Pia Nilsson - Be a Player: A Breakthrough Approach to Playing Better ON the Golf Course

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ALSO BY PIA NILSSON AND LYNN MARRIOTT

Play Your Best Golf Now:

Discover VISION54 s 8 Essential Playing Skills

The Game Before the Game:

The Perfect 30-Minute Practice

Every Shot Must Have a Purpose:

How GOLF54 Can Make You a Better Player

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Copyright 2017 by Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Atria Books hardcover edition June 2017

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Interior design by Tim Oliver

Jacket design by Ella Laytham And Ken Delago

Jacket art Shutterstock (Golfer)

Author photograph courtesy of Pia Nilsson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Nilsson, Pia, author. | Marriott, Lynn, author. | Reed, Susan K., author.

Title: Be a player : a breakthrough approach to playing better on the golf course / By Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott ; With Susan K. Reed.

Description: First Atria Books hardcover edition. | New York : Atria Books, 2017.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016057505| ISBN 9781476788036 (hardback) | ISBN 9781476788043 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: GolfTraining. | GolfPsychological aspects. | BISAC: SPORTS & RECREATION / Golf. | SPORTS & RECREATION / Sports Psychology. | SPORTS & RECREATION / Coaching / General.

Classification: LCC GV979.T68 N54 2017 | DDC 796.352dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016057505

ISBN 978-1-4767-8803-6

ISBN 978-1-4767-8804-3 (ebook)

We dedicate this book to the people who have influenced us and shaped our view of the game and of human potential. We recognize a few of them in these pages, but there are many, many others. We stand on their shoulders, and are forever grateful for their wisdom and support.

We dedicate this book to the Supergolfer in each of us. Let us keep believing in our futuresand bringing our possibilities to life.

N EARLY EVERY WEEK, a new group of golfers arrives for one of our VISION54 programs at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The students include top amateurs, aspiring tour players, and recreational golfersamong them lawyers, filmmakers, bankers, opera singers, corporate executives, and teachers. All of them love golf. All of them want to improve and enjoy the game. But more often than not, they admit to being frustrated with golfand with themselves. Sadly, some are just about ready to quit.

Listen to a few of our students. We always begin by asking them to introduce themselves and to say a few words about why theyve come.

Janice, from Vancouver, British Columbia: I love golf when I play well, but I really struggle when Im playing poorly. I wonder if its possible to have fun even when Im having a bad day.

Joe, from Minneapolis, Minnesota: I feel frustrated most of the time Im on the course. Id like to learn how to be more relaxed and spend less time thinking about the mechanics of my swing.

Beth, from Boston, Massachusetts, a retired finance executive: Im very analytical and goal-oriented. I want to get out of my head and feel more joy when I play.

Mia, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who is a college golfer: The biggest thing Im looking for is to improve my consistency. After rounds when I played well I think, That was so easy. But after a bad round Im thinking, That was the hardest thing Ive ever done .

Bob, from Portland, Oregon: My main objective and desire is to get the most out of myself. I want to feel I can improve and continue to grow my golf game.

Lana, who lives in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and Palm Desert, California: I love golf, but I never feel like Im improving. And I fight the feeling that not improving reflects on me as a person.

Mike, from Scottsdale, Arizona, a businessman: I want to be able to manage myself better when I play with my weekend foursome. They talk so much: I cant even concentrate. I play like Jekyll and Hyde when Im with them.

Ida, from Kansas City, Missouri: I so want to enjoy golf. When I dont play well, I beat myself up and have a terrible rest of the day.

Zach, from New York City, a 1-handicap player: Instead of always thinking about my swing, I want to learn to let myself play the game.

Julie, from Indiana, a nationally ranked amateur: I dont want to be so scared when Im playing.

Jane, from New York: I want to figure out why I get so tight when Im hitting over water. I moan and groan a lot on the course. I dont want to be that kind of golfer.

Patrick, from New Jersey, who works in venture capital: I practice and take lessons, but I never seem to get any better. Most days, I come off the course completely deflated. I dont want to start all over. Id like to take my gamethe one I have nowto the next level.

The sentiments of the comments capture the mood we see in todays golferswhether they are American, European, or Asian. Though club technology, fitness training, and the science of the swing have improved exponentially over the past decade, many golfers have not improved and have been leaving the game. The numbers have declined for several reasons, from a shortage of playing time and budget considerations, to difficulty in learning the game and courses that are too challenging. In short, golfers are stuckand their lack of improvement might be a more alarming development for the game. According to the National Golf Foundation, nearly six million people in the U.S. quit the sport between 2003 and 2015.

We think we know another big reason why players are frustrated. Many golfers struggle to transfer their games from the range to the course. We see players making good contact in practice, but when were watching them on the course, they take three times longer to hit the ballwith a completely different technical swing. All of a sudden, they cant hit the ball. Their physical, mental, and emotional states have changed because performing on the golf course means something . There are actual consequences to what they do.