Inner Game of Golf [Paperback]

Here is a book with a different approach to the whole idea of playing golf. According to the author, most bad shots in golf are caused by tension. This stops our muscles from working properly in the swing and is the cause of all sorts of faults. Tension is caused by fear, which in turn is caused by doubt in one's ability.

Then there's the little inner voice a lot of us have nagging away while we play telling us to watch out in case we muck up the next shot like we did last time. Timothy Galwey calls this voice Self 1 which is constantly interfering with Self 2, the rest of our body/mind combination.

If we can distract self 1 so that he/she stops doubting us we reduce the fear, reduce the tension and play better. The author suggests various approaches which are manily centered on becoming more aware of the clubhead's position during the swing.

Another great notion is that of not trying. Instead of trying really hard to follow the latest tip or swing thought from our friends, pro or golf magazine, Mr. Gallwey advocates not trying but instead simply observing. For instance, in the medal this morning, I was rather keyed up and played nervously and therefore inconsistently for the first 7 holes. Around the 6th I decided to just become aware of whether my swing was smooth or not. I didn't try to swing any particular way or have any swing thoughts. Suddenly my game came alight - I par'd the 8th, then the 9th, then the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th. The scores didn't stay that good for the last 5 holes but this approach definitely shows potential.

I don't think you can manage without some technical knowledge and lots of practice, but there's a way to aquire the knowledge and practice and a way to use it on the course. This book is the best I have read on this whole genre of 'just do it' type golf.

Having just read Mr. Gallwey's excellent book, The Inner Game of Work, I could immediately sense that he was on to something with regard to his concept of paying attention to critical features of your activities as a way to learn how to improve rapidly.

As an example of this point, I had stopped taking lessons over the last year-and-a-half, and my tee shots and fairway woods greatly improved. The main thing I noticed is that I began to rely on myself to figure out what I was doing wrong, rather than waiting to have my pro show me. As a result, I figured out a lot of long-term faults never unearthed in the lessons and corrected them.

I was very excited to find a number of other drills I could use in this fine book to locate other faults and correct them. Just thinking about the drills allowed me to locate four faults that I had not been aware of before. I can hardly wait to see how I hit the ball tomorrow!

One of the places where my game started to get better was when I noticed that if I played with no focus on winning or score I played much better. Mr. Gallwey provides several tools for extending that psychology that I intend to use as well.

Some people had taught me other ways to keep score: How many putts, how many fairways and greens in regulation, quota points, and square shots. Mr. Gallwey's book adds learning and enjoyment scores as well. I think those will add a lot to my game, as well. It helps to be given permission to think about something other than the gross score.

Mr. Gallwey unerringly describes every harmful mental process I use to hit poor shots, deny myself fun and learning, and to make myself miserable. Even if my golf doesn't get any better (and I would be surprised if that happened), this book will add a lot to my enjoyment of golf and life.

If you don't already understand the key elements of the swing, it may be that this book will not help you as much. If you are a long-term golfer who has taken a lot of lessons, watches good players, and wants to get more out of your game, this book is a great use of your time and money.

I also recommend Dave Pelz's book, Dave Pelz's Putting Bible. Mr. Pelz does a great job of combining physical, technique and mental processes to help your putting. I realized from The Inner Game of Golf that some of what I learned from Pelz's short game school that works for me relies on tools that Mr. Gallwey speaks about in this book. That gave me more confidence to try out Mr. Gallwey's suggestions.

Hit 'em all like you'd like to!

With a little practice of the techniques I've discovered a very natural and fluid golf swing. My handicap is down from 23 to 16 in only a few weeks (and still improving), but more importantly I'm enjoying the game like never before.

This is a must read book for anyone who has slammed their club into the ground in anger knowing that you can play better...just don't let your golf partners get there first.