Contents

Where To Find It

ZEN GOLF has been so popular as a holiday gift that it is the "most popular" golf book on Amazon.com. However, it is so popular that Amazon and most of the other on-line book sellers have temporarily run out of copies!  (You can check on-line sites for updates on availability and delivery time.) There should still be copies available at retail stores like Borders, Barnes&Noble, other chains, and independent bookstores. The publisher, Doubleday, is trying to get the reprint date moved up to make them available sooner. We hope one of your local bookstores can get it for you. Sorry for any inconvenience.
 

Latest Reader's Comments

"This is one of the best books I've ever read. It is hard to put it down. A few years back I went through a "Lifetime Significant Emotional Event" and it has changed me into what you have described as the "forth cup". I have been playing golf for 17 years and I think this book will be the BEST game improvement aid I've run across. GREAT JOB! Thank you," Bob S., Sault Ste. Marie MI

"This is oh so much more than a golf book. I'm loving every page. Thanks for making my Christmas shopping easier this year! The world needs millions of these books in circulation. Yours in awareness, mindfulness, and basic goodness," Martha L., San Diego, CA

More comments...

ZEN GOLF: Mastering the Mental Game
Where to find it  

More reader's comments

ZEN GOLF Schools

Holiday Gift Certificates

Spring Schedule

Rate ZEN GOLF SCHOOLS for GOLF MAGAZINE

Notes From the PGA Tour
Congratulations to Vijay

Notes From the PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit
 

ZEN GOLF Lessons
A Preview from Dr. Parent's next book.
 

Calendar
Upcoming events 

Holiday Greetings  
 

Contact Us
 

ZEN GOLF Schools

Rancho San Marcos Golf Course
Santa Barbara, CA
Site for ZEN GOLF SCHOOLS

Spring 2003 Schedule

Two-day ZEN GOLF SCHOOLS

March 22-23, 2003

April 26-27, 2002

May 17-18,2002
 

Holiday Gift Certificates

We've had several requests for gift certificates to golf schools (and private lessons) as holiday gifts. To order a gift certificate in any amount, email to info@zengolf.com and we'll send back an invoice and a printable certificate as an attachment. Prices for schools and private lessons are listed on the website,or call 888-874-9928.

ZEN GOLF Schools are based on the PAR approach that brings more consistency, less frustration, and lower scores. Cost:$795 per person, includes two days of instruction, green fees and cart, range fees, and lunch. Enrollment is limited to 9 participants per session. Three day schools are $1095 per person. Customized ZEN GOLF Schools for you and your friends are also available. They can be conducted at Rancho San Marcos or your home club. For more information contact us or visit our web site, www.ZenGolf.com

Rate ZEN GOLF SCHOOLS for GOLF MAGAZINE's Golf School Survey

GOLF MAGAZINE says, "If you're a golf school alum, we want to know your opinion of the instruction, the facilities, and your overall school experience." We'd like to ask alumni of ZEN GOLF SCHOOLS with Dr. Parent to go to www.shawguides.com/survey and enter their ratings of their experiences. This is a way to let more people know about the opportunity to be a Zen Golfer. Thanks for your time and effort to help with this.

Notes From the PGA Tour

Congratulations to Vijay Singh on a great year. Vijay read Zen Golf and started working with Dr. Parent in February at the Nissan Open, Riviera CC in Los Angeles. He won the Shell Houston Open for his first victory in over two years, and completed the season with a win at the PGA TOUR Championship in Atlanta. He finished third on the PGA TOUR money list after Tiger and Phil, ranked 7th in the world.

Todd Barringer started getting coaching in Zen Golf at the Monterey Classic in October, and finished the year 15th on the Buy.com tour, gaining his PGA Tour card for 2003. Congratulations and best wishes to Todd for a successful year on tour.

Notes From the PGA Coaching and Teaching Summit

The PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit is a biannual event, which brings together over 1000 golf instructors and coaches from all over the world.  Dr. Parent  and I had the good fortune to attend this year’s gathering held on December 6-8 at the PGA’s new Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida (www.pgavillage.com). 

