Fearless Golf: Conquering the Mental Game

A detailed plan for conquering the FEAR that sabotages swings and ruins psyches, from the pioneering psychologist whose techniques have benefited Davis Love III, Justin Leonard, and numerous other world-class golfers.

As Jack Nicklaus once observed, fear is the golfer's greatest enemy, inspiring Tiger Woods to "refuse" to give in to this debilitating emotion. It can turn professionals into jelly and dominate the games of most amateurs. It alters swing paths, causes "tap-in" putts to go awry, and transforms a golfer from a brilliant shot-maker on the practice range into an incompetent hack on the course.

Most golfers understand this, but do not have the tools to overcome it. That's where Dr. Gio Valiante comes in. A pioneering sports psychologist, Valiante has studied the sources of an athlete's fear, investigated the physiological and neurological impact of fear on performance, and, most important of all, developed a groundbreaking program for conquering it. With Valiante''s help and by applying Fearless Golf, Justin Leonard went from three consecutive missed cuts to three consecutive top tens, and Chad Campbell recently moved from 98th in the world to 7th. Davis Love III went from zero wins in 2002 to four wins in 2003, and Chris DiMarco made the 2004 Ryder Cup Team.

Emphasizing the need to replace a fixation-on-results with a commitment to mastery of one's body and one''s mind, Valiante's approach will not only help golfers reach their true potential, it will make playing every round fun again. Through concrete confidence and mastery drills, he presents specific ways readers can break free of fear's grasp and perform at their best-even under the most extreme pressure.

With detailed quotes and anecdotes given exclusively to Dr. Valiante from the best players in the game-including Jack Nicklaus, Ernie Els, and other tour professionals, Fearless Golf is the ultimate guide to the mental game, the hottest topic in golf today.

I have had the privilege of getting to know Gio as a friend and a teacher on the PGA Tour. He is the next superstar in sports psychology!"
-Davis Love III, eighteen-time PGA Tour Champion

"After six months of playing below my expectations, I began working with Dr. Valiante. He recognized my problems immediately due to his vast research on the PGA Tour with players such as Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. In my first two events under Gio's guidance, I was a new player! I was playing with confidence and purpose! The results speak for themselves. If you are trying to become a better golfer, I highly recommend that you take this book to heart."
-Justin Leonard, eight-time PGA Tour winner, 1997 British Open Champion

"What makes Gio great is his immense knowledge, but what sets him apart from others is the amount of passion he has for the great game of golf."
-"Young Gun" Charles Howell III, PGA Tour winner

"This splendid book is an invaluable and illuminating guide for golfers at whatever level they play."
-Albert Bandura, David Star Jordan Professor of Psychology, Stanford University

"Dr. Valiante's insights about golf are right on track! He has found a way to embed my personal experience as a PGA Tour golfer with what all golfers go through, and to rediscover the timeless universals in golf, namely that great golf is a process of continual learning, and the importance of pursing that learning in a manner that is FEARLESS!"
-David Toms, ten-time PGA Tour winner, 2001 PGA Champion

Dr. Gio Valiante has worked as a mental game consultant to the PGA Tour''s hottest players, including Chad Campbell, Heath Slocum, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III, David Duval, Matt Kuchar, and Chris DiMarco. He is the mental game consultant to Golf Digest, The Golf Channel, and the University of Florida.

Mike Stachura has been an editor at Golf Digest since 1992. He has written numerous instruction stories and served as Travel Editor and most recently Equipment Editor. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Kathy, daughter, Annie Kate, and son, Jack.