Golf Is a Game of Confidence

Golf Is a Game of Confidence

Dr. Bob Rotella further explores the mental game of golf and how confidence as well as course and game management are the key to improving scores.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Golf is a Game of Confcence
Its interesting but not as good as “Golf is not a Game of Perfect” which is also by Rotella

4 Stars Great help for any golfer
I found in this book the kind of help I ( New senior golfer )was looking for.

From begining to end Bob capture your attention, and as soon you

finish read it, you move your game to a next step.

Thanks

5 Stars Great stuff - worked for me
I have been playing golf for a long time, but have had a psychological barrier about playing “too well”. I knew that the mental / confidence part was as important as the physical/practice part of golf, but I really didn’t have an approach to improve my mental game. Until I read this book.

Golf is a Game of Confidence is an easy read, setup as antecdotes of lessons learned over 18 chapters. I could really identify with many chapters, and the book really appealed to me. I would highly recommend the book to anyone seeking to improve their mental outlook and have more fun with the game.

Summarized setup: Smile, Have Fun, Analyze the situation, Visualize the shot, Do it, Accept the result, and Forget about it. (Repeat until the round is over) Using this approach, I have broken 80 in my last two rounds (78, 79). Previously, I usually shot in the 80’s, but have only broken 80 twice in my life ! This book is the best golf investment that I’ve ever made. You can keep the latest $500 driver, I’ll take this book - and I’m having more fun with the game too.

5 Stars It really helps!
I just want to say that this book was very helpful in increasing my confidence in my all around game. We all have rounds where we hit the ball extremely well the front nine and blow up on the back or vice-versa. Though it doesn’t really give instructions or tips, it’s what you take from it that is so beneficial. I played a few days after reading just the first few chapters and what I took from it was to “stay in the present”. Every time I found myself getting ahead with my score or dwelling on a poor execution, I would say to myself, “Just stay in the present” and I played one of my best rounds ever. I would very much recommend this book to anyone who has ever “blown-up” during a round.

5 Stars Golf Is A Game Of Confidence
I started reading this book three days ago. Today I competed in a small golf tournament and won. I shaved a good five strokes off and had the funnest round iv played in a long time. This is a good book, it shows you the do’s and don’ts in preparing for a shot, hole, or match. Read this book.

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KISS Guide to Playing Golf Keep It Simple Series

KISS Guide to Playing Golf Keep It Simple Series

The K-I-S-S of the title is built on four letters every golfer can benefit from. They form the acronym for Keep It Simple, Stupid, and if there’s any game that suffers from overcomplication, overthinking, and the overall instructional overload that brings on paralysis by analysis, it’s golf. The KISS Guide delivers on its titular promise. Its easygoing attitude, straightforward text, and crisp photography combine to keep a complex and tradition-rich game clear enough for a beginner to understand, while offering much to more seasoned duffers. Before it begins to provide the kind of basic instruction that’ll get novices up and running, it breezes through some of the important history, rules, and etiquette that every golfer needs to know. Then, the deeper into the book you get, the deeper into the game it goes–with tips, strategies, drills, and solid advice on equipment and lessons. Like a good shot, this is an eye-catching instructional with distance and accuracy, and what golfer doesn’t pray daily for just a little more of both? –Jeff Silverman

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Perfect book for starters
This book is pretty cool. It’s like reading an encyclopedia of golf. I highly recommend it. The thing is, it only brings you up to intermediate level. If you want more help in deeper mentality of golf or simply play golf with more precision, read “How I Play Golf” by Tiger Woods.

Here is my suggestion: If you’re new to golf but are excited to learn, skip Part 1 and jump to Part 2. Why do I say that? Simple. Part 1 talks about history, rules, golf courses and the “anatomy” of golf. They’re good to know, but it can bore you from time to time and plus, it has nothing to do with the basics of golf yet. It’s like reading soccer rules and how soccer is played. Knowing that can’t improve your techniques. Duno also recommends hiring a professional & practice by going to the driving range. Personal preference: Everyone have their own way of playing golf and no one technique is perfect for everyone. If you read the simple techniques explained in this book, it’ll get you a long way. Bottomline here is, save time and money by buying yourself a golfnet and turf and practice in your backyard or anywhere you have room to practice.