Using state-of-the-art multi-media technology, a veritable “who’s-who” of golf professionals delivered presentations on assessment, teaching, and coaching.  Many of the presentations consisted of "live lessons" by such highly acclaimed golf instructors as: Butch Harmon (Tiger's coach, as well as coach of many other PGA Tour players), Craig Shankland (a Golf Digest "Greatest 50 Teacher"), Peggy Kirk Bell (named one of the five most influential women in golf by Golf Digest), Dr. Jim  Suttie (2000 National PGA Teacher of the Year), Rob Akins (a Golf Magazine "Top 100 Teacher" and coach of 2001 PGA Champion David Toms), Bill Moretti (Southern Texas PGA Teacher of the Year),  Chuck Cook (1996 PGA Teacher of the Year), John Elliott (a Golf Magazine "Top 100 Teacher"), Martin Hall (a Golf Digest "Top 50 Teacher"), Eddie Merrins (NCAA Coaches Hall of Fame), Rick Jensen (Director of the Performance Center at PGA National), Mike McGetrick (1999 PGA Teacher of the Year), and Hank Johnson (a Golf Magazine "Top 100 Teacher").  Also included on the program were LPGA Champions Juli Inkster and Beth Daniels. 

It was particularly instructive to observe these top instructors work with players of all abilities in "live lessons" on all aspects of the game.  Following the PGA model for golf instruction, a full day was devoted to each of three areas:  assessment, teaching, and coaching.  The "coaching" session on "How to Practice" by Beth Daniels and Rick Jensen was a highlight for me.  The presenters demonstrated the importance of practicing with a purpose and how to use practice to prepare for on-course play.  As we know from Zen Golf, pre-shot routine, target awareness, post-shot routine, and handling pressure are all essential elements of playing the game of golf.  It was gratifying to watch how a top LPGA pro and her coach integrated these elements of the game into a practice session. 

Like the importance of properly using the time between golf shots, the time between scheduled presentations was as valuable as the presentations themselves.  Dr. Parent and I had the opportunity to meet and network with golf professionals from all of the U.S. and beyond.   

Taken as a whole this was the best professional conference on any topic I have ever attended. 

-reported by Steve Moore 

Zen Golf Lessons - A preview of material from Dr. Parent's next book.

Unmasking the Wizard of Oz

Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman and the Cowardly Lion stood quivering with fear before the huge, scary green face glowering down at them. "How dare you come before the great and powerful OZ!" it bellowed, and they trembled even more. Then Dorothy's little dog Toto ran over to a curtain off to the side and pulled on the drawstring. The curtain opened, revealing a little man speaking into a microphone. He looked embarrassed at being exposed. "Pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain," he said into the microphone, as the giant green face of OZ bellowed the exact same words. This time, however, no one was frightened at all. The huge green face was still there, exactly the same as before. The same lights were flashing, and the voice was just as loud and angry. But none of them were afraid anymore because his real nature had been revealed to be just an illusion. The Wizard of OZ had been unmasked.

This story points up the power of awareness. How different our reaction can be to the same thing when we know more about it! While playing in a tournament, we might think to ourselves, "Well, you've gotten away with it so far, but you'll screw up before too long." Believing in this thought gives it power. It can create feelings of doubt and anxiety, which interfere with our swing and produce errant shots. That makes us believe the thought even more, amplifying it in our mind. Eventually the fear of failure becomes so powerful that our game is badly disrupted. We believed in the thought and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Through awareness practice we can recognize the nature of thoughts as words passing through our minds, with no more tangible reality than the image of the Wizard on the screen. They have power only to the extent that we give it to them. Recognizing their nature to be ephemeral, fleeting ideas that can dissolve as easily as they arose, we have a choice about what we pay attention to and what we disregard. Revealed for what they are, thoughts lose their power. The more we practice mindfulness and awareness, recognizing the source and nature of what arises in our minds, the better we can liberate ourselves from the illusory power of negative thinking.

Copyright 2002 by Dr. Joseph Parent
 

CALENDAR