Golf
seems to be the universal pastime for expats all over the world. On the
Eastern Seaboard, the Pattaya Mail devotes several pages to golf
tournaments, and there are many driving ranges for the golfer to practice
his swing. However, Tom Gingerich has produced an e-book, Headgame Solutions
for Golf, which has the promise that it can cut strokes from your rounds, by
tuning up your mind. “If you could knock a few strokes off your score by
changing what you are thinking on a golf course, wouldn’t you do it?” writes
Gingerich, following up with, “There are numerous testimonials from
professional golfers praising the benefits of developing an effective state
of mind on the course.” Of course, when the mind is in turmoil, you can
expect to be adding strokes. Just ask the Tiger.
Chapter 2 briefly touches on the various chapters of the book, and the
relationship of each to the score at the end of the day. Motivation is the
opening subject and why the golfer must understand his or her motivation for
playing the game in the first place.
Chapter 3 covers the first tee and why you duff that opener, after wonderful
drives on the practice tee all week. You can teach yourself how to mentally
prepare yourself to hit good drives.
Chapter 4 helps you develop a pre-shot routine, warming up the mind as well
as the body.
Chapter 5 covers Improving Concentration to be able to overcome different
distractions experienced on a round. (Select an ugly caddy, perhaps?)
Chapter 6 introduces visualization techniques. If you can see the ball in
the cup in your mind, the more likely it is that you can actually accomplish
it.
Chapter 7 delves into Fear and Anxiety. Surely every amateur golfer has
heard the joke of playing against a professional who has to give the amateur
two “gotchas” start and loses the round experiencing the anxiety of waiting
for the second “gotcha”! Author Gingerich tells the reader just how to keep
fear and anxiety in check.
Chapter 8 deals with anger management, after observing more than one golfer
wrap his 2 iron around a tree! The game can be beautiful, but it can also
drive you to drink with the suppressed anger on the course. Mainly your own!
He expounds on techniques that will be looked at, not only to help manage
anger, but also to use it at times as fuel for better play. Now that’s a
real bonus!
Chapter 9 deals with Confidence. Undoubtedly, the quietly confident golfer
will return better cards at the end of the round. Again this is a learned
response, which has its origins between the ears. Just as there is a ‘sweet’
zone in the club head, there is a ‘sweet’ zone in your head as well.
It retails at USD 5.99 and available through e-book retailers. With the
information available in this e-book, it is well worth the money (B. 180 on
current exchange rates), and could very well see you receiving the trophies
next tournament! And some interesting side bets to collect at the 19th hole.
