Dear Douglas,
Thanks for the kind words, and for flattering me with the question!
In golf psychology, I like the work of Dr Patrick Cohn, Peak Performance Sports, quite a bit. He has some nice paperbacks on golf psychology that are top drawer. Just look for his books using the author search function at Amazon.com: Going Low, The Mental Game of Golf, and Peak Performance Golf -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Cohn%2C%20Patrick/104-6884975-8299139 . His website is another source of info, and you can subscribe to his newsletter via email. Peak Performance Sports:
http://www.peaksports.com/golf/index.php3.
Dr Robert Winters, the golf psychology director for the David Leadbetter Academy at Chamions Gate, Orlando, is another favorite. He and Patrick Cohn co-authored the putting book, The Mental Art of Putting, and Robert has acted as the golf psych guru for Golf.com and has written a number of articles and other works. He is a regular contributor to Golf Illustrated Magazine, the IMG publication focused upon European golf. Robert can be found at
http://www.imgacademies.com.
From some subtle indicators in your email (to which I am finely atuned
), I would also recommend sports psychology that emphasizes personal development. That would be in line with such coaching philosophies as espoused by Michael Murphy of the Esalen Institute (
http://www.esalen.org), author of Golf in the Kingdom, The Psychic Side of Sports, In the Zone: The Transcendent Experience in Sports, and The Future of the Body (see Amazon.com -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Murphy%2C%20Michael/104-6884975-8299139).
So-called "transformational" psychology (or "integral" philosophy is currently led by Ken Wilber of Boulder Colorado and the Shambala group (Tibetan Buddhism). Wilber's books -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Wilber%2C%20Ken/104-6884975-8299139. Ken is buddies with Murphy, and also with George Leonard, author of The Ultimate Athlete (applying Akido and transformational psychology to athletic excellence beyond the boundaries of mass-consumer competetions -
http://www.tam-aikido.org/sensei/). Leonard and Murphy have created Integral Transformative Practices together,
http://www.itp-life.com/whoNJS.html. Leonard's book on Akido may interest you,
http://www.mishlove.com/virtual2/leonard.htm. Leonard's books -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/Author%3DLeonard%2C%20George/104-6884975-8299139. Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, is also part of this scene. Goleman's books -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Goleman%2C%20Daniel/104-6884975-8299139.
So, from the point of view of golf, these guys intersect with personal transformational psychology on a more general level, and that's very good. Golf psychology by itself has a tendency to be a little hidebound, but has shown promising signs of blossoming out lately. I would encourage you in that direction. My friend David Grant Geier, Golf Inside-Out in Cleveland,
http://www.golf-insideout.com, can probably help you a lot, as this is the road he travels every day, and he networks like crazy. I'm sure he would welcome a phone call from you (tell him I recommended you to call).
--
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
The PuttingZone.com
http://puttingzone.com
The Future of Putting Now -
Elite instruction from the World's most comprehensive resource.
Over 20,000 page visits each month and growing strong...
518 Woodlawn Ave
Greensboro NC USA 27401
336.230.0612 home
336.402.1602 cell
336-574-2324 fax
geoff@puttingzone.com
Join the PZ for the free Newsletter, Tips, and Updates: just send me an email with "yes" or "ok" or "subscribe" or "sure" etc. in the subject pr body and I'll add you. Or, go here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PuttingZone/join