The Golfing Mind

Vivien Saunders is a former British women's golf champion. Her books include The Golfing Mind, The Golf Handbook for Women, The Complete Book of Golf Practice and Golf for Women.

Golf is a cruel game and more terrifying than most. The technique of the swing is essentially simple to learn, but the game itself is absurdly difficult to play well. Even a world-class player can be brought to his knees by a sudden inexplicable and devastating loss of form, and the amateur often suffers in-built fears of failure which impede progress in shot-making and scoring. Mastery of the art of playing golf well undoubtedly rests upon mastery of the art of playing poorly, says Vivien Saunders. Only by learning to accept imperfection and to play without fear can one perfect both the swing and the art of scoring. In her immensely perceptive book, Vivien explains how to forget your fears, build up your confidence and improve your golfing performance. 'The Golfing Mind' is not a book on physical technique. Beginners and longer-handicap players are given an insight into the whole learning process, combined with an explanation of the main conceptual problems in the mechanics of the game, while aspiring champions are set on the road to a real understanding of the mental game and hence to optimum performance.

Better Shot-Making for Better Scoring - Every Time You Play

Advanced Golf

Straightforward and clear instruction from a renowned golf coach that will benefit all golfers.

Vivien Saunders is a top golf coach with an enviable record of producing national champions and successful international teams. A trained psychologist as well as a former British Ladies' Open Champion, she runs her own golf club in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, and is the author of several successful instructional books on golf including The Golfer’s Mind, The Complete Book of Golf Practice, and The Complete Woman Golfer. She also helped Nick Faldo with his Golf: The Winning Formula. In this invaluable book she goes on to describe clearly and in detail the techniques needed to become a successful golfer. She looks at a player's best swing and asks how he or she can produce this regularly. She separates the elements of the swing and systematically reconstructs them. She deals with each type of shot, from driving to putting, with a simple technical analysis. She advises on the short game, how to get out of problem situations including bunker play, and she identifies common faults and advises how to overcome them. As all golfers know, the game is won and lost in the wind and no one is better able to advise on the mental approach than Vivian Saunders. With instructional photographs adding to the text and with in-depth studies of the techniques of some of the world's top golfers.

Vivien Saunders

Vivien Saunders, a former British open champion, tells golfers of every standard how to get the most out of their practice sessions. The book gives exercises and ideas to help player’s correct faults and improve their skills. There are ideas for competitive practice routines in pairs or groups, exercises for loosening and strengthening the golfing muscles and ideas for monitoring progress on and off the course. Vivien Saunders, who in 1987 received the award as Britain's top woman sports coach, is a graduate psychologist and an established author of golf instructional books.

Vivien Saunders

Books by Vivien Saunders

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter