Sport Psychology in the Media II- the sequel!

Monday's Times carried an article about Padraig Harrington which encouragingly backs up the whole idea of using a proper psychologist. Last year was a fantastic year for Harrington, winning two majors and performing consistently throughout the season. What was his secret? He worked on his mental game. He also went to the top golf psychologist in the world, Bob Rotella.
 Rotella has written a number of books on golf the most famous of which is probably 'Golf is not a game of perfect' Although you could argue with the grammar, the principle underlying the title is fair and the book itself provides some useful if not stunningly deep insights into how to perform any sport, in terms of the kind of goals that you set and the way in which you prepare for performance. 
The key point is that Rotella has done the work in terms of training, academic research etc in order to be able to back up these ideas. He has written his books in an informal style to make them accessible and avoided any kind of overstatement or rash claim about the efficacy of his ideas. 
After my dissapointment in the previous article concering amateur dabblers working outside their competence, I am of course delighted to see hard evidence that the real stuff does work. Harrington's amazing approach shot to the 17th in the Open- a five wood from about 265yds to 7 or 8 feet if I remember- was enough on its own to show how well he can handle the mental side of golf. I should be charging Rotella commission for this advertisement but there are a few other trained and qualified practitioners around so why not try one. 

Alastair Evans-Gordon M.Sc.
Sports-IQ
Sport Performance Consultancy
alastair@sports-iq.com
07831-426-928