Product Description

Meet John Richardson. A typical weekend golfer who enjoyed the game but couldn't break one hundred. Married. One seven-year old daughter. Full-time job. But he differed from the average 24-handicapper in one crucial way. He was determined to break par within a year at the local golf course, while working in a demanding full-time job and trying his best to remain a good husband and father. Virtually everyone he came across told him that it wasn't possible. Sam Torrance advises John to 'dream on' and Darren Clarke tells him that three years would be a more realistic time frame. Add to the mix a range of golfing injuries, family responsibilities and a rigorous working schedule, and you can understand why there were so many doubters. Dream On is the story of how John achieved the seemingly impossible - from how the initial challenge took shape and the methods he used to dramatically improve his game to that glorious day, less than one year later, when he broke par and played the best round of his life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #965 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-20
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
'Well done young man!' --Sam Torrance, BBC commentary during the Open at Turnberry

Review
'For golfers [John's] achievement is already being marvelled at and studiously picked over for any nugget of information that will help them improve. But whether you are a golfer or not, John's story is a lesson for life. It may be the cliche of all cliches but if you believe in something and work hard for it, then you can achieve it.'

Review
'It's a great heart-warming story, and one which is told with clear-eyed honesty and self-deprecating humour. Read it and see how you can turn your own golfing dreams into reality.'

Customer Reviews

Golf Book of The Year - Dream On if you think otherwise!
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R16N278H8JU323 How many of us have dreamt of playing just one round of par golf or better, when the reality is that we are barely struggling to break 90 or 100. Well John Richardson didn't just dream about it, he actually went out there and did it!

In Dream on: The Challenge to Break Par in a Year John gives an honest account of the period during which he devoted himself to the highs and lows of trying to break par. It's awe-inspiring to read about John's rollercoaster ride throughout the 12 months of this golfing challenge where through hard work, pure determination and sheer bloody-mindedness he stuck to the discipline and succeeded triumphantly!

Evidence of what an amazing feat this was to achieve is evident in Sam Torrance's comment that John should "Dream On" and his fellow Irishman Darren Clarke telling him it would take a minimum of 3 years to achieve his break par goal.

Having been aware of John and his self-imposed golf challenge to break par some years ago I was intrigued to read this book. I've read many golf books but this was one which did not disappoint - I read it cover to cover in 2 days! In my opinion this book was a small investment which delivered not only huge performance improvements with my own golf but also helped me to deal with the mental aspects and challenges of the game.

What makes this a fascinating and easy read is John's straightforward storytelling which is laced with his fantastic Irish wit and his inspiring honesty. At the outset of his story what John lacked in golfing ability he certainly made up for with his passion for the beautiful game. Throughout the book, as well as explaining how tough this challenge was for him and those around him, he entertains us with the experiences which he encountered during his year long journey. This is a classic tale of man vs golf ball, one you won't be able to put down - I promise you!

You can take things away from this book to improve your own game. Personally I will be re-reading this whenever I feel in need of motivation - I think the book clearly confirms that we can achieve anything in life as long as we have belief in ourselves and are willing to devote time and energy to working at it.

Even if you're not an avid golf fan you will still enjoy this book. You will come away from reading it energized and motivated! I highly recommend it.

It's good to dream
As an ex-obsessive, but now very occasional, golfer I found this a superb insight into the psychology of the amateur player.

Do we not all have a copy of the Big Book Of Excuses?
Have we not all at one time strung together our best efforts on each hole and thought "If I could just string them together I'd shoot a 67"? Well John Richardson didn't just ponder this, he got off his clubhouse barstool and went and did just that.

I appreciated that it would require a lot of time, effort and stress, but what John's account brought home to me is just how much self-examination and willingness to change was required to complete the challenge. I am not sure many people could open themselves up in such a way.

As John struggled with his lack of progress in scoring even though he was working long hours and improving his game I could literally feel his frustration as I read his account. Fortunately I also got to share in his excitement as `the round' progressed to it's climax and actually felt a sense of relief as he described holing that final putt.

I would have loved to be there when he called Sam Torrance to break the good news...

Its Kinda Fun to Do the impossible
Golf book for sure. Self-help and motivational - even more so.
On the surface aimed at golfers - in reality us all.
I nicked the quote above from Walt Disney and the book. And I read this in one evening before realising at 445am it was probably time to go to sleep.
All of us can identify with these writings - and as the average handicapper of 17 who has nevertheless on one benign day at London and Hatfield shot a 73, we know that this has the added benefit of being true.
Cannot recommend this highly enough - and Im sure looking back now the author realises how many hundreds of thousands can be inspired by a challenge like this.
And spend less time down at the garden centres.
Or the pub, or watching TV, or bemoaning our luck...
When all is said and done theres a lot more said than done.
Just do it - and congratulations by the way.