Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game

by Gio Valiante, Mike Stachura (Collaborator)

A detailed plan for conquering the FEAR that sabotages swings and ruins psyches, from the pioneering psychologist whose techniques have benefited Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, and numerous other world-class golfers.

As Jack Nicklaus once observed, fear is the golfer’s greatest enemy, inspiring Tiger Woods to "refuse" to give in to this debilitating emotion. It can turn professionals into jelly and dominate the games of most amateurs. It alters swing paths, causes “tap-in” putts to go awry, and transforms a golfer from a brilliant shot-maker on the practice range into an incompetent hack on the course.

Most golfers understand this, but do not have the tools to overcome it. That’s where Dr. Gio Valiante comes in. A pioneering sports psychologist, Valiante has studied the sources of an athlete’s fear, investigated the physiological and neurological impact of fear on performance, and, most important of all, developed a groundbreaking program for conquering it. With Valiante's help and by applying Fearless Golf, Justin Leonard went from three consecutive missed cuts to three consecutive top tens, and Chad Campbell recently moved from 98th in the world to 7th. Davis Love III went from zero wins in 2002 to four wins in 2003, and Chris DiMarco made the 2004 Ryder Cup Team.

Emphasizing the need to replace a fixation-on-results with a commitment to mastery of one’s body and one's mind, Valiante’s approach will not only help golfers reach their true potential, it will make playing every round fun again. Through concrete confidence and mastery drills, he presents specific ways readers can break free of fear’s grasp and perform at their best—even under the most extreme pressure.

With detailed quotes and anecdotes given exclusively to Dr. Valiante from the best players in the game—including Jack Nicklaus, Ernie Els, and other tour professionals, Fearless Golf is the ultimate guide to the mental game, the hottest topic in golf today.

Genres: Psychology

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Thom Archibald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t worry yourself with what happened on the last hole, or how difficult it will be to post a good score with the wind, or how you’ll never figure out the speed of the greens, or how stupid of a shot you just hit, or how many over you are so far in the round - all you can control is the your effort on the next shot. This book gives good examples for how to do that by asking yourself the right questions constantly, like “what is my target?” However, it was really repetitive to that point and could have been much shorter, even down to a feature article in a golf magazine. But then maybe I wouldn’t have remembered it quite as well.

I do love how well this lesson applies to life in general as well (as do most things I’ve learned about golf), even if the book didn’t cover that.

[Steve Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book . I will definitely reflect back to the book when I’m practicing.
I’m a casual golfer, who would like to get better. This book has already helped me on becoming one .

[Brian Lombard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Fearless Golf", by Gio Valiante is a great book that combines player commentary and the authors own thoughts of how the mind should think while playing golf. If you are an avid golfer than this book will have you turning the pages until you hit the back cover. The author does a great job of capturing moments that occur throughout a round of golf and does an even better job explaining things a player can do to redirect one’s mind towards more positive and successful thought. Even if you are not a fan of golf but play any sport this book can help you and you will certainly enjoy it.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gio is an Educational Psychologist, as am I. This book perfectly summarizes the aspects around learning, behavior, perception and motivation relative to the game of golf. This is an academic book written for laypeople and is brilliant. I had started a manuscript years ago on the same topic. Gio was kind enough to send me a draft of the book. I took my manuscript and threw it away and emailed Gio with a "thanks for writing what was in my head." Great, great, great

[Biff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's focus is on things other than the mechanics of the golf swing, with the exception of grip pressure. This is cited as having a substantial affect on the golf swing, i.e., the tighter the grip the more likely the shot will be poor.

He suggests staying in the present, focusing in on a target for each shot, acknowledge faults and practice to improve. Continual improvement is the mindset needed to become a better golfer, no matter what level.

[Henry Beyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked his theme of Mastery Orientation as opposed to an Ego Orientation. The primary desire is to learn, improve and excel in relation to ourselves and challenges we may face either by choice or not.

[Ruan Stander · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Soft hands (numbness when pressure is high)
- Practice with extra pressure
- Tensing the entire body screws up everything
- Mental game is everything

[Liam Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot, and it has helped me greatly with controlling my mental game lately. Every time I play golf after reading this book, I can somewhat be a bit more patient, and less frustrated at simple mistakes. I have now payed attention to a few major concepts, such as the strive to become a mastery-centered golfer, who tries to beat the course and play to improve. As opposed to taking the easy way out, and being an ego-oriented golfer; those who let their poor game cause anger, and those who play to impress and beat other players.

