Mind Game
Play sample
  • Published: 29 October 2020
  • ISBN: 9781529110586
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $29.99

Mind Game

The Secrets of Golf’s Winners

Formats & editions
Audiobook
30 May 2019
Paperback
29 Oct 2020
Buy from…
The Nile Mighty Ape BookHub Whitcoulls The Warehouse Paper Plus Fishpond Book Hero Unity Books University Book Shop Find Local Retailers

Eye-opening contributions from the stars of game make this a powerful, groundbreaking investigation into the mind of the professional golfer.

Eye-opening contributions from the stars of game make this a powerful, groundbreaking investigation into the mind of the professional golfer. The perfect gift for Father's Day.

* SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS *

Professional golf is the most remorseless of sports, unique in the complexity of its demands. Technical perfection must be produced in short, concentrated bursts of synchronised movement. Huge mental strength is required.

Why, then, do we know so little about what it takes to succeed - even survive - at the highest level?

What separates the good from the great? What are the rituals of preparation and execution?

How does an elite team come together?

In a truly groundbreaking exposé of professional golf, Michael Calvin and Thomas Bjorn - captain of the 2018 European Ryder Cup Team - capture the distinctive nature of the game, and the principles and philosophies of players who dominate the world rankings. With unprecedented access to the European Tour players, and in-depth interviews with the European Ryder Cup team, Calvin reveals a sport which operates entirely within the finest margins of excellence.
  • Published: 29 October 2020
  • ISBN: 9781529110586
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $29.99
Categories:

About the authors

Michael Calvin

Michael Calvin is one of the UK’s most accomplished sportswriters, having worked in more than eighty countries. He has covered every major sporting event, including seven summer Olympic Games and six World Cup finals. He was named Sports Writer of the Year for his despatches as a crew member in a round-the-world yacht race and has twice been named Sports Reporter of the Year.


His book, The Nowhere Men, a study of football scouts, won The Times Sports Book of the Year prize in 2014. He became the first author to receive the award in successive years, when Proud, his collaboration with former Wales and British Lions rugby captain Gareth Thomas, was named Sports Book of the Year in 2015.


In the same year Living On The Volcano, which exposed the pressures on managers, was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year prize. No Nonsense, his collaboration with Joey Barton, was named Autobiography of the Year in the 2017 British Sports Book awards.


No Hunger In Paradise, an insight into youth football that spawned a widely-praised BT Sport documentary, was a Sunday Times bestseller. State of Play, a study of the morality and social impact of modern football, was longlisted for the 2018 William Hill Sports Book of the Year award.


He has been working closely with Thomas Bjorn on Mind Game to capture the unique nature of golf, and the principles and philosophies of the world’s best players.

Michael Calvin is an award-winning writer and Sunday Times bestselling author, whose books have been hailed for their insight and influence. He has collaborated with such celebrated sportsmen as Sir Alastair Cook, Dylan Hartley and Gareth Thomas, and is the only writer to win the British sports book of the year award in successive years.

Thomas Bjorn

In 2018, Bjørn became the first Danish Ryder Cup Captain when he lead Europe to a famous, unforgettable victory at Le Golf National, Paris.

Highly regarded as one of the European Tour’s greatest players, he has claimed fifteen European Tour titles to date. He came through the Challenge Tour by winning four titles on his way to topping the Rankings in 1995, and remains a strong supporter of the developmental tour.

Bjørn became the first Danish Ryder Cup player in history in 1997, before appearing in the biennial contest twice more in 2002 and 2014 - experiencing victory on all three occasions. Appointed Chairman of the European Tour’s Tournament Committee in 2007, he stepped aside in 2016 in order to focus on his duty as Ryder Cup Captain.

Praise for Mind Game

Fascinating and beautifully written

Donald McRae

I have never read a Mike Calvin book I didn't like. And anyone who likes golf will absolutely love this brilliant book. I loved it.

Barry Glendenning

Delves not only into that Ryder Cup victory, but into the demons tournament golfers face on a regular basis. Martin Kaymer, Robert Karlsson, Matt Wallace, Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood, Lee Westwood and others give personal insights.

Golf Week, Alistair Tait

You've got to get this book. This is for anyone who loves their sport and anyone who loves their golf.

Jim White, TalkSport

I have heard it said that there has never been a book written which gets to the heart of golf and to the golfers themselves. I can tell you, there is now and that book is ‘Mind Game’. I have made it a must-read for all our staff to help them better understand the complexities of our players and just what it takes to succeed in our sport

Keith Pelley, European Tour Chief Executive

Mind Game, is an unflinching yet beautifully written account of the psychological trauma he suffered as a golfer. It is an equally gripping portrayal of the internal struggle faced by many of his contemporaries’

Guardian

You've got to get this book. This is for anyone who loves their sport and anyone who loves their golf.

Jim White, TalkSport