One of my main intents in creating this website earlier this year was the desire to share a book that I read - Extraordinary Golf by Fred Shoemaker - that inspired my biggest breakthroughs, not by teaching me how to improve my swing, but by transforming how I think on the golf course. The day after reading the book, I broke 80. One year later, I broke par.

Not bad, but it pales in comparison to a story I just read about a practicing surgeon in Cambodia who at 47 years old returns to golf after 28 years, and after surprisingly finding his skills still mostly intact, decides to realize his neglected potential by first sharpening his competitive skills in high stakes gambling games with some generals from the Cambodian armed forces, and soon after, pursues his tour card!


Striking it Rich by Reid Sheftall, M.D.

Reid Sheftall M.D. shares his unique experiences during this improbable journey in his new book - Striking It Rich; Golf in the Kingdom With Generals, Patients and Pros - a golf story that inspires and entertains while providing real-life wisdom and invaluable insights into the game. As one of his readers shares, "You've never read a golf story quite like this one." I agree, and I finally have a second book to recommend!

I was particularly drawn to the book initially since Sheftall takes up the game at nearly the same time and age I did. I was intrigued that someone our age could make such incredible progress so quickly, especially while working as a surgeon and running a medical center in Phnom Penh. I was surprised, not only by how much this story moved and inspired me, but, like Shoemaker's book, that it contained so many insights with the potential to transform your game. The book definitely rekindled my desire to keep improving.

I was also taken by how similar our approaches were. Although he was more skilled from the start, we both determined that with our limited time to play and practice due to having jobs, we had a much better chance to improve quickly by focusing on the most important fundamental, "changing how we think on the course", instead of working on our swing technique and taking lessons. Sheftall believes "the only way to change the quality and direction of your life is to change the way you think. If you believe something, truly believe it, your mind will figure out a way to make it a reality."

Sheftall, when asked frequently how he'd compete professionally if he hardly ever practiced or played anymore, would explain, "he kept things simple and would just swing the club the way it felt most comfortable. That way he didn't have to practice anything to keep it in tune." If asked how he developed such a good short game, he'd advise, "just think of the target and swing... Don't worry about how hard to hit the ball or how far back to take your backswing. Your brain will figure it out for you... Take a relaxed yet focused look at the target and keep that target in his mind when you swing... Never do anything mechanical or measured. Let your natural athletic grace guide you. It's swallowing, not carburetor repair." Ah, music to my ears!

An aspect of the book I found very compelling is how Sheftall weaved his incredible non-golfing life experiences into his story, from counting cards at the blackjack tables of Nevada to operating on children who had suffered disfiguring scars from acid attacks. It was interesting to learn how he applied so much of what he'd learned from these experiences in improving his thinking and decision-making on the course. One thing I learned from his experiences is to never make a wager with a card-counting M.I.T. grad.

Perhaps the most valuable lesson I learned from his book concerned expectations. The books I've read suggest we let go of expectations when we play, but Sheftall suggests this is bad advice. In fact, he thinks that "the better players are beating the rest of us, because to a large degree, they expect to." Once we've put in the work and gained the necessary experience, we should expect success. Sheftall encourages expectations. The key, he shares, "is to not get too frustrated if those expectations are not met as precisely as you envisioned them." His personal mantra, "on any given day", is all about expectancy, and reminds me of the power of Shoemaker's phrase "the art of the possible".

So, at this point you might be asking, did Sheftall "strike it rich"? Well, I'll only share that he finally discovered what was missing in his game as a youth and what he suspects is missing in the games of a great many touring pros and amatuers alike, "Hitting one shot at a time isn't the answer - enjoying each and every shot is."

In my opinion, Striking It Rich would make a great gift for the holidays! And half of the proceeds from the book are donated to Operation Kids, a fund founded by Sheftall to provide free operations on children who have suffered disfiguring scars from burns. The surgeons at the American Medical Center in Phnom Penh have agreed to waive their fees in performing reconstructive surgery on injured children of limited means. To date, they have performed 92 such operations on 86 Cambodian children.

Labels: Books, Competition, Expectations, Reid Sheftall, Striking It Rich