Starting out

A little more than a year ago, I had the opportunity to review a couple chapters for a workbook Bob Skura was writing to accompany his book How Great Golfers Think. I had read the original book before and found it really interesting. The exercises in the workbook chapters I reviewed, though, really brought home the ideas of their corresponding chapters, so much so, that I wrote to Bob:

Dear Bob:
Since reviewing the exercises in the chapters you sent me (and actually doing them), I've found myself putting them into practice more concretely on the course.

In fact, just yesterday, I shot my best round of the season, and found myself using ideas from both chapters 7 & 8. After a few poor shots in a row, leading to a terrible score on a hole, I realized I was berating myself pretty badly in my self-talk. I was able to shift my thinking and use some of the ideas about positive affirmations, which turned things around.

I also ended up forming some positive questions as I approached the next few holes. Interestingly, after coming back from those terrible shots and making a hard par and then a birdie on the next couple holes, I found myself getting really excited, and I realized that my body was getting really keyed up. I was able to use some of the techniques from the "body talk" chapter to get myself back to a more even level. What a great round it turned out to be . . . and not just because of the score!

If the two workbook chapters I reviewed were enough to help me recall and put into practice the lessons from the original book, I'm excited to see what the entire workbook will be like. Thanks so much for the opportunity to work on this project!

He ended up using that text in advertising the workbook on his site, and in exchange for my work in reviewing the chapters I did, he sent me a complementary copy of the workbook.

I had hoped to be able to dig into the book again, using the workbook to strengthen the lessons, but at the time my wife was pregnant with our third child and severely ill (imagine nine months of all day "morning" sickness and not being able to keep anything in your stomach without the same nausea medication they give people undergoing chemotherapy). Needless to say, the amount of time I had to work on my golf game was a lot less at that point, and didn't get any better after our girl was born.

But here it is now, seven months later, and I finally have a little extra time to start thinking more seriously about the game again. So I've decided to try to work through How Great Golfers Think again, this time using the workbook. And I thought I'd try to record my thoughts as I do. As I go along, I'll probably post some other golf-related ideas, too, that may or may not come from the book, but I'll likely try to tie everything together somehow.