[Valentina Orneli Draghi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. For golf and more

Perfectly describes emotional and practical situations defining a strong and winning mental approach. Easily applicable to any other sport but truly to many different dimensions.

[Benjamin Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very vivid into the mental thoughts and processes we as pro golfers experience.
A good quote from page 168 :"getting in your own way is when your conscious thoughts interfere with your unconscious automatic processes."

[Radim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book about the mental side of the game. It says you have to trust thing you can control and do not rely on things that are out of your control like eg. other players, weather etc.

[Rita Spittler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding Read

Highly recommend this book. Simple to not only understand, but easy to apply whether you are a scratch player or high handicapper.

[Sidney R. Divine · Rating 5 out of 5]

great golf ahead

What an awesome read. Really informative. Can’t wait to start applying the principles learned to my practice and play going forward.

[Robert K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just for golfers. Principles in this book are applicable for most human endeavors where personal success is desired.

[Mindy Hardwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for the psychology of golf. The inside workings of what goes on in the mind of a successful golfers.

[Theo Frentzos · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first golf psychology book I ever read. Gave me a clear understanding of how my brain draws mental pictures and how that can be used in golf. “What’s my target?” Worth the read for anyone trying to improve their golf game.

[Collin Burckle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collin Burckle
Mr. Pollock
English 9-4
12 December 2012
Valiante, Gio. Fearless Golf. NewYork. Doubleday, 2005.
The book Fearless Golf by Gio Valiante is the best golf book I have read. The book Fearless Golf is a book about how to conquer the mental game in golf while playing. This book is instructional in capturing the golfers mind for the mental game and manipulating it by telling the mind that you can always succeed no matter what the obstacle is. This book gave me everything I needed to succeed in playing good golf and conquering the mental game.
I chose this amazing book even though it is most like other golf books. But, it has one key aspect that separates its kind from others, its ability to have not only the authors input but have the players input as well. This is how I connected to the book. Fearless Golf most definitely helped me conquer the mental game, unlike other golf books that just spit information. The book Fearless Golf is a one of a kind book and that is primarily why I adventured into its pages.
I might say well this book sounds good but does it truly allow you to connect? “Golf to me is a livelihood in doing the thing that I love to do. I don’t like the glamour. I just like the game.” –Ben Hogan (61). This quote from Ben Hogan in the book shows how the author connects his message to the players by connecting the quote of a great player and his thought on mental game. This approach makes the reading like a free pass on getting better in not only golf’s mental aspects but life’s mental aspects. I chose this book because of what the author does to make that connection as real as it can get. This book knows how to truly capture my mind and certainly those of others.
This book I really thought it was going to be a bunch of the same old junk I’ve read from every other book, but little did I know what I was in for. My love for golf books changed when I read this book. The way the author made each of his chapters a new way to conquer the mental game made the book very interesting. This author made the connection amazing because I connected to the book in a personal way that enhanced the way I had perspective on things. It made not only my golf game better but my decisions in everything I do better, by teaching me what to do when my mind starts to get in the way.
In the final schemes of things, the main reason to why this book made my choice of pick is because of how the author wrote his book. It truly was the author that constructed this wonderful book that I in turn got to engulf in the wonderful knowledge produced. This book will go down as my number one golf book I’ve read.

[Mark Manderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book for anyone who has fear as a present barrier in their life. I actually do not golf at all but viewed this book as a tool and substituted the word golf with business and have haf breakthroughs on many levels using the strategies in this book.

[Tom Mccoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the read

I am a long time struggling golfer of single digit handicap. This is not a cook book, but rather a book of self reflection and observation. No quick fixes here and no recipes, just great technique and tools for success. The rest is up to the reader.

[Frank Corriveau · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure if I'm capable of such positive thinking 100% of the time on the golf course. This is the mental approach that is extremely tough to balance for me. Still an interesting read that can be picked up and read and reread at any time.

[Mark Sharpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great golf & life book

Dr. Gio is awesome. This book is an excellent read for your approach to both golf and life. In short, this book reinforces that attitude and perspective is everything.

[Patrick Schultheis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok read. Decent theory, but does not do particularly well transitioning from "why" to "how to."

[Deborah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much tie spent recapping past Pro player performances. Otherwise a good read. Could be shorter.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great thoughts on golf that can be used in all endeavors of life.

[Richard Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instruction book on the mental side of the game. Very good. Question to ask self while playing is ,"Whats's my target".

[Tony Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helps you keep the game of golf in perspective!!!

[Jonybear You · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lowered my score drastically