From Booklist
Flouting course etiquette, Shoemaker recommends throwing golf clubs. Golfers who have just dunked a ball in their local water hazard might thank him for the permission, but Shoemaker's point--his only mechanical tip--is not to release anger but to restore the relaxation flowing from a confident swing. Since that feeling rarely returns by tinkering with technique, Shoemaker and his coauthor, brother Pete, stress attitude, much in the manner of Michael Murphy's classic Golf in the Kingdom. (Shoemaker, like Murphy before him, teaches inspirational golf at the Esalen Institute.) Once a legitimate aspirant to the PGA tour, Shoemaker soured on the sport, only to realize much later that his problem was worrying how he looked, rather than playing each shot in the moment. Since getting in that zone obsesses every golfer, Shoemaker's pep talk is sure to find an audience, especially among those who like to mix golf with New Age philosophy. Gilbert Taylor
Extraordinary Golf: The Art of the Possible ANNOTATION
Most golfers bring more than their clubs to the course. They come with doubt, excitement, fear, desire--and a great deal of hope. In this book, renowned golf teacher Fred Shoemaker combines a host of practical, proven exercises with a whole new way of thinking to reveal the extraordinary possibilities in everyone's game. 224 pp. National media publicity. 25,000 print.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Most golfers approach the tee with a complex mental package: worries and judgments about their swing, the other person's swing, the course, the weather, looking good, looking bad. They think about what's wrong instead of what's possible, and this is what Extraordinary Golf teaches: the art of the possible. Drawing on his experience teaching both amateurs and professionals for more than fifteen years, in his clinics around the country, in his Golf in the Kingdom seminars at the Esalen Institute, and at his own School for Extraordinary Golf in California, Shoemaker shows how extraordinary golf can be coached, learned, and practiced, with results not only in people's scores but in their sheer pleasure in the game. Combining a host of practical exercises with an entirely new point of view, he demonstrates how to focus not on the voices in your head but on the reality of golf: the club, the ball, your body, the course - the elements that actually make up your game. He shows how to approach shots creatively, instead of mechanically; how to read greens simply by staying awake; how to develop a powerful and consistent swing by rediscovering trust for your instincts; and how to improve yourself in competition by determining what you're competing for. He also gives simple guidelines on how to coach yourself, your spouse, and your children successfully.