Rating: Summary: Helped My Game Review: I don't know what the first reviewer didn't like about this book. This book is the bible to my second religion called golf. I'm a newbie, and I didn't have the money to spend on expensive lessons; so I'm completely self taught. My first book was Golf for Dummies, and it's ok as an introduction I guess. But the book is overly wordy, and it's hard to describe the motion of golf with words. The Golf Instruction realizes this problem in golf books and focuses mostly on high resolution full page color visuals with just little blurbs explaining the situation. True, none of the information is top secret. There's no silver bullets. No exclusive tips. Golf has been around for many many decades, so there are a number of drills and techniques that have been accumulated in the world of golf. All this book does it compiles all that knowledge into a handy easy to absorb reference that you can immediately implement. Put it this way, I was just at the Tracy Golf Course, ranked one the hardest 9 holes in California. It is EXTREMELY hard. Even experienced people lose 3-4 balls a session. And I drove 275 yards dead center on three holes. And it's all because of this book. When I'm at the driving range, and the ball isn't doing what I want it to do, I go back to the book to recheck the checklist and practice some of the drills. There are a couple of drills though that I wouldn't mind them clarifying on. But I make it a point to just randomly flip to a page and do some refreshers. I still have a long way to go, up till now I've been mostly focusing on my drives - and I think I've gotten that pretty much figured out. It's the short irons and putting I have to focus on now, so it's back to my bible - the golf instruction manual. If you want to ask me any questions feel free to email me at tariq@dopejam.com.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Golf Drill Book Review: I just got reacquainted with golf after a 10 year absence. I was looking for a book that could assess my skill level and provide drills based on this skill level. I found it! I started the season barely hitting my driver 200 yards and I am now hitting it 250-275 yards consistently due to the book's drills. This book has also impressed on me the need to always follow a routine when setting up and most importantly to take time to aim my shot for consistency. This book has helped me with all parts of my game. It is very illustrative for each drill. I have moved from the mid-90's to the high-80's in the space of 5 weeks.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Golf Drill Book Review: I just got reacquainted with golf after a 10 year absence. I was looking for a book that could assess my skill level and provide drills based on this skill level. I found it! I started the season barely hitting my driver 200 yards and I am now hitting it 250-275 yards consistently due to the book's drills. This book has also impressed on me the need to always follow a routine when setting up and most importantly to take time to aim my shot for consistency. This book has helped me with all parts of my game. It is very illustrative for each drill. I have moved from the mid-90's to the high-80's in the space of 5 weeks.
Rating: Summary: Thank you Mr. Newell! Review: I just started playing golf a year ago, and this book is responsible for transforming me from a hacker to a respectable player in an amazingly short period of time. I would take this book over a PGA certified instructor any day of the week! It covers every shot from the tee to the putt, including bunkers, rough, up and down slopes and even how to hit a ball lying right inside a tree! It is filled with tons of drill routines, which actually are worth your time to practice. Furthermore it shows you how to fix an ailed shot, play the mind game, buy the right equipment, legally place a ball after it goes into the drink, play different games, calculate a handicap.... it goes on and on and on. The best part is it is so clear and concise that it takes just seconds to read up on an issue and the best part of it all is that it fits in your golf bag. So long as your friends don't see it they will not doubt be amazed at your ever-improving game.
Rating: Summary: Not for the beginner, but just right for most everyone else Review: Many books on golf instruction tend to be a long list of instructions. Some are technical ad nauseum, others are general to the point of vagueness. A few, like Hogan's Modern Fundamentals, are just enough info with a step-by-step progression to get one going.
This book takes a radically different approach from almost any other book around. Rather than bog the reader down with A-Z lectures, here we have a short introduction to let people know what should be happening with the individual aspects of the game (driving, iron play, pitching, chipping, and putting), and then gives a section of drills for a person to work on at their own pace and according to their level of skill (there are 3 skill levels) in the different areas. Self tests for each area of play help determine where a person should begin.
Using myself as an example, I tested to level 2 in iron play, but only one in chipping. Glancing through the level 1 drills in iron play, there were several that are good fundamental exercises (ranging in your irons, etc.), but none that seemed that vital to my development. The level 2 drills, on the other hand, mostly matched the problems I was seeking to correct while building on my current skills (fine tuning the swing plane, eliminating up and down sway). In the chipping section, I found that my lack of skill was, in fact, due to an utter misunderstanding of fundamentals. Square one was indeed where I needed to go from.
The drills, it should be noted, are not entirely things that need to be done on a course or that require a special apparatus to perform. In fact, probably half are things a person can do at home, and the ones requiring special gear do not ask you to buy a $100 training club. Rather they are things like a piece of rope to check your swing plane and power, or a piece of tape and a few tees to see if you are hitting your putter on the sweet spot consistently. If ever there was a book for the home learner, this was it.
It should also be noted that the drills tell you not only what you should learn from them, but also what potential damage could be wrought on your swing if you do them wrong. This may scare people, but I personally appreciate the honesty. Too many drill books are written from the perspective that any drill can and will help a person 100% of the time.
The book is filled with photographs that actually show you what you need to be doing. Many instruction books using photos tend to use snaps just a millisecond too early or late to be of great use, or rely heavily on illustrations that cannot capture all the detail of the human figure. This alone is a good reason to have it on your shelf.
The one person I cannot recommend buying this book, or at least buying it as the one book of instruction they will use, is the absolute beginner. The book assumes the reader has held a club before and has hit at least one strait shot in their lifetime. It is therefore perfect for someone who does not have the time or means to get to a pro regularly, or wants something to supplement their lessons.
Rating: Summary: All you can practice buffet Review: Picked up this book as a gift for someone, when I looked through it I went back to the store to get my own copy. Very deliberate in its instruction, you can pick and choose what you want to work on. So many drills, which is great because not all drills work for all people, so you can find which ones work for you. Great book, don't show it to anyone.
Rating: Summary: Simplistic, unstructured and very overrated! Avoid. Review: Reads like a compilation from a golf magazine and is disjointed because of it. Most of the points and drills are not new and rather uninspiring. And to have Ernie Els listed is really misleading. He wrote a bland introduction, and appears in maybe one picture sequence. SAVE YOUR MONEY! There are much better books out there from real masters (starting with Hogan, Price, Faldo, Woods... just to name a few), and many simple manuals such as the PGA instruction manual are far better. Repeat: Save your money and buy a cheaper and better book.
Rating: Summary: a must pre reading book for golf lessons at any level Review: The book offers excellent support material to make "home work" and pre work not only for the GAME it self, but for the drive range. It is handy to use it as a pre-reading material if you are attending to a golf school or personal training program
Rating: Summary: Just Perfect Review: This book is an incredible tool to explore your level and very important, to gain better habits for playing better. Is a must buy it book, really easy to understand and to use for improving your game. I have a year since a started playing golf, and this book helped me to move from 100+ to 90's in this period of time. I play twice a month.
Rating: Summary: A great book to have Review: This book is divided into several scetions : on the tee, iron play, pitching, chipping, bunker play, and putting. In each of these sections you have to do an assessment of your skill. Then based on that skill, you are directed to a section to improve. Each section advances from level one to level three. THere is a chapter on faults and fixes, playing the game, and the art of shot making. Many pictures help in the application of the shots. Well organized and a must if you want to improve your score
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