Part 2 is the perfect place to start if you want to swing that club! It’s all about which clubs to buy, how to get good grips, aim better and understand basic swing fundamentals. It’s my favorite part that is also worth reading it over and over again.

If you already know the basic fundamentals of golf such as golf rules and/or swinging a club but want to improve your short game, skip Part 1 & 2 and go on with Part 3. It teaches you how to master putting, chipping, pitching and hitting from the bunker. If that doesn’t get your money’s worth, go on to Part 4 (Become a Better Golfer) which talks about flaws to avoid, bad lies, hills, bad weather, etc.

Part 5 however is somewhat useless in my opinion. It talks about competing, differences between golf clubs, balls and what to do if you take a golf vacation. It’s basically teaching you “what to do with your money once you’re already a multi-millionaire.” I mean, no-duh, everyone have their own preference how they want to take their golf game further. All in all, this book is worth reading and if you love golf like me, buy it just so you can read and reread it over and over again.

5 Stars Good Beginners Choice
This book provided me with the basics of the game and the use of the tools, rules and other essentials and serves as a reference guide to this time. It is clear and simple and straightforward. It can help any new golfer to get into the game and help any duffer to refine his technique.

I recommend it highly.

5 Stars Perfect for the complete beginner
I have only recently taken up the great game of golf. This book has been an indispensable aid. It explains all the basics of the game wonderfully, with outstanding illustrations and very clear step-by-step explanations.

Since I bought the book three months ago, I have probably read it at least five times - that many times I have gone back to it as a reference for the latest thing ailing my game. And I am sure that it will continue to assist me as my golf game progresses (hopefully) in the future.

I spent a lot of time at the bookstore comparing the different golf guides. This was by far the best book for the price.

5 Stars The most practical guide to Golf
This book is a gem. It is organized in a very practical fashion that allows you to focus on each aspect of the game. The range of topics is wide, going from the elements of the swing, the different shots, and all the way to strategy and conditioning for Golf. The book is written with practical summaries that allow you to keep key points in the foreground and get ready to play.

If you only buy one “how to” golf book, this should be the one.

5 Stars Excellent Beginners Book
When I wanted to get started with golf I picked up this book. Easy to understand, with simple instructions and explanations. It also has the clearest overview of the basic rules of the game that I’ve seen. Even the hardest part of any book on golf, the swing, is covered pretty well - I at least have the intellectual knowlege now to on swinging the club. Great book.

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Swing Like a Pro

Swing Like a Pro

Golfers, as a breed, are willing to pry their unwilling bodies into any ungodly position if they think it will help their game, even more so if that position mirrors the languid power of, say, Sam Snead’s, Fred Couples’s, Payne Stewart’s, or Tiger Woods’s. Swing like a Pro tees up a new model, a computer-generated composite of more than 100 swings of the world’s best golfers. The theory behind it is to isolate and emphasize those parts of the swings that all good swings have in common–the parts that every golfer, regardless of the entirety of motion, can adapt to his or her own. While the theory may be sound, the presentation is technically complex, as dry as a pot bunker on an August afternoon. If you already play the game, this may help shave a few strokes. If you’re just starting out, head back to the range for a lesson. –Jeff Silverman

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Book is great - CD and ScreenSaver was icing on the cake!

What I have been searching for, yearning for, was a book that explained how I should swing the club - and explain it in a way that I grasped. All of the other 5 star and 4 star rated books that sell on Amazon promised it, but didn’t deliver it. I know, because I bought them.

What I ultimately realized, and what you need to realize too, is that you need a book that will talk to you - that you ‘get’ - that will finally switch on the golf light bulb in your head and you go YES! THAT’S IT! I don’t know what you need to flip that switch, because I’m not you. And maybe it’s one of the books that didn’t do it for me. However, I can finally say YES! Because this book, Swing Like a Pro, did it for me.

