Bobby Jones' Meditations
A Book Review of The Best of Bobby Jones on Golf
A man who’s achieved remarkable success records many fundamental and timeless principles through snippets of writing. That description suits Marcus Aurelius’ famed Meditations, but it also applies surprisingly well to The Best of Bobby Jones on Golf.
The latter is an assembly of disjointed newspaper columns written by the eponymous golfer and edited by Sidney L. Matthew. Because of its similar composition style to Meditations as well as the content of these columns, Jones’ thoughts on the game feel like a golf-related extension of the ancient Stoic’s writings. Aside from the key difference of their intended audiences—the notes of Meditations were written for private review by only Marcus Aurelius while the columns in The Best of Bobby Jones on Golf were produced to benefit others—these two works are comparable. Though TBOBJOG really only applies to a golfing audience, unlike the extensive applications of Meditations, treating it as a parallel work to Meditations reveals its merits.
It may seem like a stretch to compare this relatively unknown book to the fabled writings of a Roman Emperor, but I fully endorse the connection. The two works overlap substantially. First, a sense of stoicism permeates throughout TBOBJOG. Just as Aurelius writes,
And why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice!
Jones says,
The great trouble with all of us who grumble and swear over the game and spoil an otherwise pleasant afternoon with congenial friends is that we do not understand the game nor ourselves.
To really hit the nail on the head, this passage from Jones’ was found in a column titled “A Philosophic Mind Needed”. It’s no surprise that Jones is petitioning for a stoic attitude on the golf course because he also once said, “golf is the closest game to the game we call life”.
Golf and stoicism seem to go hand in hand. Part of why a golfer may be drawn to stoicism is because of its benefits towards playing your best golf. Ensuring you maintain a level-headed and accepting approach to your play will deliver your best results. However, maybe certain people are predisposed to stoicism and that’s what draws them to golf. It’s a bit of a chicken-and-the-egg situation. Regardless, it’s logical why so many of Jones’ lessons are imbued with stoicism. Marcus Aurelius’ two-thousand-year-old thoughts on how to steady your mindset and embrace any situation are nearly identical to the teachings of many sports psychologists today.
In both golf and life, many of our struggles are strictly internal, even if we do not always perceive that to be the case. Changing your mindset can transform your day or your round. Both Jones and Aurelius are disapproving of humans’ quick irritability as it serves no purpose in achieving our goals. Elsewhere Jones aptly notes,
Although conditions of ground and weather do objectively affect the playing of golf, a great deal of the adverse effect is caused by the state of the player’s mind. A hard wind or a heavy rain inspires in the player a feeling of combativeness or of desperation, and prevents him from going about his business in an equable frame of mind.
These two books are filled with simple and familiar lessons, like the examples above, but they are not trite. It is valuable to be reminded of these easily forgotten truths. Every golfer has had a round derailed by the conditions presented to them. Even if we know we shouldn’t let the conditions dictate our mindset, we still let it happen. It requires work to improve one’s mental game and continually reviewing Jones’ fundamental wisdom proves a useful exercise.
Jones’ lessons have endured just as well as Marcus Aurelius’, albeit on a shorter timescale. The wisdom in both of these books has stood the test of time, and it’s unlikely that actively working to remain steadfast and rational in your mental attitude will ever become poor advice. There is a Lindy Effect at play here. Jones is touching upon eternal lessons. Furthermore, the concepts he discusses in TBOBJOG act as the foundation for lots of modern instructional content, just as stoicism’s core principles continue to inspire modern careers as well. For example, Jones expounds on J.H. Taylor’s phrase “courageous timidity”,
Courageous, to keep trying in the face of ill luck or disappointment; and timidity, to appreciate and appraise the dangers of each stroke, to curb the desire to take changes beyond a reasonable hope of success. There can be no doubt that such a combination in itself embraces and makes possible all the other qualities which we acclaim as part of the ideal golfing temperament for the championship contender as well as the average golfer. When we have pronounced Taylor’s phrase we have said it all.
Golf is not a game of exact mechanical precision. Even the most accurate player in his most effective form must allow himself a certain latitude in playing any kind of stroke.
It seems like Dr. Bob Rotella nearly plagiarizes this exact notion within a chapter called “Conservative Strategy, Cocky Swing” in his book Golf is Not a Game of Perfect. That title itself may have even been lifted from the passage above. For what it’s worth, I highly recommend Golf is Not a Game of Perfect. It totally revamped my mental game.
Additionally, the process of selecting your targets optimally by understanding dispersion patterns and properly respecting penal hazards forms the basis of Scott Fawcett’s DECADE program. Many tour pros use this system and we can seemingly trace its roots all the way back to Bobby Jones based on what he wrote here.
Another significant aspect of both books is that they were written by men at the top of their worlds. Bobby Jones was the best golfer of his era and still regarded as one of the best of all time. Marcus Aurelius is considered one of the greatest Roman Emperors. I give credence to the ideas presented by both authors because of their prominence. I find what these men thought about particular topics more compelling than what someone who achieved far less success thought, particularly since both are highly regarded in history. The approaches they outlined seemed to work for them tremendously. Receiving advice from a champion golfer makes it much easier to trust. Bobby Jones was not a hack at your local muni, he won major championships using the advice he bestows in these columns. It’s worth knowing what he has to say.
Not every column is dedicated to improving and mastering your mental performance, there are many practical tips and commentaries on the game as well. A column on slow play is followed by a column on Allister McKenzie and then a column on getting out of trouble. Jones has thoughts on ball position and your first round of the season. He also offers many firsthand accounts of major championship rounds, good and bad. Jones covers many parts of the game. Nearly all columns remain insightful and useful.
The final commonality between these two books is the lack of any central or continuous narrative. This may appear at first to be a drawback, which is how I felt during my initial read. I felt I had to read each column sequentially, which led to some boredom. Now, after finishing it, I see this as the primary utility of the book and why it is not just worth reading, but worth owning. This structure allows you to dive in wherever you want. Each column stands on its own and, within them, the paragraphs do as well. I recommend starting with the columns that sound most interesting to you and getting to the rest over time. There is no need to read the whole book at once. Take it one column at a time and highlight the passages or phrases that call to you. Then, when your game has left you, quickly find and review a bookmarked aphorism.
There is a value in returning to this book just as there is a value in returning to Meditations. I have returned to Meditations many times since I first read it, but have never completed a full second read. Rather, I reread the passages I have underlined. This method provides the most bang for your buck. After reading TBOBJOG, I began to return to it time and time again in an identical manner to how I returned to Meditations: thumbing through for a single key paragraph and then setting it back down. TBOBJOG could be read once and then set on your shelf to collect dust, but this would be a misuse of the work. Instead, return to it in short spurts when needed.
The problems you are struggling with on the golf course are not exclusive to you. And there is almost certainly sage advice contained within The Best of Bobby Jones on Golf to assist you. Open up the book, find what you need and go.
It is surprising how easy it is to lose sight of the very obvious fact that in golf the all-important necessity is that the ball should be struck truly.
Thanks for reading.