Golf is Not a Game of Perfect Quotes

“A golfer has to learn to enjoy the process of striving to improve. That process, not the end result, enriches life.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“People by and large become what they think about themselves.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“You cannot hit a golf ball consistently well if you think about the mechanics of your swing as you play.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“The smaller the target, the sharper the athlete’s focus, the better his concentration, and the better the results.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“A golfer can’t force results to happen. He can only do everything possible to give those results a chance to happen. As Tom Watson once put it, to become a really good golfer, you have to learn how to wait. But you have to learn to wait with confidence.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“attitude would always win out over ability.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“The correct grip and stance are so important that if you plan on taking only one golf lesson for the rest of your life, I would recommend that it deal only with grip, stance, alignment, ball position, and developing a routine that enables you to mentally and physically set up properly every time.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“a birdie is or should be almost as likely from a comfortable lay-up position as it is from a spot on the edge of the green, 40 feet from the hole.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“person with small dreams, or a person without the confidence to pursue his or her dreams, has consigned himself or herself to a life of frustration and mediocrity.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“People by and large become what they think about themselves”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“I realized that happiness had more to do with what you did with what you had than with what you had.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“You have to choose to think well.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“A golfer has to learn to enjoy the process of striving to improve.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“A person with great dreams can achieve great things.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“First, stay in the present and keep your mind sharply focused on the shot immediately in front of you.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“and a confident swing for golfers at every level is, instead, quite the opposite. Hit the shot you know you can hit, not the shot Arnold Palmer would hit, nor even the shot you think you ought to be able to hit.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“This is all the more important for amateurs who play once or twice a week. They need to keep their swings simple and their confidence high. They must learn to resist the kind of temptation that can lead to loss of confidence, temptation often garbed as well-meaning advice.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“I sometimes tell young players that being nervous on the golf course is a little bit like being nervous the first time you make love with someone you really care about. Nearly everyone is nervous in that situation, but nerves are part of what makes the experience so exhilarating. If it didn’t make you nervous, it wouldn’t be so gratifying. In fact, it might be a little boring”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“Many of the players I work with also pick an intermediate target on the tee to help them with alignment. This can be an old divot, a bit of paper, or the remnants of a wooden tee. All that matters is that it is precisely on the line between the ball and the target. The player picks both the target and the intermediate target as he stands behind the ball. Then he walks up to the ball with his eye on the intermediate target. He uses it to help align his clubface and his body.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“In contrast, the disabled kids we worked with focused on what was in their control—their chance to learn to play. And they learned, despite their limitations. It started to hit me that attitude, self-perception and motivation heavily influenced success in life. I realized that happiness had more to do with what you did with what you had than with what you had.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“That process, not the end result, enriches life. I want the people I work with to wake up every morning excited, because every day is another opportunity to chase their dreams. I want them to come to the end of their days with smiles on their faces, knowing that they did all they could with what they had. That’s one reason golf is a great game. It gives people that opportunity.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“always had a shag caddie stand precisely where he intended”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“Winners and losers, Wooden said, are self-determined. But only the winners are willing to admit it.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“Weekend players generally would do well to spend time practicing with a long iron or fairway wood until they have a club they know they can hit 200 yards into the fairway. It will make the game a lot easier for them.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“It’s the same way with your mind,” I said. “You’re going to have to decide before the round starts how you’re going to think, and do it on every shot. You have to choose to think well.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“When everyone around you is telling you you have great potential, and they expect you to win all the time, you can quickly start to hate and despise the potential you have, to perceive it as a burden. Val Skinner, one of the players I work with on the LPGA Tour, has struggled with that problem. She came to the tour as the Collegiate Player of the Year, and she hits it a long way. When she didn’t win immediately, she got frustrated and critical of herself. She’s had to work hard to realize that her physical talent is only one factor in her golfing ability—and not the most important factor.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“You can't wait until a few putts fall and a couple of birdies go on the scorecard before you start trusting. You have to start replicating the state of mind you have on a hot streak as soon as you step onto the first tee.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“If you're going to be a victim of the first few holes," I said, "you don't have a prayer. You're like a puppet. You let the first few holes jerk your strings and tell you how you're going to feel and how you're going to think.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“NOT MANY PEOPLE think that their state of mind is a matter of choice. But I believe it is. Unfortunately, major branches of psychology and psychiatry during this century have helped promote the notion that we are all in some sense victims—victims of insensitive parents, victims of poverty, victims of abuse, victims of implacable genes. Our state of mind, therefore, is someone else’s responsibility. This kind of psychology is very appealing to many academics. It gives them endless opportunities to pretend they know what makes an individual miserable and unsuccessful. It appeals as well to a lot of unhappy people. It gives them an excuse for their misery. It permits them to evade the responsibility for their own lives. But I didn’t get into psychology through the normal academic route.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

“The foundation of consistency is a sound preshot routine.”
― Bob Rotella, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect