Book Review: Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

July 29, 2007 By 5 Comments
Golf is not a Game of Perfect

Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Dr. Bob Rotella with Bob Cullen, is an interesting look at the mental aspect of golf. He boils mental game keys down into simple, easy to understand instructions, going so far as to add an appendix called “Rotella’s Rules” that can be studied periodically to keep the ideas fresh in the mind. The book flows extremely well, due mostly to the straight forward, yet interesting, writing style. It’s a relatively short book, with the hard cover edition weighing in at just over 220 pages (in a fairly small footprint), but there’s no shortage of valuable information. Rotella relates some of the things he’s learned from a few of the various tour pros he’s worked with over the years. That’s one of the things that makes this book so fascinating. It’s not just about what Dr. Rotella teaches his players, but it’s also about what they’ve taught him. Chapter List On My Interpretation of Dreams What Nick Price Learned from William James Train It and Trust It How

Filed Under: Book Reviews
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Fix Your Posture, Save Your Back

July 27, 2007 By 6 Comments

Several times in the past, I’ve mentioned that I’m recovering from a herniated disk in my lower back that kept me from playing for the better part of two years. After some excellent rehab, I’ve been able to play again this year. However, it’s not all roses. I don’t have a tremendous amount of pain, but after a lot of play and/or practice, I get pretty sore and tight. Up to this point, I’ve stayed on top of my exercises and they’re like a magic pill. If I want to play and practice several days in a row, then I really need to stay on course. If I falter, then I start to pay with a little more soreness and tightness. You may remember that I’ve been talking lately about various fixes I’ve been making with my swing. One of the big ones was getting back to the basics: grip, alignment, stance, posture. I started trying to mimic textbook posture as much as I could, and it definitely felt strange, telling me that I was

Filed Under: Fitness, Setup
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My Best Bad Round of Late

July 26, 2007 By 1 Comment

Sunday, I got back on the course for the first time in almost three weeks and shot a 46. For 18 holes. OK, that’s ridiculous, it was nine holes. It’s been a long time since I was satisfied with a 46. Given where I’ve been, though, I’ll take it. It’s like someone tied me down and was burning me with a branding iron and then decided to stop and just slap me in the face a few times. It’s a strange sense of relief, but I’m certain it actually is relief. I got a couple of tips that put me on the right track. If you read regularly, you might remember me talking about having an issue with my takeaway and an issue with my grip pressure causing me to not square the club face at impact. Two quick tips and it was like night and day. I decided to play a round about ten range balls after the switch was flipped so there was a little uncertainty there. Just to be clear, I ran

Filed Under: My Progress
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Blogsitting

July 24, 2007 By 2 Comments

The Happy Rock went on vacation this week and put out an A.P.B. for guest posters.  Naturally, your pal Double Eagle heeded the call. The Happy Rock’s primary theme is increasing personal finance through self improvement.  In a rare divergence from the normal Life in the Rough theme, I mixed golf and finance in a post covering ten ways to save money on golf (OK, I admit it – the idea was his). The Happy Rock’s focus on self improvement is something I think you’d benefit from, even though it doesn’t normally involve golf.  Check it out regularly. He also honored me with admin privileges so I can watch over and make sure everything stays happy over there.  With the keys to the front door in hand, all I can say is:  “Party at the Happy Rock’s house!!“

Filed Under: Miscellaneous
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The Importance of the Takeaway

July 23, 2007 By 8 Comments

Yesterday, while discussing my faulty release at impact, I mentioned another tip that I got that put me back on track. As I was practicing with a little bit lighter grip pressure, the head pro at my course was walking up and down the range and I had a conversation with him where I whined for a while about my swing issues of late and how I got a tip that was getting me back on track. I went back to hitting balls with much improvement (though not complete). I was content. He wandered over after a few minutes and said, “Mike, do you mind if I give you one small tip?” Of course I welcome advice so I eagerly accepted the offer. He told me that he had been watching me for a few minutes and noticed an issue with my takeaway. He had seen me rolling my hands open to start the swing. I was somewhat surprised to hear this. This is something I tended to do for a long time, but I

Filed Under: Ball Striking Tips, My Progress
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