It explained the swing in a way I understood, and used great photo’s that verified what they were explaining. It broke down the swing into components that I could grasp, and give me exercises that backed up what they were saying. I’ve been playing since I was about 9 or 10. Did a package of 6 lessons about 2 years ago with a local pro and couldn’t tell you what I learned. Am finishing up a 10 pack of lessons with GolfTec and did learn some excellent stuff, but this book has really brought the swing full circle for me.

What really did it for me was purchasing the CD and the ScreenSaver that they sell at modelgolf.com to accompany the book. They show the ‘pro’ model swing in action, from many different angles, with different clubs. They have and continue to be invaluable resources for me.

I went golfing about 2 weeks ago and shot a 93. For me, a decent game. I’ve dipped into the 80’s twice in the last year but a 93 is good. I normally fight a fairly decent slice, but I am happy to report that the slice was gone! Absolutely gone, nowhere to be found - thanks this book. If I had any kind of short game I would have been in the 80’s again.

Anyway, while we were playing a friend brought along his flip video camera and shot a few tee shots of the 4 of us. When I got the clips of my swing downloaded I brought them up on my computer and then also brought up the ScreenSaver of the ‘pro’ and compared the 2 side by side. B I N G O. That was it. I could go frame by frame and see what I should be doing and what I am actually doing. It opened my eyes and showed me several things right off the bat that I was doing horribly wrong (like a way too vertical backswing and lifting my back heel before impact).

If I was you, I would get the book, get the CD, get the ScreenSaver - probably a total of around $80 - and devour them. Then, shoot some video of yourself and get a realistic view of what you’re doing. It’s sobering, and it’s not fun, and you’ll probably wince, but you WILL see the truth in your swing. And isn’t that what you want? Admire the good things and fix the bad things? Get the video, then bring it up on your computer and compare it to the ‘pro’ swing. If you do that I guarantee that you will benefit from it.

Do it !

3 Stars Could be much shorter
I think information in the book is very valuable but:

There is lot of blah blah to fill blank space.

It is also one big advert. It is trying to sell you personal lessons with their software. I would expect you could buy the software, or it comes with the book…

Anyway, if you are patient enough and can survive LOT LOT of marketing and filter valuable info, you should buy the book. There definitely is valuable info.

4 Stars Insightful
I thought the book provided the reader with insightful and useful information about the golf swing.

5 Stars this book will change your game
I took up the game of golf two years ago at the age of 54 and though my short game developed quickly I struggled with tee shots and on the fairways. I’m not strong or flexible and just assumed that hitting the ball short and slicing came with the territory (my lack of flexibility limits my backswing to about two-thirds of the ideal). I bought this book six weeks ago and have gone from struggling to hit my driver 190 yards to hitting 220-230 and landing balls in the fairway about sixty percent of the time (although every golfer who writes anything on the net seems to hit the ball 270 or more and never misses a fariway, in actual fact I hardly ever see a golfer on the course who can do that). I haven’t had that much time to practice over that six weeks so I’m hopeful that I will see more improvement yet. Even so, my long game is vastly better and more consistent. I believe people learn differently so this book might not be for everyone but it certainly has worked for me. I highly recommend getting the CD of the model golfer performing the model swing - I have studied this little man (he looks like the Silver Surfer having taken up golf) and his swing in slow motion from every angle and I think this has been almost as useful as the book. It’s great to be able to slow the swing down and examine every little part of it. Struggling with a slice? Embarrassed at how much club you have to use compared with your golf buddies? Try this book. It certainly has helped me.

4 Stars Technical analysis of the the golf swing for effortless power
Some people have no desire to read about the golf swing but the “Grip it and rip it” school has eluded me.

I have read other books such as “5 Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf” by Hogan, “The 8 Step Swing” by Jim McLean, “The LAWs of the Golf Swing” by Adams and Tomasi, “Total Golf” by Adams and Tomasi, “7 laws of the golf swing” by Nick Bradley, “The Plane Truth for Golfers” by Hardy and other books covering topics such as Natural Golf.

Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf

MCLEAN’S EIGHT STEP SWING - Book

The 7 Laws of the Golf Swing

The LAWs of the Golf Swing: Body-Type Your Golf Swing and Master Your Game

Total Golf: The Most Comprehensive Guide to Golf and Golf Instruction Mike Adams, T.J. Tomasi, and Kathryn Maloney

Natural Golf Swing

The Plane Truth for Golfers

Search For The Perfect Swing: The Proven Scientific Approach To Fundamentaly Improving Your Game

I have watched several videos that teach the fundamentals of the full swing:

Dvd-8 Step Swing With Jim Mccl - Golf Multimedia

Golf Channel - Ben Hogan: The Golf Swing

For the past couple of years, I have read about the key elements which each golf instruction has given me. Reading this book is very similar in theory to Hogan’s 5 Lessons and McLean’s 8 Step Swing.

Each chapter covers the fundamentals of the full swing such as grip, setup, backswing, transition, top of the swing, downswing, impact, follow through, tempo, and swinging like a pro. The chapters give a vignette about each phase of the swing, describe the author’s ideals, pitfalls, myths. At the end of each chapter, the author outlines drills on how to groove each phase of the swing. This is similar to the 8 Step Swing format by McLean. The illustrations are in gray scale with photographs and computer renditions of “the Pro” however, there is a relative paucity of illustrations in relation to the amount of text you are reading. The advantage of this book is that illustrations show the face on and rear perspectives in parallel.

There are some nuances that they cover in the golf swing such as the transition and ball position that are covered in more detail than other instruction books. There are many salient points worth reading this book for the knowledge of the secret of what appears to be an effortless swing.

This is more technical detail that would confound a novice/beginner. However, it is still an excellent book to fine tune your full golf swing. This book is complementary to the other books I have mentioned and complementary to instruction by a Golf Instructor.

For the intermediate and advanced golfer who has a grooved swing, this book is worthy of consideration.

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Getting Up and Down How to Save Strokes from Forty Yards and in

Getting Up and Down How to Save Strokes from Forty Yards and in

There’s an old golf saying that you drive for show and putt for dough. Despite recent woes with the mallet, Tom Watson has been a master on and around the carpet throughout his esteemed career. In easy, conversational style, he fills this essential instructional volume with the basic techniques for pitching, putting, chipping, and sand play, all marvelously illustrated by Anthony Ravielli, then tackles the more challenging variations like high lobs, handling hardpan, and difficult lies. Watson also offers plenty of good advice for thinking about the short game and includes a series of practical drills to help golfers work at improving it.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars With Tom you cant go wrong
Great book if your short game is wack. Since it probaly is if you are reading this review ” Buy it”. You can thank me later.

2 Stars Just do it.
I am not sure if I liked this book or not. Tom Watson writes like so many others about the importance of the short game. He is right and I tried hard to like this book because it is short and simple. I dod not like the illustrations. They were boring like so many of golf books from that period (and it wasn’t more than 15 years ago). I would not buy it again.

Get Pia Nilhson’s book instead.

5 Stars An excellent book for improving your short game
Everyone should read this book if you want to improve your short game. Tom Watson nicely shares his short game tips in this book. I like this book and recommend it for people who wants to reduce his/her number of strokes.

5 Stars Timeless
Tom Watson was the master of consistency and an absolute magician 100 yards in. Actually he would do well to re-read this tome, especially the putting section. It serves up the solution to his woes on the green. Hint - maintaining the wrist angle. However, even if he ignores his own advise, the rest of us can benefit from this terrific book.

5 Stars ed ulon’s review
I’ve read this book many times over, it is excellent. Tom’s instruction is practical, easy to understand and with practice, will bring you to another level in chipping and pitching.

