Andrisani (The Tiger Woods Way
and The Short Game Magic of Tiger Woods) interviewed family, former teachers, coaches and a clinical psychologist to gain insights into Tiger's mental game. From father Earl Woods, Tiger learned mental toughness and discipline: for example, when playing with the young Tiger, Earl would intentionally cough or drop clubs to train Tiger to block out gallery noises while swinging. Tiger's first professional teachers, Rudy Duran and John Anselmo, realizing Tiger was already swinging like a pro, stressed mental imagery and self-confidence. Even mom Tida Woods (interviewed by Anselmo on Andrisani's behalf) had a hand in Tiger's mental mastery by instructing him in the precepts of Buddhism and meditation. By far the most intriguing aspect of this analysis of Tiger's mental game is the pseudo cloak-and-dagger chapter on Captain Jay Brunza, a Navy clinical psychologist who Andrisani (a former senior editor on instruction at Golf Magazine) is convinced taught Tiger to hypnotize himself into a "super-clear, super-positive, heightened sense of relaxed concentration." Because Woods was not consulted regarding any of the information offered here (as the back cover disclaimer reveals), the analysis reads like hearsay. A lackluster writing style and basic golf concepts presented as secret revelations relegate the book's appeal to beginners. (Apr.)
Forecast:Woods's prodigious mental game is readily acknowledged as having no equal in today's golf world, and the Woods mystique guarantees sales.
