Every Shot Must Have a Purpose - How GOLF54 Can Make You a Better Player

Now, after sixty years of keeping notes on the things he's seen and learned and on the golfing greats he's taught, Penick is finally letting his Little Red Book (named for the red notebook he's always kept) be seen by the golf world. His simple, direct, practical wisdom pares away all the hypertechnical jargon that's grown up around the golf swing, and lets all golfers, whatever their level, play their best. He avoids negative words; when Tom Kite asked him if he should "choke down" on the club for a particular shot, Harvey told him to "grip down" instead, to keep the word "choke" from entering his mind. He advises golfers to have dinner with people who are good putters; their confidence may rub off, and it's certainly better than listening to bad putters complain. And he shows why, if you've got a bad grip, the last thing you want is a good swing.

Throughout, Penick's love of golf and, more importantly, his love of teaching shine through. He gets as much pleasure from watching a beginner get the ball in the air for the first time as he does when one of his students wins the U.S. Open.

Requiring extraordinary levels of concentration, the short game is typically a source of fear for amateurs and pros alike. In this book, Dr. Rotella teaches readers how to overcome that fear by using their minds to achieve a state of calm in which the focus is on one thing alone: the hole. Rotella shares stories about professionals with whom he has worked who have mastered the psychological aspect of successful putting by adhering to simple—but hard-to-follow—rules and practices that will improve any golfer’s game: stay focused on your targets, visualize your shots, commit to your routine, and accept completely whatever happened to the golf ball.

On top of citing his experiences with golfers, Dr. Rotella also probes the science of memory and how knowledge of the brain’s workings—especially those areas that deal with physical tasks—can markedly improve a golf game, particularly when it comes to getting out of a bunker or taking the measure of a long putt. For casual and dedicated golfers alike, a better short game provides one of the ultimate pleasures of golf—a pleasure they will come to know by training their minds to allow them to become unstoppable golfers.

SINCE 1984, GOLFERS COACHED BY DR. BOB ROTELLA HAVE WON A TOTAL OF:

74 major professional titles 2 Masters tournaments

12 U.S. Opens

12 British Opens

11 PGA Championships

4 U.S. Women’s Opens

6 LPGA Championships

5 Kraft-Nabisco Championships

5 Tradition Championships

7 Women’s British Opens

2 Senior PGA Championships

5 U.S. Senior Opens

* On the first tee, a golfer must expect only two things of himself: to have fun, and to focus his mind properly on every shot.

* Golfers must learn to love 'the challenge when they hit a ball into the rough, trees, or sand. The alternatives -- anger, fear, whining, and cheating -- do no good.

* Confidence is crucial to good golf. Confidence is simply the aggregate of the thoughts you have about yourself.

* It is more important to be decisive than to be correct when preparing to play any golf shot or putt.

The unique life story of late golfer Moe Norman

Moe Norman has been called “The Mysterious Genius of Golf.” His swing, his mannerisms, and his lifestyle were unusual to say the least: Moe played very quickly, never took a practice swing, often repeated phrases when talking, and lived in motel rooms most of this life. Moe, who died in 2004 at age 75, suffered from crippling insecurity and introversion, which kept him from succeeding at the highest levels of play. Yet Tiger Woods has said that only Moe and Ben Hogan actually “owned” their swings, and Moe described himself as “the happiest guy on two feet.”

In Moe and Me, Lorne Rubenstein, a sports journalist who knew Moe for 40 years, examines Moe Norman’s unique swing, his character, and how he lived his life well, despite being limited in significant ways. Rubenstein also offers his views on what made Moe special and what this most sensitive and peculiar man meant to him and to others.