Putting Out of Your Mind

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

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!

The Best $... You'll Spend On Your Game   July 10, 2000
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

I subscribe to a bunch of golf magazines. I own and occasionally re-read many of the best-selling golf instructional books ever written, including Golf Is A Game of Confidence. Most are good for knocking 1-3 strokes off your game per round over the course of 6-9 months. But this tape, with its suggestions for a simpler pre-shot routine and mind-clearing suggestions has taken 3-5 strokes off my putting alone in just 2 months. I listened to it 10 times before even trying out the suggestions, just to make sure they were ingrained in my thinking. It has actually made putting fun for me, rather than an afterthought. His bottom line: we let far too many thoughts run through our mind when we play golf, especially when we putt. His simple drills will help to keep self-doubt off the putting green. Spend the $....


Putting is all in the mind   January 24, 2002
Denis Beauchamp (Charlesbourg, Quebec Canada)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

If you are looking for a book that is a once informative and entertaining, you have to get this one. What I found interesting in this book are the insights that the author gives us as to how pros and ordinary players think, or should think when preparing to putt. He discusses the importance of the pre-shot routine . As 40% of the shots made in the course of a game are putts, it's simple logic that such a book should interest all golfers whatever the state of their game. If you wish elevate your game another notch, this book is for you.


The Golf Doctor Is In   June 24, 2002
Steve Finnie
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This book is a very enjoyable read and has many "Dr. Bob" insights that will help golfers of all levels. Unfortunately on the heels of his classic "Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect" this exposition on putting is less fulfilling, but very good nonetheless. Ultimately the book recommends the following: 1) focus on the process of putting (developing a standard mental and physical pre-shot routine to clear your mind), not the mechanics or outcome of each putt; 2) don't worry about mechanics during practice or course putting, just focus on the target and aim to put each putt in the hole; and 3) the more relaxed and positive you are about your putting and the experience of putting the better the results will be. The messages in the book are simple. While they seem redundant at times the lessons are valuable and the book is an enjoyable and beneficial 4-5 hour read. As the author points out, 40% of strokes are putts so it's worth putting time into improving this part of your game.


This is a must!   August 18, 2003
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

My golf game has been transformed by this CD. What is so valuable is the perspective he offers on the mental side of the game. I was a horrible putter only a couple of months ago, shooting in the mid to upper 80's, and my handicap of 8 was rising. After listening to this,practicing what he recommends, I just won my flight and low net champion at the Club, shooting a 1 over total for 2 days! It does work.