After a successful debut, many recording artists talk about the "difficult second album" and authors undoubtedly suffer from the same issue. With his second book, Jon has produced an excellent, worthy follow-up. It's just over a year since I reviewed his first book https://www.thoughtsfromthetrain.com/post/review-the-four-foundations-of-golf and I was keen to get my hands on this one when it came out.
It's not a long book at 165 pages, but it's packed with useful information. While the first book dealt with the technical aspects of becoming better at golf, this one deals more with the intangible aspects of the human/golfer's condition. How to understand the mindset and philosophy of golf and put it into practice. That's right up my street! As with The Four Foundations book, you have likely read a lot of the information elsewhere, but usually as a bit of an afterthought to technical instruction. This is one of the few books that tries to give you a mental tool kit for competition and the big difference is that it's written from first-hand experience using Jon's real-life examples.
The book also made me think about my blog and the themes I've been exploring recently, reassuring me that I'm on the right path! Jon discusses expectation management, staying humble, balancing your goals between internal and external measurements, skill building, self-discipline, personal growth, working smarter and testing your game. A key theme is understanding the difference between what is and isn't within your control. Working on what you can control and letting go of what you can't. Taking personal responsibility and not blaming external circumstances. How to build a solid, repeatable (and quick) routine that becomes a rock of stability when you feel increased stress.
The chapter I wrote the most notes over was "How to set goals". It made me feel better about my last post and highlighted how hard it is to achieve the correct balance between internal and external goals. Every time I think about goals, I remember the phrase, "Comparison is the thief of joy". Balancing how to measure your improvement without becoming obsessed with score or handicap is hard! Jon does a great job discussing it. As part of this, how to build mental resolve and grit was also interesting. Not giving up, accepting, learning, embracing the pressure, improving your thinking, better self-talk, being kinder to yourself etc. All are themes I've been exploring myself.
There is good information about how to prepare for competitions. What to do during your warm-up, tips on nutrition and hydration, breathing exercises and routines to deal with nervous moments. These are all equally applicable to playing a club medal as they are to a big external tournament. Having a better understanding of the impact on fatigue and concentration can help prevent those late-round blowups. Turn the potential double bogie (or worse) into bogie (or better).
Particularly informative is Jon's work with the unnamed PGA Tour Pro. If you've not listened to "The Sweet Spot" podcast, then a quick Google will tell you that it is Mackenzie Hughes, the Canadian golfer who finished joint third at the Valspar last weekend. The great thing these references highlight is that the best players in the world face the same challenges we do, except with the added pressure of having their livelihoods on the line too! Watch Peter Malnati's press conference for further insights into the grind of professional golf. There are real examples of how Jon and Mac have worked together to build better processes and improved thinking.
As I said above, you will probably have read lots of this information before, and likely just paid lip service to it. As Jon says in the introduction "We all can recite platitudes about controlling what we can and working smarter, not harder......But do people change their behaviours as they nod their heads? Probably not". That's exactly the challenge I've been writing about in my blog posts and something reading this book will hopefully further help me with. Golf is a lifelong journey.
Jon has walked the talk and continues to do so today. He is an accomplished golfer who has faced these challenges and is sharing what he has learned so we can all benefit from that experience. I thoroughly recommend both of his books.
Shameful plug for posts exploring my thoughts on similar issues:
Stoic Golf: https://www.thoughtsfromthetrain.com/post/the-stoic-golfer-lessons-from-marcus-aurelius-and-forrest-gump
Gratitude and Perspective: https://www.thoughtsfromthetrain.com/post/getting-the-game-into-perspective
Hedonic treadmill (pt1): https://www.thoughtsfromthetrain.com/post/golf-and-the-hedonic-treadmill
Mindful walking: https://www.thoughtsfromthetrain.com/post/mindful-walking
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