Twenty-five years ago, when I was 19, I became a professional golfer. I suppose that if I fed the right pieces of data to one of our modern “electronic brain” machines it would perform a few gyrations and shortly afterward inform me as to how many hundreds of thousands of shots I have hit on practice fairways, how many thousands of shots I have struck in competition, how many times I have taken three putts when there was absolutely no reason for doing so, and all the rest of it. Like most professional golfers, I have a tendency to remember my poor shots a shade more vividly than the good ones — the one or two per round, seldom more, which come off exactly as I intend they should.

The most beloved golf book of all time, Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book has become required reading for all players and fans of the game, from beginners to seasoned pros. The legendary Harvey Penick, whom Sports Illustrated called the “Socrates of the golf world,” began his golfing career as a caddie in Austin, Texas, at the age of eight, and over the course of nearly a century worked with an amazing array of champions. In this classic book, which is named for the red notebook he always kept, Penick’s simple, direct, practical wisdom pares away the hypertechnical jargon that’s grown up around the golf swing, and lets all golfers, whatever their level, play their best.

Throughout the ages, the ancient arts of Zen and meditation have helped warriors prepare for battle, brought philosophers to enlightenment, and opened the path to inner peace for countless practitioners. Perhaps most importantly, however, these practices have allowed golfers to transcend their game and shave precious strokes off their handicaps. In this hilarious memoir, journalist and former-18-handicap Josh Karp tries it all—from quantum physics to Feldenkrais—in an attempt to transform his mindset, lower his score, and tap into the mystical connection between golf and spirituality.

When "Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect" was published in1995, Dr. Bob Rotella made accessible for the first time what he has learned from years of working with the best golfers in the world. Now, with the success of that book, "Doc" Rotella, whose client list includes Nick Price, Davis Love III, Pat Bradley, Billy Mayfair, and TomKite, among many others, is firmly established as the premier performance enhancement specialist in the golf world. This new book, filled with anecdotes and inspirational instruction, focuses on the most important skill a golfer can have the ability to think confidently. Because golf really is just a game of confidence!

A frequent comment about the eternal issues of philosophy is that everything is a footnote to the ancient philosophers Plato and Aristotle. Subsequent philosophers are simply clarifying and expanding their comprehensive consideration of the ultimate questions of humanity. So why write a book about golf and philosophy? Plato and Aristotle never played golf, so what is there to discuss? The short answer is that if Plato and Aristotle were alive today, they probably would be avid golfers. For at least a few hours a day, they'd change their togas and sandals for knickers and spiked sandals. Lovers of wisdom and the good life are lovers of golf.

The psychology of great golf is quite plain and logical. Most players with whom I work are at first amazed by the simplicity of what I tell them. They’re surprised to find that there is nothing weird or mysterious in what I do. With a bit of relief in their voices, they tell me that the type of thinking I teach strikes them as good common sense. Sport psychology, as I teach it, is about learning to think in the most effective and efficient way possible every day. It’s the psychology of excellence. My job as a coach of mental skills is to help players go where they might not be able to go on their own, given their old ways of thinking. They may have learned ways of thinking that work on a driving range or a practice green. What I offer is a way of thinking and playing that works under the fire of competitive pressure...