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Golf Digests Ultimate Drill Book Over 120 Drills That Are Guaranteed to Improve Every Aspect of Your Game and Lower Your Handicap

Golf Digests Ultimate Drill Book Over 120 Drills That Are Guaranteed to Improve Every Aspect of Your Game and Lower Your Handicap

From tee to green, Jim McLean will show you how to customize your practice sessions depending on your unique trouble shots by using over 200 step-by-step photographs and proven advice. Novice golfers will discover how to avoid bad habits from the start, and veterans will discover how to diagnose and overcome any ingrained aspect of their swings, grips, stances, or even mindsets that may interfere with achieving a superior score. This breakthrough book is sure to help everyone from low handicappers to weekend duffers lower their scores.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars I Really Like McLean’s books
Think I’ve owned all his books and this one’s a good read and a collection of Golf Digest articles reworked into a book. If you like this one you’ll like McLean’s “The 8 Step Swing”The Eight Step Swing: The Top Selling Swing System that has Revolutionized the Teaching Industry (HarperResource book), which I though was his best and certainly better than any Ledbetter book or DVD I owned. (Not to say I didn’t still keep the Ledbetter stuff - I just found personally the 8 Step Swing really worked for me.)

4 Stars Ultimate drills for champions
Even if you, like me, don’t intend to be a champion pro (maybe an Am champion…?), these drills will improve your game for sure. Anyway they are the pro’s drills. I’ve checked many other sources in books and DVDs and these are the most common drills advised for golf players. And no other source were so complete. I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because there are only drills. It could be completed with a swing overview, in order to make the drills more understandable (some of them are really weird and you have a hard time trying to figure out how they could possibly improve your swing). This is not in this book because the author has another book only on the 8 parts of the swing. But it worths the price. Above all, remember: these are just drills, and you are not supposed to play that way in real games!!!

5 Stars GOLF DIGEST’S ULTIMATE DRILL BOOK
AS HE ALWAYS DOES JIM MCLEAN DEMONSTRATES THAT HE KNOWS GOLF. HE KNOWS HOW TO FIX DEFICIENT GOLF SWINGS. THE DRILLS HE OFFERS MUST BE A BENEFIT TO EVERY GOLFER, BEGINNER AND PROFESSIONAL. BUY THIS BOOK AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.

1 Star Terrible for golfers who know the game
This book is for the real beginner as the title of the book is totally misleading

2 Stars So So
Just an ok book. Pictures are low quality. Would have expected better from Golf Digest and Jim Mclean. It is straight and to the point but make sure you at least have a solid working knowldge of all aspects of the game before considering this book. You can get much of the same information for free at various golf web sites. Not bad but not very clear in many regards.

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Natural Golf Swing

Natural Golf Swing

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars The Natural Golf Swing
This truly is the secret to golf. Where has this book been hiding? This is the book golf professionals don’t want you to read. You’ll never need another lesson after reading and applying Kudson’s simple instructions.

It is so easy. I am hitting the ball farther and straighter effortlessly. I went from a low 90’s player to a low 80’s player immediately. I only purchased the book last month, and I am now applying his theories to the short game and know that I will be dropping more strokes soon.

5 Stars where is the love?
having been intrigued by the one plane vs. two plane swing revelations revealed in the Jim Hardy books. believing the ops make ultimate sense, having delved into hogan’s mystique as a one planer. the secret of hogans swing, Bertrand also a recommended read. leading me to check out George Knudsen and his simplified balanced golf swing, not to be confused with natural golf even though that’s the name of the book. easy as walking and staying in balance just like the golfers on TV. this is the simplest description of how to golf I’ve ever found!the convoluted swings are history the 8 handicap is going down.

5 Stars Absolutely wonderful
I just received this book two days ago from Amazon. I casually opened it and began reading. I could not put it down other than to run downstairst to try the different aspects as George and Lorne describe them.

It is extremely cold here so I drove over 30 miles to the dome to try the concept as I understand it. It seemed so easy. I cannot wait to get on the course.

5 Stars Great book!
Definately the best golf instruction book I’ve read. I saw an old Shell’s Wonderful Work of Golf in which George Knudson broke the course record (67). I decided to buy his book, and I wasn’t disappointed.

