Dr Bob Rotella

Alrite Chief

Ok before I start I know he has come up in other threads and there are some other threads here on it from some time back. I just wanted to revisit it because I know there are lads on here who have used his material recently. Both the books and the audio version.

So what do yous think of the whole thing. I think the Winter is a great time to get into the mind side of golf to prepare yourself psychologically for next season. Spend an hour per week thinking about this stuff and you could reinvent your frame of mind.

I have spent the last 2 weeks using the stuff. 'Putting out of your mind' and 'Golf is a game of confidence'. I have mixed feelings. Part of me loves it and part of me wonders can I actually apply this stuff at all and how. Maybe someone on here can speak from experience how its helped them.

He has a philosophy of only a handful of things that he will repeat relentlessly throughout the book. The rest of the space in the book is taken up by stories of past students, professionals like, who he has helped. Means he can make his philosophy long enough he can make a book from it is all I can take from these.

His main things are:

-Make your target as small as possible. Not a tree slightly left of green but make it a branch on that tree. Not the cup but the smallest section possible within the cup you can aim at.

-Never hesitate. Look at the target, look at the ball, swing. All over 5 seconds. He maintains the brain and nervous system respond best to targets. Any hesitation allows negative thoughts be it your grip of swing mechanics.

-Never ever think of swing mechanics on the course. Trust the swing you bring to the round on the day. Use what you have practised. The course is not the place to try something different with you swing.

-When putting. Always putt to make. Its that simple. Never ever should you try get the ball close. It should always be an attempt to get it in the hole. Pick your target, set up to it, putt to make.

-Pre shot routine. So many people dont have a pre shot routine. He says this is paramount. He says once you are in your routine you are in a bubble where all other thoughts or distractions are blocked out. All thoughts are focussed on the shot and more particular the target.

I might be leaving out other parts so maybe other lads can add them. Be handy to have a thread to refer to rather than a chapter in the book you cannot find.

Thoughts?

Keano

I've read both books but I guess sticking to your plan and routine is the hardest, particularly when you duff a few shots and can feel blood pressure rising!

I used to always pick targets and had some degree of success, why I stopped I've no idea, some other fad probably took over!!

GreeBo

I bought a box set of all 5 books for ~€25 on amazon a couple of years ago.
Some of the stories are...well just ok, some can get a bit boring.
The things that I have been able to take from his books and actually use in my game are:
1) Plan for everything so you dont have to make decisions in the heat of the moment.
2) Putt to make it.
3) Never hesitate...especially on putting and chipping.
4) Pre shot routine.
5) Never more than 1 or 2 swing thoughts/triggers on the course. I find it almost impossible to have no swing thought on the full swing.

Alrite Chief

GreeBo wrote: »

I bought a box set of all 5 books for ~€25 on amazon a couple of years ago.
Some of the stories are...well just ok, some can get a bit boring.
The things that I have been able to take from his books and actually use in my game are:
1) Plan for everything so you dont have to make decisions in the heat of the moment.
2) Putt to make it.
3) Never hesitate...especially on putting and chipping.
4) Pre shot routine.
5) Never more than 1 or 2 swing thoughts/triggers on the course. I find it almost impossible to have no swing thought on the full swing.

This.

Clarify this point for me. What qualifies for a swing thought? Like if i wanna punch a low shot under a tree or try send the shot out wide and straighten it up ill have to think quite a lot about how i need to swing.

My normal down swing is steep angled to try compress the ball. Sometimes whatever happens i get into a rhythm where I am more sweeping the ball from the lie leading to more errors and bad contacts. Lack of concentration that it happens I suppose. So i might need to remind myself how to attack the ball. I know i am going to struggle with this one.

Maybe im missing something about it. Confusing the definition perhaps?

GreeBo

Alrite Chief wrote: »

This.

Clarify this point for me. What qualifies for a swing thought? Like if i wanna punch a low shot under a tree or try send the shot out wide and straighten it up ill have to think quite a lot about how i need to swing.

My normal down swing is steep angled to try compress the ball. Sometimes whatever happens i get into a rhythm where I am more sweeping the ball from the lie leading to more errors and bad contacts. Lack of concentration that it happens I suppose. So i might need to remind myself how to attack the ball. I know i am going to struggle with this one.

