Dennis Paulson, a PGA and Nike to our player

When David asked me to write a little something about the MIND UNDER PAR series book and how it helped me, I told him he better be careful what he asked for, because he just might have to start another book to tell you how much he has helped me over the past two years. And so for your words is an injustice to David.

I been a pro for about 7 years and I had been successful at the mini-tour level, but just hadn’t made it on the PGA tour. My instructor of about 4 years, Kip Puterbaugh, heard about David through the grapevine and asked me if I should see someone about the metal side of the game, I was playing horrible, had a bad attitude and was about to give up golf entirely. Before I met David, I was so wrapped up in the mechanics of the golf swing. I couldn’t just play golf. All I wanted to do was make a perfect golf swing. When all I really needed to do was hit a solid golf shot, two entirely different processes to get the same result.

Many who have come to know me and my golf ability over the years have said, I should be on the PGA tour. You’ve got the talent. If you only had a brain, David has helped me fine tune my golf mind.

When David and I first met, we discussed the successes I’ve experienced in golf and the way I performed in those situations, the very first time David and I went out to the driving range. The results were amazing. David got me to forget about the swing and I got back to picturing the shot I wanted to hit. You will never be able to hit the shot you want. If you don’t picture it first in your mind.

Many of my pour shots were off the tee and from the middle of the fairway, but from the trees and the tough spots around the greens, I would almost always hit a good shot. The main problem he found was that from the tee and from the fairway, it was like being on the practice tee. When I practiced, all I ever thought about was mechanics and putting the club in perfect positions to hit the shots. But when I was in the trees and around the greens, I had to be creative and see the shot I wanted to play from the difficult places I would create and not force the swing. David taught me to focus on target and not the swing.

From here is where David and I started. And now two plus years later, we have come a long way. I was just about to give up the game entirely just before I met him. And now I’m completing my rookie year on the PGA tour with success.

Believe me, there are so much more to the game of golf than just having the perfect swing to hit golf shots. I’ll take good mental preparation over a good swing any day. They said Jack Nicholas and Ben Hogan were the greatest minds to ever play the game. This is what Tom Weiskopf said once of Jack Nicholas on the 16th tee and the final round of the 1986 masters Vern Lundquist asks, Weiskopf : “What is Jack thinking right now? “And Tom came back with, “if I knew what Jack was thinking, I might have won this tournament a couple of times.” there isn’t a player. I know that wouldn’t die to have Tom Weiskopf`s golf Swing and look at the respect Tom had for Jack’s mental approach. Weiskopf knew what beat him. It wasn’t Jack’s ability to hit the golf ball. It was his ability to get the ball in the hole.

More importantly than hitting the good shots is how you deal with them once you’ve hit them. What good is a perfectly struck five iron to within four feet. If you don’t convert the pot or to play the best round of golf in your life to finish double, double, double, most of these things happen because you aren’t thinking properly on the golf course, every great player who plays this game has a great mental approach. Almost every great shot you have ever seen or hit has been good mental preparation before the shot was executed. Likewise, many of the famous chokes you have seen, or even committed yourself or caused by poor mental preparation.

Once David got me back on track hitting the shots, I started messing up some great rounds with poor finishes. In one tournament, I opened with a 31 on the front nine and birdied four or the next five holes on the back only to finish bogey, triple to finish with the 67 David and I talked about what I’d done that night after the round, he asked me what was going through my mind. I explained to him that I got ahead of myself by figuring out how many under par I was and how I do. If I could par this hole and birdie the easy par five, instead of just picking a target and hitting a good shot period, that’s all you can do. One shot at a time is such a cliche, but it is the biggest truth in golf. Believe me in the same tournament. Two days later, I started off bad, but birdie five of my last seven holes to lose by a shot. All I was thinking all day was hit a good shot right here. I wish I would have done that in the first round.

I took this theory to the extreme earlier this year in the Freeport- McMoran classic. I shot a second round 10 under par 62 to lead the tournament after 36 holes. When I was in the press room, after the round to describe my round, all I could tell them or the scores I made on the specific holes, I honestly could not tell them. I birdied this hole to go to so many under because I never thought about it once the entire round,

But the best rounds you’ve ever had, or when you didn’t realize where you stood. The most common story I hear from amateurs is that they are playing a little money game with her buddy. And all they realize is where they stand in the match. One up one down or even, and they’re on 18 on the way to the tee all they’re thinking is, “okay, let’s birdie this hole and beat this guy.” And then you’re reminded by your playing partner that if you par this last hole, you’ll break 80 for the first time. What happens? You double the last hole and of story. Why? Because you lost your focus. You were thinking about your score all the way down the fairway, instead of what was at hand, Just pick a target and make a good swing. Remember good swings, usually produce good golf shots.

The things you’re about to learn in this book, won’t give you a great golf swing, but it will teach you the most important thing there is to learn in golf. And that is to score. Remember, the second biggest cliche in golf is there’s no room on the scorecard for pictures, an ugly par beats, a solid bogey, every damn time. You’re not playing this game to win a beauty contest. You play this game for the enjoyment and the competition. There is no better joy or self satisfaction than reaching another plateau. Apply the things David is giving you, and you will become a better player, even with the same old swing.

If it wasn’t for David, I doubt I’d be playing golf competitively, much less playing on the PGA tour. I own incredible amount to this man. And you will to you use this book to enjoy the game, no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to make great strides in this game. If you aren’t having fun and learning, not only from your successes, but also from your mistakes,

You’ll never be able to hit this shot. If you’re still thinking about the last one, you just screwed up, apply the methods. David gives you, you won’t regret it. I sure haven’t.

• The last introduction is by Marta Figueras Dodi, an LPGA tour player.