Golf Flow

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
    Valiante, Gio.
    Golf flow / Gio Valiante.
    pages cm
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    1. Golf--Psychological aspects. I. Title.
    GV979.P75V33 2013
    796.352019--dc23
    2013001572
    ISBN-10: 1-4504-3404-5 (print)
    ISBN-13: 978-1-4504-3404-1 (print)
    Copyright © 2013 by Gio Valiante
    All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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I was once told that you cannot define love, but that you know it when you see it. In that spirit, I dedicate this book to Melissa Conrad Valiante and Christian Jude Valiante. I can’t define it, but I know that pure, unconditional, boundless love exists because I see it every day: A thousand thanks for opening up my world.
    I also dedicate this book to Christian David Hoffman, a brilliant, enduring, loyal friend and model of integrity and excellence
. Haec olim meminisse iuvabit
.

Foreword
    There are many reasons I love golf and have made it my life’s pursuit. One of the main reasons is that it tests the totality of a person, the observable, technical, physical skills as well as your mental agility and inner fortitude.
    Most of the time championship golf requires a careful, deliberate, dedicated mindset. This was how I won the 1996 Masters, and why I am especially proud of that victory: The game didn’t come easy to me that week, and the level of sustained concentration required to coach myself through each and every shot tested the full capacity of my mental toughness.
    Those challenging days contrast greatly with days when everything comes together, and golf feels effortless. The first time I remember getting into flow was during the 1987 British Open at Muirfield. I was completely engrossed in my process, and my only focal point was no more than two or three steps in front of me. I especially remember how my 5-iron into the last hole on Sunday seemed to unfold in super-slow motion. I seemed to experience
every single second
of that shot—takeaway, transition, downswing, impact, and follow-through—and I was able to watch the penetrating flight of the ball as it sailed toward my intended target. It all felt so calm and so perfect. Before I knew it, I had been escorted to the 18th green and was holding the Claret Jug. That’s how deep my concentration was that day.
    Years later I again fell into flow at the 1992 World Match Play Championship. I remember feeling focused, fearless, and confident over each and every shot that week. The result was that I blitzed