I’ve not read too many “How to…..” books in the past, I’ve always been a tad skeptical about how much use they’d actually be. However, given that golf courses in Buenos Aires have been shut for over 3 months now with no sign of them opening any time soon, I thought I’d use the time to give one of them a whirl.
After a bit of research I settled on Zen Golf by Dr. Joseph Parent, the reasoning behind this was because the mental side of the game is something I think more amateurs need to focus on and give a consideration to as a way of vastly improving their game.
Now, I’ll happily admit, I opened this book for the first time expecting a load of hippy nonsense about “finding your inner peace” etc etc, within a couple of chapters, not only was I enjoying the read but it was making a lot of sense! The way Dr. Parent describes both the concepts he talks about and the methods to put them into effect, was easy to grasp and on several occasions I found myself putting the book down to run off and try something he suggests because I was curious to see if it was true.
One of the main plus points I see in this book is the fact that it doesn’t just talk about concepts, it gives you easy to follow routines to actually put them into practice. Several of which I’ve subsequently adopted in my day to day life (breathing exercises) and others which are more golf specific (pre-shot routines) that I’ve noticed an immediate benefit on my game.
I’ve purposely not gone into detail on specific instructions whilst writing this review as I strongly urge you to go and read it for yourself. I’m an avid reader and I’ve always got a book on the go, with Zen Golf, I read it in a couple of days and immediately went back to the beginning and read it again, something I’ve never done before! That’s the level of praise I can give this book for the impact it had on me.
Whether you buy into the concepts behind Buddhism and Zen already, or like me, you’re a bit of a skeptic, I’d wholeheartedly suggest going and buying this and giving it a try. I am incredibly glad I gave it an opportunity to make a difference.
You can find Zen Golf by Dr. Joseph Parent at all good bookstores or download it for your E-reader here at Amazon.