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Dr Bob Rotella - Putting out of your mind

Those that say dr bob is just common sense blah blah nonsense are missing a trick.
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You'll have to explain this 'trick' i'm missing then tiger. I'm at 4.8 and my handicap came down from 9.1 last year. I've already had a 66 and a 70 this year.

You say you need an open mind to absorb his teachings , but if your mind works in a common sense oriented fashion then whats the point ? If you cant see the basics of his teachings for yourself then fill your boots and read away.

As I said everyone learns/absorbs info in different ways but basic common sense should already be available to you :D

Focus on a target / clear your mind of negative thoughts / be positive / believe youre gonna hole the putt blah blah come on you knew all this but just werent listening to yourself
 
Having played my first round since reading/listening to the book i have to say i am very impressed although my long game left a lot to be desired my putting was the best it has been for a while i did not hole plenty but my confidence was much improved. Only 1 round in but i think the whole 1 target ie the hole will work a treat!!!

Happy days :D :D :D
 
Hey Robo, thing is I've played other sports to a high level. I know about the pressure of taking a penalty in a semi final shootout, standing on the blocks of a crucial 100m race and facing the last over of a tight limited overs match needing to score 12 to win with the number eleven trembling down the other end. The thing that always got the better of me was the keeper making an unbelievable save, the guy inside me who ran 10.3 or the absolute jaffa of a yorker that was served up after I'd hit 8 off the first three balls. All external factors.

Golf is a controlled environment where it is you who determines the outcome. That's why psychology has such a fundamental role to play as you can only defeat yourself. My point isn't that rotella will make me the worlds greatest player or that I won't be disappointed my the inevitable mistakes I will make. It's how I contextualise and respond to those things that will make me a better player. The challenge many people find is doing that in isolation whether they are a tour pro or 28 handicapper.

Just because I haven't been playing golf long doesn't mean I don't understand sports pyschology. Rotellas methods are simple, but then again golf is a simple game made complicated by those who play it.
 
Those that say dr bob is just common sense blah blah nonsense are missing a trick.
Click to expand...

You'll have to explain this 'trick' i'm missing then tiger. I'm at 4.8 and my handicap came down from 9.1 last year. I've already had a 66 and a 70 this year.

You say you need an open mind to absorb his teachings , but if your mind works in a common sense oriented fashion then whats the point ? If you cant see the basics of his teachings for yourself then fill your boots and read away.

As I said everyone learns/absorbs info in different ways but basic common sense should already be available to you :D

Focus on a target / clear your mind of negative thoughts / be positive / believe youre gonna hole the putt blah blah come on you knew all this but just werent listening to yourself
Click to expand...

At the moment you might not need pyschology. In fact you might never need it. Many elite sportspeople don't. However there are some of us who find it easy to fall into patterns of self doubt or over analysing the technical elements of our game. We need a hook that we can grab onto when these negative/technical thoughts slip in. We can't afford regular sessions with a sports psychologist so we get our hook from reading, anecdotes and positive memories.

I've trained with top athletes some made, some didn't. I didn't. Some, like me failed to make it because they lacked the talent to be top class. Others had the talent but couldn't get their mind right. A proportion of those gave up another portion got help on the mental side of their sport and now compete at international level. You might well be lucky enough to have the right mindset naturally. Unfortunately many other people me included don't. That doesn't make Rotella rubbish, just not applicable to you.
 
...Golf is a controlled environment where it is you who determines the outcome. .....
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Is it really?? You best re-read your Rotella books then Tiger. Find the page where it talks about the amount of things that you can't control the outcome of, , it's a much longer list than the stuff you do control.

.........but then again golf is a simple game made complicated by those who play it.
Click to expand...

Is it really?? Will be a pretty short blog of yours then seeing as it's such a 'simple' game.
 
...Golf is a controlled environment where it is you who determines the outcome. .....
Click to expand...

Is it really?? You best re-read your Rotella books then Tiger. Find the page where it talks about the amount of things that you can't control the outcome of, , it's a much longer list than the stuff you do control.

.........but then again golf is a simple game made complicated by those who play it.
Click to expand...

Is it really?? Will be a pretty short blog of yours then seeing as it's such a 'simple' game.
Click to expand...

argh! Ok when you play a golf shot you take account of the surrounding conditions and environment and execute what you think is the best shot in that sense it is more controlled than cricket for example when you don't know the speed of the ball, whether it will deviate through the air off the pitch. However I stand corrected I should have said more of a controlled environment.

stand by golf is a simple game that we make complicated and think you could apply that to a lot of sports such as football. Saying it is simple is not in my book the same as saying it is easy. In my approach I am trying to keep the game as simple as possible from tee to cup.