Maybe im missing something about it. Confusing the definition perhaps?

I actually meant "technical" swing thought
But I think the point is the same really.
I think he would be ok in both your examples if you are thinking about what you want the ball to do, rather than thinking about how you are going to do it.
However if Im trying to draw the ball I will consciously be thinking about bring the club back on the inside and swinging out, but I think thats ok, its a swing thought.

My interpretation is that he is advising against people who stand up to the ball and have a checklist of things that they run through and tick off, robot style during the swing. Setup is maybe ok, if its part of your preshot routine but Id worry you end up standing over the ball for too long.

At the moment Im just thinking about keeping my left arm straight on the way back, thats it and I think thats fine.

Alrite Chief

Yeah thanks. You'd have to imagine there is a certain level of thoughts allowed. When I'm driving I get into the habit of doing what I think he is saying not to. Thinking of only turning my back so far that it points to the target, not over swinging and losing control.

ShriekingSheet

Alrite Chief wrote: »

He has a philosophy of only a handful of things that he will repeat relentlessly throughout the book. The rest of the space in the book is taken up by stories of past students, professionals like, who he has helped. Means he can make his philosophy long enough he can make a book from it is all I can take from these.

To be fair, he says himself in the books and in interviews that he's not saying anything new. And he would be the first to admit there's only a handful of elements you need in the mental game - they're just not that easy to attain and maintain.

Why he's been so succesful in the mainstream is probably down to how simply he puts accross his points, and how interesting/entertaining the books are to read. So the stories are meant to illustrations that help people understand the points. If one story doesn't resonate with you, another might.

People are prepared to pay for multiple books with slightly different slants, in the hope that the new way he presents the same old points will help the reader hook onto it better. To me, that's fair enough for both Rotella and the reader.

He's up front about saying there is no new discovery or tricks - he's just refreshing the key points, which a fair few people do benefit from.

Alrite Chief wrote: »

Clarify this point for me. What qualifies for a swing thought? Like if i wanna punch a low shot under a tree or try send the shot out wide and straighten it up ill have to think quite a lot about how i need to swing.

Well, if your doing a 100 down the motorway and the car in front slams on the breaks, you'll likely break and swerve into the hard shoulder, or take some kind of evasive action. This is totally different to your usual driving (I hope), but in the moment, you don't think "how hard to I have to break, or how far will I turn the wheel", you just do it instinctively.

Hitting a low punch is the same. You know where the ball goes in your stance and how to restrict your follow through, so just do it. You don't have to sternly concentrate on not thinking about technique - if you do, you do - but when you get over the ball, just fire away.

The glaring difference in the two situations above is time to think, ie: when you have none, you react clearly and decisively, but when you have time to dwell, all sorts of thoughts get in the way. That's the mental challenege of golf - you have to deal with the fact that you've time on your hands.

Almaviva

If ever there was a case of shamelessly stretching one decent thesis (which could be fully covered in about 10 pages) to cash in, its Dr Bob. The first book struggled to fill itself. The rest of them were completely unnecessary repetition.

He had a good approach and its worth being familiar with his ideas. But the summaries above more or less say it all and you hardly even need to read one of the books, let alone the full set.

the anser

I disagree with Almaviva..............the books are straightforward and simple- Rotella acknowledges this. But the point is that you need to spend some time reading them, absorbing the ideas and repeating the messages to yourself.

Clarke summed it up well on the Late, Late last week when he said he had forgotten that the game was about getting the ball into the hole and it took Rotella to bring him back to this basic point. If he had forgotten the basics I'd think a lot of us hackers have done likewise...............?

Alrite Chief

Thanks lads some good points made. One thing Bob says is to revisit the book regularly. Cutting out these stories and having something handier to reference. Can see where Almaviva is coming from with that point about the stories.

Played today with his material in mind for the first time. First time in a few rounds I didn't get frustrated. I need to sit down and look at the card later and see how much it helped me.

Danny dyers double

Have his book "Golf is not a perfect game " and will get stuck into it tomorrow .

I'm still relatively new to the sport but I definitley over think things on the course and make silly decisions . So I'm interested in what he has to say