Golf Beneath the Surface

Book excerpt: An essential resource for golfers who want to play a smarter, more fulfilling game on the green For as long as golf has existed, the game’s greatest players and instructors have lauded the importance of mental resilience. However, while golfing equipment and course strategy have evolved over time, the field of golf psychology has not kept pace. Many outdated, unscientific notions remain widespread, despite the fact that they actually lead to repetitive, harmful patterns that impair golfer gameplay and create mental barriers to success. In Golf Beneath the Surface, performance consultant Dr. Raymond Prior expertly debunks these “surface-level” psychology myths and explains psychological predictors that encourage long-term growth and skillful performance under pressure. Backed by rigorously researched neuroscience and psychology, and drawing on years of experience working with some of the world’s best players, Dr. Prior shares fresh, practical insights into how golfers think, train, and play, both on and off the course. With a customizable experience that places the reader’s own psychology front and center, this book breaks down: how the brain’s design impacts their performance how to interact with their own thoughts and emotions and train awareness for the present moment how to understand and effectively change unproductive habits the critical importance of their psychological framework and how to shape beliefs that cultivate and support steady confidence Accessible and entertaining, Golf Beneath the Surface challenges the status quo and brings a long-overdue update to modern performance psychology.