Putting Out of Your Mind

May 14, 2001
The previous generation of golf stars were reluctant to admit to visiting a "sports shrink." But by raising the competitive bar, players like Tiger Woods and David Duval have sent countless professional and amateur golfers to the couch in an attempt to discover if their minds are keeping them from winning the big ones. Writing here with Cullen (Why Golf?), former University of Virginia sports-psychologist-turned-consultant Rotella applies his popular, well-respected methodology to the stroke that wins tournaments. According to Rotella, good putting has less to do with mechanics than attitude: golfers who can empty their minds of any thought other than making the putt, follow their pre-shot routine faithfully and believe,
will improve their putting. The book is lucid, well-paced and enlivened by anecdotes of golf champion Jack Nicklaus's selective memory ("He was able to block from his mind all the missed putts. He kept and replayed the memories of made putts"), by an introduction by veteran pro Brad Faxon and by a foreword from Duval. All lovers of the game will benefit from bringing this book to the green. (June 5)Forecast:Rotella's two most recent titles—
Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect and
Golf Is a Game of Confidence—have been sports-title bestsellers, spawning a huge sideline in calendars and other paraphernalia; this title should continue the trend. Expect it to be placed point-of-sale at the pro shop.

May 1, 2001
Rotella, head-doctor to the pros, got golf's psychological ball rolling in "Golf Is Not a Game "of Perfect (1995). If there's one putting lesson he wants to impress on weekend woodchoppers, it might be "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing," that knowledge being the stuff about grips, stances, mechanics, and green reading that instructionals impart. Although all are essential to learn, all are vital to forget at the crucial moment. The mental maladies of his patients, pro or am, stem from cerebrum-flooding formal knowledge crowding out the one thought that matters: putt to make it. Obvious exhortation, perhaps, but, with Cullen's invisible assistance, Rotella develops its nuances well by underscoring the detriments of dwelling on lagging, three putting, or missing the cut. This is counsel probably wasted on the guy with the tallboy in the bag. To those for whom scoring is all, however, it might make sense. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)