ZEN Golf

September 26, 2008 by  
Filed under Golf Book Reviews

TMastering the Mental Game
By Dr. Joseph Parent
Doubleday, 2002
ISBN: 0-385-50446-2 $17.95

There’s a euphoric updraft with the best instruction books (and, even rarer, a carryover into non-golfing matters.) No telling how long it can last nor how long before excitement (Yes!) turns to inertia (#$@&*). There’s the first blush of enthusiasm, then invariably gears stick. Wheels spin. The book moves from nightstand to bottom shelf. Dust gathers on the tops of the pages. This ride may be familiar to dabblers in Harvey Penick or Bob Rotella.

Aware of having been down the road before, your correspondent can only attest that this book has been nothing short of a continual comfort and revelation, wise and insightful. Every time it’s cracked. The Hearthstone nightstand is a crowded place. Benchley and Thurber, Charteris, Honig and Hanh. This book has a permanent spot.

Conscious Golf, reviewed last time out, is an excellent primer, and I’m wedded to several techniques. This advanced edition is for those who already seriously play the game. Those who perhaps have been guilty of caring too much, who, frankly, have bumped up against themselves too often, suffering from a most spiritually unfulfilling and unhealthy frustration. The doctor has a tour presence, a Ph.D. in psychology, a Buddhist foundation, a sense of humor and a knack for compelling and believable parables.

A favorite, the case of the evil caddie is discussed in Talking Points. ViJay Singh contributes an endorsement. Perhaps his example only confirms the difficulty of catching the mental game genie in a bottle, but that wouldn’t be the Buddhist approach anyway. As they say, “Hasten slowly and you will soon arrive.” If you’re willing to consider and apply the ramifications of ancient truths – without unduly delaying play, of course – the results will truly astonish.

Don’t complain
About anything
Not even to yourself.

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