What do you think?
The Most Important Game: Play Better. Struggle Less. Enjoy More.
In The Most Important Game, human performance coach Paul Monahan will help you explore your own inside game so that you can play your best golf more often.
Through his own reflections as a leader, coach, and student of the game, Paul offers fresh perspectives on the mental game of golf for anyone who wants to elevate their inside game skills, hit better shots when it means the most, and enjoy the game more.
The Most Important Game thoughtfully tees up Paul’s reflections, stories, and metaphors designed to help you Awareness of the thoughts that impact your enjoyment of the game. Presence, so that you can show up to play the only shot that matters—the next one.Resilience to recover quickly from the unfortunate bounces. Possibility Thinking to keep hope and passion alive for you no matter what is happening on the course.The Most Important Game will help you strengthen your inside game so that the game you play on the outside is more fun and fulfilling.
Through his own reflections as a leader, coach, and student of the game, Paul offers fresh perspectives on the mental game of golf for anyone who wants to elevate their inside game skills, hit better shots when it means the most, and enjoy the game more.
The Most Important Game thoughtfully tees up Paul’s reflections, stories, and metaphors designed to help you Awareness of the thoughts that impact your enjoyment of the game. Presence, so that you can show up to play the only shot that matters—the next one.Resilience to recover quickly from the unfortunate bounces. Possibility Thinking to keep hope and passion alive for you no matter what is happening on the course.The Most Important Game will help you strengthen your inside game so that the game you play on the outside is more fun and fulfilling.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 8, 2024
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 21, 2026
The Most Important Game was a really enjoyable golf book because it focused less on swing mechanics and more on the mental side of playing well and actually enjoying the game. I gave it four stars because I was hoping for a little more practical instruction at times, but the stories, ideas, and overall message made it a fun and worthwhile read.
What I liked most was the emphasis on accepting the ups and downs of golf. Monahan constantly reminds the reader that improvement is never perfectly linear and that one bad shot, hole, or round should not define you. I especially liked the idea of treating bad shots as information rather than failure and staying curious instead of frustrated.
That connected directly to my own golf because I’ve had plenty of rounds this year where I felt like I was playing really well for stretches and then suddenly had a few holes fall apart. I’ve also had days where one strange chip, missed putt, or bad decision started to affect the next shot. This book was a good reminder that the best thing I can do is accept what already happened and keep playing the next shot instead of dragging the frustration around the course.
The book also reinforced a lesson I keep seeing in golf psychology: do the thinking before the shot, then trust yourself and let the swing happen. Practice is where you can focus on mechanics, but on the course you need to rely more on instinct and procedural memory. That idea felt especially relevant to me because sometimes I know I can get too technical and start thinking about too many things over the ball.
Another message that stuck with me was “more club, less ego.” Golf gets much harder when every shot becomes an attempt to prove something. Playing the shot that actually fits your ability, accepting the result, and moving on usually leads to better decisions and a lot less frustration.
I also really enjoyed the stories throughout the book and the small illustrations at the end of the chapters. They gave the book personality and helped break up some of the more reflective ideas.
The biggest takeaway for me was probably the simplest one: golf is supposed to be fun. I’m competitive and I care about improving my scores, but some of my favourite rounds are still the ones where I’m laughing with friends, hitting a few great shots, and enjoying being out there even if the scorecard isn’t perfect. There is no point where you finally “solve” golf, so if you are always waiting to become better before allowing yourself to enjoy it, you are missing the point.
A fun and thoughtful four-star read that reminded me to keep working on my game, but also to enjoy the version of golfer I am right now.
What I liked most was the emphasis on accepting the ups and downs of golf. Monahan constantly reminds the reader that improvement is never perfectly linear and that one bad shot, hole, or round should not define you. I especially liked the idea of treating bad shots as information rather than failure and staying curious instead of frustrated.
That connected directly to my own golf because I’ve had plenty of rounds this year where I felt like I was playing really well for stretches and then suddenly had a few holes fall apart. I’ve also had days where one strange chip, missed putt, or bad decision started to affect the next shot. This book was a good reminder that the best thing I can do is accept what already happened and keep playing the next shot instead of dragging the frustration around the course.
The book also reinforced a lesson I keep seeing in golf psychology: do the thinking before the shot, then trust yourself and let the swing happen. Practice is where you can focus on mechanics, but on the course you need to rely more on instinct and procedural memory. That idea felt especially relevant to me because sometimes I know I can get too technical and start thinking about too many things over the ball.
Another message that stuck with me was “more club, less ego.” Golf gets much harder when every shot becomes an attempt to prove something. Playing the shot that actually fits your ability, accepting the result, and moving on usually leads to better decisions and a lot less frustration.
I also really enjoyed the stories throughout the book and the small illustrations at the end of the chapters. They gave the book personality and helped break up some of the more reflective ideas.
The biggest takeaway for me was probably the simplest one: golf is supposed to be fun. I’m competitive and I care about improving my scores, but some of my favourite rounds are still the ones where I’m laughing with friends, hitting a few great shots, and enjoying being out there even if the scorecard isn’t perfect. There is no point where you finally “solve” golf, so if you are always waiting to become better before allowing yourself to enjoy it, you are missing the point.
A fun and thoughtful four-star read that reminded me to keep working on my game, but also to enjoy the version of golfer I am right now.
May 26, 2024
great book
I loved this book so much that I recommended it to my friends and family. Not just about golf, its message carries over to life lessons. It made me go ahead and enter a golf scramble with all Single Plane golfers even though I just started learning the mechanics. I’ll leave my ego at home and enjoy the experience.
I loved this book so much that I recommended it to my friends and family. Not just about golf, its message carries over to life lessons. It made me go ahead and enter a golf scramble with all Single Plane golfers even though I just started learning the mechanics. I’ll leave my ego at home and enjoy the experience.
May 22, 2026
I listened to the audiobook. It was ok. I have listened to a number of golf books (most of them on my way to the course). This one is pretty basic. Not too many new insights. I think the Jon Sherman books are much better
April 18, 2024
Fantastic book and I highly recommend it. Great job Paul!!!
November 17, 2025
Mental approach to golf.
This short book provides information for those seriously involved in the game of golf to improve the reader’s mental approach to the game. I recommend it.
This short book provides information for those seriously involved in the game of golf to improve the reader’s mental approach to the game. I recommend it.
January 29, 2026
I didn't know this was an advertisement for a certain golf teaching school and swing method. Nothing of any interest or value for me.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews