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For a very long time, now, we have been fascinated by the questions and responses that are given and received by golfers at every level of competence, especially on golf forums. A typical question is followed by some typical answers.

Q. "How do I use my mental faculties to better my game?'

A. "Balance your right and left brain activity, since the right is the artistic side and the left in the linear, fact-driven side."

A. Or, "Perfect your pre-shot routine and use it every time."

A. Or, "Use fewer swing keys."

A. Or, "Don't think so much."

A. Or, "Relax."

A. Or, "Be more aggressive."

A. Or, "Have a puropse for every shot."

A. Or, "See a hypnotist."

A. Or, "Mastering NLP (Neurlinguistic programming) will get you where you want to go."

A. Or, "Pay attention to the way champions get the job done and do it their way."

A. Or, "Practice and play according to your personality."

A. Or, "Develop mental toughness."

A. Or, All of the above.

A. Or, "Read 'this book' (followed by either the names of Rotella, Shoemaker, Coop, Wright, Nilson, Marriott, Hogan (Chuck), not to mention a host of others (usually Tour players)" and you will know what you need to do."

Well, at the risk of sounding condescending and arrogant, we have been there and done that, and still recognize the same question going unanswered, especially since we are not finding anything more than outcome statements, none of which provide any instruction for "making the trip" - at least not in any of the writings we can find.

Recently, on one of the better golf forums, a superior form of that question came up, more as a statement than a question:

"I enjoyed Freds [sic. Shoemaker] book. Opened many thought provoking questions leading towards a “happier place.” It did not say why it worked which most people need [sic. in order] to keep believing in this new found karma.

Often, once the magic wears off, the happy place no longer works but can even lead to disbelief anxiety. "

v My response was lengthy, and slightly edited here, but here it is: v

The problem there is likely a more universal issue than we imagined – namely the notion that a process is “magic.” There are so many “ideas, solutions, fixes, aids, peripherals, and tricks” (to name a few) that work once or twice, that the concept of “magic” seems to burn itself into the consciousness of many a player.

That leads to the persistent “race” (made apparent by the many threads that “test” the water of this, that or another notion) that goes on constantly among those seeking one more piece of “magic” that will hopefully last a while.

In that kind of mental/emotional environment, it becomes hard to commit to anything. Our own personal search, as we look back, had a bit of that in it until we undertook a serious run through everything we could find to help understand how the mind and body worked together to produce a result. Hence the investment in learning about the non discriminatory part first. One cannot expect to build a house without a foundation and the foundation is best laid in steel or concrete or both. That foundation will wind up being “sand” otherwise. And that is what disillusions many. They keep finding "sand," and some of it is "quick."

A review of players who have fully committed to an understanding and implementation of the automatic principle is a short one. The list of those who have flirted seriously is a lot longer, with only a few who have managed to shift into the “fully committed” group.

But now that you mention it, the one common thread with those who came and went can be marked by the fear that the “happy place” grows dull and even boring, as you suggest. That starts the rambling, scrambling search all over again. We suspect, privately, and now publicly, that what is so appealing to so many in the available mental game writings is that they are almost all produced in a context and demeanor of “inspiration,” which is an adopted sister of motivation. There are no “directions” for assembly in those writings. The “how to” is universally simply missing. There are still people running around who believe they can motivate someone else. That is just plain not so, since everyone is already motivated. No one does anything for your reasons or mine except you or me – yours for you and mine for me. That will not work with mine for you or yours for me.

So we go back (“square one” should be registered as a “popup”) and read more to try to get pumped up - once again – because we have no reliable inner context of our own that begins at the beginning and honors the impossibility of changing the way our non conscious, non discriminatory systems work (without paying an unbelievably high price), so the leg on which we regularly stand is shorter and crippled.

As you say, that simply opens the door to the “not so happy” return of the “anxiety demon.” (BTW, the automatic process is the only path we can find to exorcise the "demon" that we perceive as coming from anxiety). We are sure there is more, but the one thing we cannot provide for another person within the automatic process is the commitment to adopt it. Guaranteed that those who do commit have found their way to the top of their own personal games.

The working process is present and intact. Those who will, win. Those who will not, lose.

^End of forum response^

In reading available books and articles, one gets an impression that is much like how one would feel with the following version of an instruction sheet that might have come with some new product.

"Take it out of the box. Check to see that all the parts are there, nothing is damaged or lost, and then just put it together. You will love this creation. It will make your life better. (Note: If it doesn't work, simply put it back in the box and return it to the manufacturer. Do not send it back to us.")

How does that strike you? Notice anything missing in the narrative? Would additional information help? What is the process required for assembly and the steps needed to reach a conclusion. The outcome sounds wonderful, but how do you get there?

What is "it?" What parts should we look for? What does "damaged" mean? And how do we put the damn thing together? Furthermore, there is no return address anyway.

That parodies an impression we get from a myriad of posts on forums that are stated in such a way as to clearly indicate that only a very few are up to process statements that will get anyone to a destination they really seek. That is equally the sense we find from reading the "recommended" books and articles that come from the top names in golf and those who have been billed as experts in their fields. They are all very good at saying "what ought to happen," and urging one to "do better," but almost none can supply anything more than a "try this or that" regimen and few have any consistent ability to get to the bottom lines they have touted.

Peripheral issues are legion. That is to say that most of what gets presented may have relevance, but that is most often not in any basic category, and specific remedies are almost always missing. Basic, by the way, infers that any information offered provides a baseline of the lowest common denominator variety, either in content, context or process toward a result. Basic describes those issues that are rock solid and do not change, at least, not without dire consequence.

Before you are disconcerted by these ruminations, take note that we do not - DO NOT- think, claim or suggest, that what anyone has said is either incorrect or plain dead wrong. What we do mean to say is that there is an abundance of material (writing), hints, innuendos, suggestions and notions out there that leave a lot of unfinished business, most of which can be resolved with a process that subsumes the majority of those, since they primarily represent peripheral issues. Rarely do we encounter any new direction that can produce an actual result, at any kind of basic level.

A case in point occurred recently when a writer indicated that a book by Rotella had to be the "best mental game book written, since [ed. if you were watching] Rotella was standing next to Padraig Harrigton" at the 2007 Open. It is very common for such exceptions to be pointed to as though they were rules. We editorially say that if that were "the best mental game book written," the rule would be that the book would be sold out and you would have found Rotella standing next to many more champions in many more majors. Then it would be a rule - not an exception.

We prefer to work with players in such a way that they do not require their umbilical cord hooked up between us. Works much better to provide players with the tools to be self-sufficient. That is why you will not see us in the winner's circle. We might help at a distance, but the winner provides the juice, not us. We can remove impediments in the path, but the player still has to walk it personally and solitarily with the tools that are given, not by by some form of symbiotic inspiration proffered as a alternative or substitute for process. Sadly, the effective tools are not inherent in the current available outcome statements, based on inspirational suggestion from the majority of proponents. What does become "built in" is a need to keep coming back to the well for more water. Inspiration is a lot like water. It lets you be "unthirsty" briefly, but soon needs more, along with the well to go to. Inspiration is not much more than a pump handle to get the water from the well when motivational tanks are near, or at, "empty." While that is not necessarily bad, it is unfinished.

The finished product lies in mastering the basics of self-management, found in understanding one's own style, the automatic process and how to implement it. When you have done that, you can stand in the winner's circle without needing anyone else to prime your pump. The most effective pumps are those that are self-priming.

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