Rinker’s Golf Tips Dr. Bob Rotella November 23rd. Dr. Bob Rotella knew pretty early on that he was going to be a coach. “I was a lot better at getting people to believe in themselves, and keep their heads on, so they would play the way they practiced. My best skill is my ability to believe in people, maybe to the point where I see things in them and abilities in them that they don’t see in themselves, and then getting it out of them. If you combine talent with a commitment and passion and be able to sustain it, and get your head in the right place, you’ve got a chance.” Bob wants to get into people’s dreams and ideas for their lives and throw away all limits where they can convince themselves they can do something. Change their perspectives. We have belief barriers and it’s easier to say I don’t have the talent than to say I haven’t applied myself.
Even though we have all this new technology in clubs, balls, shafts, and being fitted properly, the best players in the world still don’t hit more greens in regulation than Hogan and Nelson did which is 12-13 GIR per 18 holes. So, can you shoot under par hitting 11 greens or even 9 greens because the Tour pros can. Bob played recently with his 95 year old father and it seemed like every hole he had a shot from 30-60 yards short of the green. Higher handicappers have even more shots from inside of 100 yards than the pros do, so that third shot into a par four is huge for their scoring. Hit it within 15 feet and they are making a par or bogie on every hole.
Bob would like his golfers to play as if they removed their conscious mind and just reacted to the target. Being in the right state of mind is more important to the best putters in the world than whether or not they made the putt. Want a calm and quiet mind and identify the target before you walk into the ball. Then just see it and do it. Most people get way too perfect in their reads and over think it. A line on the ball helps some players quiet their minds but it doesn’t help everyone. There are constant urges to get too perfect. “My players don’t spend too much time over the ball, so don’t take too much time to take the club back after looking at the target,” Bob said. Bob has a new book coming out in the spring titled, “How Champion’s Think.” Dr. Bob Rotella can be reached at www.drbobrotella.com