Alexander Technique is the foundation that Roy Palmer uses to present a new way learn about golf in his new book, “Golf Sense”. I’m a fellow Alexander teacher that Roy has asked to review his book.
Golf Sense shows off the tremendous effectiveness of what has been reputed to be the trickiest subject to present in writing – Alexander Technique. For those not familiar with the subject, it is a body learning skill from the performing arts field that teaches mastery, effortlessness & how to undo what gets learned by accident. What makes Alexander Technique different from mere philosophy or other motivational admonishments is that it has a physical discipline based on empirical inquiry that works in the incremental moments of actual performance. Golf Sense discusses “being in the moment” as a state of “Being In The Zone.”
Many other books that integrate Alexander Technique with teaching a specific skill merely introduce; falling short of daring to actually teaching the subject in writing. There are two good reasons for this caution: Alexander teachers offer specific tips about what their students do unintentionally that is tailored to that particular student. Secondly, the teacher physically takes students by hands-on guided motion into how to tap the unknown for new insights, detouring accidental self-imposed limitations as they are happening. Because of these two significant benefits, most writers assume it’s not possible to teach the real Alexander Technique with mere words.
Palmer listened to what readers asked for and complained that was lacking in other Alexander Technique books. In doing so, Palmer has originated multiple practical answers to questions that work to educate the thoughtful student who will actually conduct his advised experiments. He doesn’t shy away from the really challenging mysteries, such as:
How come my game gets inconsistent when I know better?
How come analyzing the previous shot seems to spoil the next shot?
How can I avoid or get rid of the dreaded yips?
Why does analyzing what happened after a shot that did not work seem to spoil the following attempt?
Golf Sense is also a book with a sense of humor. The other sense that Palmer communicates exceptionally well about is an unconsidered sixth sense. This is the often-ignored perceptual sense about relative effort and spacial orientation that is presumed to be included in the sense of touch – but is not often discussed.
Palmer presents illustrated examples that communicate from many points of view; the frustrated golfer, the beginner, the pressured performer, the brain scientist, the ruthless competitor, the martial artist, even the consciousness woo-woo. Mysteries that don’t make sense about why you can’t get your golf ball to obey will become clear and reasonable by the time you finish this book, as the title promises.
If you actually conduct Palmer’s suggested exercises, (rather than merely reading this book) pretty much this is the closest you can get to having your own Alexander Technique teacher at your back for the price of a book. It’s not too abstract to substitute almost any other skill involving a ball in the sequence of learning that Roy Palmer presents. Because of this fantastic application for any sport, I would suggest this book for any sportsman who is curious to learn Alexander Technique principles – even if you never want to learn golf!