I don't want a running row but just want to make the point that golf pyschology can make a difference to people of all skill levels, but will only applicable to some
 
No row Tiger, just defending my opinion, I've never said that reading this was a waste of time but I would also never say that those who don't believe are missing a trick.

His ideas have little to do with golf but he has stumbled into the game and adapted his stories to suit. That is why he and all the other "sports" psychologists preach at Business seminars and team building exercises.

If you want a good read go for Sir Clive Woodward's autobiography. There is an awful lot of sports psychology in there and is as relevant to golf as it was to Rugby or running a business.

As someone else said, it's horses for courses. :D
 
My bad, thought you were both saying this was a waste of time, when you were just saying that it wasn't relevant to you.

Robo I've read Woodward's Auto - absolutely brilliant read, in fact I may well dig that out and read it again. :D
 
Strangely enough I was chatting to Woodwards golf coach today (or one of them) and he was saying how much a lot of his elite golfers (he was actually coaching a guy who had a 2009 British Boys Amateur tag on his bag so obviously useful) actually need the mental side working on more than the technical. Some simply don't believe they are good enough and others are way too confident. Its horses for courses and if you don't buy into it then fine. I've got a few sessions booked as part of my blog and I'm really not sure what it'll consist of and how beneficial it'll be (that's why I'm doing it - am I a beeter golfer for having it?)
 
I read golf is not a game of perfect by the same author and whilst I generally agreed with what was said I didn't feel there was much I could take to the course from it, all seemed like common sense. However my scoring did improve a little last year so maybe subliminally I did take something from it and just dont know it?
I wouldn't mind reading this putting one but if it basically repeats what was said in the 'perfect' book then I won't bother.
Can anyone who has read both tell me if it is just repetition from Rotella in this putting book or does he really have something new and radical to say?? :D
 
I've been putting my stats into Scoresaver 2. Here's what I found.

Started off quite solid (no swing thoughts + confident)
Then lost consistency (no swing thoughts + not confident)
Had a lesson & bought my own fit putter putting improved (swing though + confident)
Had one bad round, putting got bad (swing thoughts + no confidence)
Read Dr Bob putting got better again (stopped swing thoughts + confident)

I've got the stats that back this trend up.
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OK, that's quite scary!
Nearly as obsessive as Homer

I hope you factored in whether the greens had been cut that day, the air moisture content and what time you tee'd off?

I'm amazed that someone could control their swing thoughts so readily.... I've never hit a ball in 17 years that didn't require a swing thought of one form or another.
 
I've been putting my stats into Scoresaver 2. Here's what I found.

Started off quite solid (no swing thoughts + confident)
Then lost consistency (no swing thoughts + not confident)
Had a lesson & bought my own fit putter putting improved (swing though + confident)
Had one bad round, putting got bad (swing thoughts + no confidence)
Read Dr Bob putting got better again (stopped swing thoughts + confident)

I've got the stats that back this trend up.
Click to expand...

OK, that's quite scary!
Nearly as obsessive as Homer

I hope you factored in whether the greens had been cut that day, the air moisture content and what time you tee'd off?

I'm amazed that someone could control their swing thoughts so readily.... I've never hit a ball in 17 years that didn't require a swing thought of one form or another.
Click to expand...

hey justone. As you'll know from the blog I'm taking on a crazy challenge do need to know what's going well and what's not. As for the grass cutting, moisture and tee time all I can do is smile and take the banter! ;)

with regards to the swing thoughts I can seriously turn them off now when I putt. Can't for anything else though :D!
 
I've read all the Bob Rotella books and enjoyed reading them.
However I've just finished reading The Game Before the Game, and compared to the Rotella stuff this books is a notch above in my opinion. It gives you specific drills to do down the range that will improve you technically without you having to think anything technical! This is all combined with the mental side of things.

Highly recommend it, have written a review of it on my blog with a few more details:

The Game Before the Game

The authors coached Annika Sorenstan which is a good endorsement for me!

Cheers
Nick
 
I hope you factored in whether the greens had been cut that day, the air moisture content and what time you tee'd off?



That in a nutshell is what Rotella gets you to do (regards putting), factor in distance and line, uphill, downhill,fast,slow ect.
And then use your subconscious to play the putt.
I play all my long(lag)putts using my subconscious (At first it actually feels little out of control) and have improved it no end.
Give it a try on the practice green.
 
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