A round of golf takes five hours to play, but only about three minutes are spent hitting the ball. The average golfer spends the other two hundred ninety-seven minutes thinking, rethinking, and overthinking, contemplating every aspect of his swing until the moment he finally hits the ball. Golf’s reputation as a thinking-man’s sport may have turned players into on-the-course philosophers, but all that navel-gazing hasn’t lowered anyone’s score. It may seem counterintuitive, but when you turn off your brain and play faster, you shoot lower scores. As one of the top-ranked speed golfers in the world, Christopher Smith knows this firsthand. He shot in the mid- 60s for eighteen holes on multiple occasions, playing for about forty-five minutes while using only six clubs. As a Northwest Section and Oregon Chapter PGA Teacher of the Year, he also knows how hard it is for players schooled in the tradition of the game’s great thinkers to get out of their heads. In I’ve Got 99 Swing Thoughts but “Hit the Ball” Ain’t One , Smith shows you how to make quick decisions, go with your gut, and get on with the game.

Greats like Jack Nicklaus, known for out-thinking his opponents, and Tiger Woods with his unbreakable concentration, know when to rely on their critical faculties and when to let the mind/body system take over. Every thought and movement they need to play well is embedded in their brains and muscles before the game begins. When you ride a bike or park your car in a tight spot, you’re using the same kind of “unconscious competency” these masters bring to their games. In this book, Smith helps you transfer that ease of movement to the golf course. Via a series of games that covers every part of the swing—from the grip and setup to getting out of sand traps—you’ll internalize the golf swing, leaving you free to get to the ball, see the shot in your mind, and execute it.

A top instructor and coach, Smith advocates finding your own unique fundamentals of the swing—plus the drills you need to turn them into second nature. The game-changing techniques in I’ve Got 99 Swing Thoughts but “Hit the Ball” Ain’t One will turn you into a free-wheeling, react-to-the- intended-target golfer who feels the game, plays faster and better, and, your mind free of paralyzing swing thoughts, gets on with the business of hitting the ball.