golf

For the past several years, I've worked tirelessly at golf. However, my improvement was minimal. I'd previously read Mr. Gallwey's book but never took it that seriously and basically abandoned his suggestions from this book whenever I hit a bad shot (Self 1 saying "well, that doesn't work!"). I entered my club championship and I felt that I would play well. The first day I struggled to an 85, playing the same way I had for the past few years (decent golf swing but no results). The next day, I came in with zero expectations and told myself that I would trust "Self 2" to play the game. The result was a 70, my first competitive round under 80, let alone under par!
In summary, combine a firm grasp of the fundamentals (I find that Mr. Gallwey's learning method works well here) with the mental attitude that he stresses in this book, and you will be very happy playing this game.

This book provided for me a new perspective on how I approach shotmaking. I've always had a decent short game and plenty of power, but inacuracy in ball striking has hurt my ability to score. Since reading this book one year ago I've moved from a 14 hdcp into the single digits. The book is not a miracle product, but if you are familiar with the mechanical fundamentals (read Hogan's 5 fundamentals if you aren't) and you are willing to practice, the Inner Game techniques can help one to improve. In my case this improvement was rapid, dramatic, and has stuck. I will say, that not every technique in the book has clicked with me, at least as of yet. I tried most of the methods outlined, and embraced some while setting others aside for now. For me the single instruction to visualize yourself throwing the golf ball at your target as you swing made such a dramatic improvement to my accuracy that it alone payed for the book many times over. As a more general comment, the philosophy put forth in these pages has improved my time spent on the course. I for one feel much better about my game when I focus on letting my natural abilities come through. I know that my best shots have the same quality as those of the PGA pros. Physical skill is not a deterant in my game. The only thing keeping me from performing consistently at their level is between my ears. When I head out on the course knowing that I am not going to clutter my mind with thoughts about where my right elbow is at the top of the backswing, I enjoy the game much more and shoot lower scores. Thanks much Mr. Gallwey!

This book provides some interesting insights into the mental side of the game that are very important. However, without the fundamentals, I don't see how a person could consistently break 80 using these techniques only. For a fundamentally sound full swing, you want to read Hogan's Five Fundamentals. For short game improvement, read Pelz's Short Game Bible.

If you use the valuable awareness learning techniques this book provides while implementing Hogan's and Pelz's fundamentals, you are sure to improve.