitely in my own way, halting my own progress. My swing coach brought me from a 35 handicap to a 16 handicap in two summers. Doc brought me down to a 10 handicap in six weeks, and I am still improving. Two key facets in the book grabbed me. First is, "The best swing thought is no swing thought!" This was riveting and when I finally let go and trust my swing, the ball went longer and straighter. Consistency and lower scores were the result. The second facet dealt with putting. Doc emphasized "When you land the green, hole the put, no matter the distance!" What a confidence and result booster!! My goal was to become a single digit handicapper by the end of summer 2001. I still have three weeks to lose one stroke and achieve my goal. I am convinced it will happen. On June 26th, I had a milestone. After reading Doc's book, I shot my first ever and only sub-par round of 35 for nine holes on a par 36 executive course here in Indianapolis. I had a playing partner and asked him to sign the card. It is now framed and sitting in my office. That was fun. Thanks Doc!! -Gary in Indianapolis.
Rating:
Summary: Very Important Book!
Review: This is an outstanding book filled with common sense, wit and wisdom from a true student and lover of the game: Bob Rotella. Rotella books have been a big factor in me bringing my handicap down from 20 to 3 over the last three years. Rotella uses stories to illustrate his ideas and concepts, making them easier to remember and understand. Much more entertaining than do this, don't do that type instruction. Great instruction for life as well as golf, especially his ideas on pursuing your dreams, hard work and overcoming obstacles. This book is great for competitive golfers and recreational golfers. Rotella teaches you to love and enjoy the process of improving and playing regardless of results for that given day. One of the hardest aspects of this book to implement is his suggestion that if you are not spending 90 percent of your practice time on shots from a 100 yards and in, you are not practicing to become the best player you can be. Yet he is correct. The more I pracice the scoring shots, the better I get. This is a book that every golfer should read.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Investment in Your Game You'll Ever Make!
Review: I was a twenty something handicap for twenty something years, but here I am twenty something days since reading Dr. Rotella's wonderfully simple, yet powerful book, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect, with a personal best golf score of "79"!Please read this book and I guarantee you that your game will improve. Thanks doc! -Bill Smith, Murrieta, CA
Rating:
Summary: Grooving Your Emotions
Review: Just as we golfers have to groove our swing, so must we learn to groove our emotions. Hit a bad, stupid shot, waste a shot or two or ? What to do? Rotella has been showing golfers, even some of the better ones such as Nick Price and DL3 and Tom Kite and others. His approach is a down-to-earth one, which starts here with his first book, to let us know "we're not going to play perfect golf. So why get all hot and worked up when we don't? Outstanding chapters I find in this are "fighting thru fear" and "what the third eye sees." This and his other books will help any golfer with the mental game. I find the unique attribute about Dr. Bob's works are that his suggestions really do go to the course with you.
Rating:
Summary: Tournament Tough
Review: 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!
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: Tournament Tough
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Really makes you think before you go to the course
Review: This book isn't so much about the right swing or the right gear it's about your mind state and letting go. I got this book for my boyfriend who has competed for years. He read it 3 times in 3 weeks and just couldn't put it down. You should get one for the golfer in your life.
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: 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!
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