Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf

Rating:
Summary: Very good book, but...
Review: This is a very good book for the golf enthusiast. And I am glad I have it in my collection. BUT, I really don't think it is one of the "best" teaching books out there. Granted everything in the book is helpful. However, I feel it comes up short compared to many of the other books out there. I recommend buying the book if you LOVE golf and like learning ALL you can about this great game. But if you are looking for GREAT instruction/tips, this is not your best bet.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely beautiful!!!
Review: Explains the modern golf swing excact and to the point. Focuses on reproducibility of the swing and makes you understand excactly what it is that you are trying to acheive in a very concise and direct way. It fixed my swing completely! Best golf read ever!

Rating:
Summary: The ONLY instruction book you will EVER need
Review: I have had this book in my hands since yesterday morning. If you want to play better golf, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND BUY THIS BOOK.

When you get it, throw the rest of your golf books out, cancel your subscription to Golf Digest - it is all serving to clutter your mind. This book is exactly what it says it is - a step-by-step, clearly and wonderfully articulated description of the very basic fundamentals of the game of golf, without which you cannot succeed.

This book was written in 1957 I believe, and when I got to the point about the downswing being initiated by the clearing out of the left hip in a counter clockwise manner I was intrigued. Then I turned on the PGA Tour Championship a few hours later and watched Retief Goosen and Tiger Woods, who finished first and second, respectively, doing just that, 45 years later.

My friend - an athletic woman who is 50 years old - and I then went out into her side yard to try out just the step of starting the backswing with your left hip. Taking a few swings at a leaf on the ground, I could tell my clubhead speed was WAY faster than it ever had been - with NO arm effort whatsoever. The sharp rotation of the left hip starts and whipping effect, and your shoulders, arms and hands follow, faster than you could possibly "swing" with all of your arm might, all without a tenth of the effort. We all swing with all arm, no body. The left hip is the key!

She then lined up to a ball - I told her not to - with a 56 degree wedge, drew it back, cleared her hip and ripped the ball high and hard (she often hits worm burners), across the street and into a neighbor's yard. It was the best shot I had seen her hit all year. With no warm-up, no practice, nothing, just applying that one point from the book, and BOOM, she crushed the ball.

Oh, and by the way, to my fellow slicers out there, you can NOT hit anything but a slice or the occasional lucky straight ball, without clearing your left hip at the start of your downswing. If you start it with your hands, you will naturally come outside target line, cut across the ball from right-to-left (for righties), impart clockwise spin on the ball, and slice. If you clear your left hip first, your right elbow will drop naturally and bring your club INSIDE the target line, and your swing path will be from inside-to-outside. Bye bye, slice.

I am just dying to hit the range and start my work. This book is the be-all and end-all.

The schematic drawings - done in a manner so that you can see through the club, for example, on the drawings describing the grip - make it so absolutely simple to get these basic fundamentals down pat it isn't even funny. Ever see a photo of the correct grip in an instruction book? That's great, but you can't see through the hand and the club in a photo to see where the club is touching the fingers, palm, etc. The drawings in this book are fabulous and leaving nothing to interpretation.

I just wish it was April and not November...

Rating:
Summary: Good book from past era
Review: This is a good golf instruction book. Of course, Hogan was a great golfer. His techniques are easy to learn. However, they require much practice and flexibility to attain. I found the following the best on helping me become a much better golfer at a much quicker pace. The book is called:
The Ultimate Golf Instruction Guide: Key Techniques for Becoming a Zero Handicap Golfer or Better by Patrick Leonardi
isbn--1933023090
This last book has a section called the 8 essentials of the zero handicap golfer that is extremely helpful. I started to hit shots more controlled and straighter than ever before. Since using it a few months ago, I went from a 14 handicap to a 9 handicap. Every month I seem to keep improving from the help of Leonardi's book. It's well worth the money.


Rating:
Summary: Worth every penny!
Review: This is a must have for all golfers!

Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Mr. Hogan!!
Review: This book has improved my golf game so much that I've already purchased over 6 copies which I've given to my golf buddies and other struggling golf wanna-be's. I've taken 16 PGA Master pro lessons a couple of years ago, but only Mr. Hogan has provided an answer to my primary question: What starts the downswing? It's the hips!! Nothing but the hips! Wow, after reading and applying this book and Hogan's "Power Golf", I've been able to drive the ball 300 yards and now I use my driver, not my 3-wood, off the tee!

This book focuses on a few simple, basic elements of the golf game - the grip (the proper grip cannot be over-emphasized), the proper posture (so simple to do!), the backswing and the downswing. So, there are really 4 lessons, the 5th is just a summary, with great pictures to illustrate what is important in each. I highly recommend this gem to all golfers. Keep taking those lessons if you wish, but I'd recommend to supplement those lessons with this book, and you will be surprised at what improvements you will make in golf. This book is perfect, and won't clutter your mind with too much detail or too many things to think about. It breaks-down each aspect of the swing so you can concentrate on it to perfection. For less than $10, you will recoup your investment almost immediately by losing fewer balls and hitting more greens in regulation. Even that elusive eagle will be much more in reach! Fore!

Rating:
Summary: Great book - If you've got a Hook
Review: There's only so much you can learn from a book. Ben Hogan basically invented the modern golf swing but I think lessons would be more helpful. Save your money and go play a round or two, its the best way to improve.