Putting Out of Your Mind
by Bob Rotella

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Book Summary Information

• Mental Game
• Hard Cover

Book Reviews of Putting Out of Your Mind

Book Review: Commit to Process Goals for Subconscious Putting Competence
Summary: 5 Stars

Think of Dr. Bob Rotella as someone who sees putting as being totally about controlling your mental processes, to eliminate the effect of your conscious mind. He is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Dave Pelz's engineering-based evaluations. I find much value in both approaches. Having taken lessons at Dave Pelz's Short Game School, one of the most useful parts was getting an automatic routine and rhythm for putting that clears my mind of tension-creating thoughts.

The advice in the book is easy to understand, but you will probably find it hard to apply. I suggest that you find a pro to help you create a mind-clearing routine that you feel comfortable with. Then commit to using that routine always.

Here are a few quotes that will give you a further sense of the book's advice:

"No matter how skilled you are . . . you're going to have to make roughly 40 percent of your shots with your putter."

When you arrive at the green, you're going to think: "Oh good! Now we get to putt!"

You will "just focus on the target." You will have "selective amnesia" about putts you've missed in the past.

You will spend 15 minutes a night "visualizing making putts."

Before putting, you will be "always relaxed and confident."

During the putt, you will "putt as though the putt [is] conceded."

When you putt, you will "simply let the putt go and trust."

I especially liked the metaphors from other sports like shooting baskets and making passes in football. Those actions are done in the flow of play, rather than in some rigid, controlled way with the conscious mind.

The book has interesting sections on how to practice putting, and what top putters say about how they go about putting. Many of the pros quoted in the book use Dr. Rotella's methods, so they will help you to understand the message here. You will also find an exercise to encourage you to practice your chipping so you will have shorter putts to make.

One of the most difficult aspects of any activity is explaining how champions think about the activity while they are doing it. I think that Dr. Rotella has done an outstanding job of sharing that information here.

After you have finished enjoying and starting to apply this book to your putting, I suggest that you think about other places where you are trying to use your conscious mind when subconscious processes might work better. Imagine if you always tried to ride a bike by thinking about each thing that you do. That wouldn't be much fun or very successful, would it? Where do you find yourself tied up in tense knots now? That's where you need to let go.

Trust yourself to accomplish more!

Summary of Putting Out of Your Mind

Much like Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect and Golf Is a Game of Confidence, Putting Out of Your Mind is an informative and valuable guide to achieving a better golf game. While most golfers spend their time trying to perfect their swing so they can drive the ball farther, Rotella encourages them to concentrate on their putting -- the most crucial yet often overlooked aspect of the game. Great players are not only aware of the importance of putting, they go out of their way to master it, and mastery can only begin with the understanding of the attitude needed to be a better putter. Rotella's mental rules have helped some of the greatest golfers in the world become champion putters and, for the first time, are now available to golfers everywhere.

With everything from true-to-life stories of such greats as Davis Love III, David Duval, and Brad Faxon to dozens of game-changing practice drills, Putting Out of Your Mind is the new bible of putting for amateurs and pros alike.

As Brad Faxon, a Rotella devotee and one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, emphasizes in his introduction, "The secret of great putting is not in the stroke. It's in the mind. When you putt, your state of mind is more important than your mechanics." Once you can imagine yourself sinking a putt, you've exponentially improved your possibilities of actually knocking it in. It's an important lesson, and he learned it from Rotella.

Rotella demystifies the mechanics, accenting instead the importance of a pre-shot routine to help you more effectively visualize your putts and serve as a security blanket when you're facing a breaking downhill five-footer with the match on the line. Most important, Rotella preaches the idea that putting is actually fun for good putters. It's the part of the game they relish most. You'll no doubt find yourself relishing it, too. --Jeff Silverman

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