4 Stars Good Golf book.
I am glad I learned of this book…it allowed to eliminate the multitude of swing thoughts etc. which were leading to ‘paralysis by analysis’. If this sounds like you, the book may be helpful. The swing proposed by Knudson, is rather simple, as explained by other reviewers; basically, hands remain passive while weight transfer and balance drive everything. The swing itself is now a lot more enjoyable for me. There is some repetition in the book, and reading about Knudson’s time on tour is rather boring. The 150 page book could be compressed in less than half that; regardless, worth going through the whole thing to change your swing.

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The Complete Idiots Guide to Golf Second Edition

The Complete Idiots Guide to Golf Second Edition

Improve your score– get a hole in one.

This newly revised edition offers advice for beginning and intermediate players on deconstructing their swing, examining their short games, and rethinking technique. From the basic rules of play to the strategy of course management, this indispensable guide covers drills and practices from tees to chip shots, putting essentials, specialty shots, and so much more.

Ancestral Links A Golf Obsession Spanning Generations

Ancestral Links A Golf Obsession Spanning Generations

Power Golf

Power Golf

Power Golf offers tips on getting the most yardage from your shots. Also covers the short game, putting, and trouble shots.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Many fundamentals that stand the test of time
Ben Hogan’s swing was the template for the modern swing. For a piece of golf history, this book is still a worthwhile endeavor to read. Although some clubs are not widely used such as the Brassie, 2 wood, 4 wood, Hogan’s advice regarding the fundamentals and strategies still stand the test of time.

The book is well illustrated with helpful captions, although some drawings are misleading and should not be mimicked. Hogan was not known for his putting and the putting chapter is not very useful.

Reading into the mindset of the champion and the vignettes of golfers in his era, are quite fascinating, and I thoroughly enjoyed the historical perspective.

This book still stands as a classic in the Silver Age of Golf. I highly recommend reading it.

3 Stars This is not the “Power Golf” you should buy
I first bought this paperback edition of “Power Golf” after I had read “Five Fundementals of Golf”. Somewhere I read a review which said the hardcover version of “Power Golf” was much better. He (she) was right. The illustrations in the paperback version are very misleading and not very helpful as mentioned by other reviewers. The hardcover edition has black and white pictures of Ben Hogan actually swinging and are much more revealing about his swing and clearly illustrate what he did over what he said he did in the book. Unfortunately, the hardcover version has been long out of print. Power Golf Hardcover 4 stars; Paperback version 2 stars.

4 Stars Sport or Game?
I grew up with a Dad who loved the sport. And he loved the game. This book has been a great look at the little things that can be worked on to make the game fun, and not just a long walk spoiled by a small white ball.

3 Stars Dated info plus things that never change
This book is best geared to beginning golfers who want a broad view of what different clubs are for and to get a general idea of how the game is to be played. Illustraitons accompany everything described, and is a good match for Hogan’s Five Lessons.

One thing that should be kept in mind, however, is that the info in the book is somewhat dated in regards to equipment and some parts of the swing. For example, Hogan calls the forward bend in the downswing for a driver a natural part of the swing, which for his day it was. Now, we look at it as the right time to use a stiffer shaft as the premature whipping of the shaft leads to inconsistant shots.

Putting is also another area the book is not great on explainations, but this has more to do with Hogan’s own view of putting more than anything else.

If you don’t want to pay more to get the PGA Manual or another, more complete and modern volume on golf, or simply want to see what has and has not changed in golf over the past 60+ years, this would be a good book to pick up. For the beginner as well this may help add some light to a few aspects of the game that are not clear from other, more extensive books.

3 Stars Hogan’s Wisdom
Always interested in getting better in the field of my golf game, I read this book with the hopes of gleaning some useful information on the swing, and how to hit the ball farther. Hogan offers a breakdown of the swing, and it is easy to follow. Not only is the book illustrated, Hogan did a nice job articulating how to get better and hit it longer. One thing I found that was very helpful was in the last two pages, Hogan talks about course management, and tricks to saving shots when you are playing in all types of conditions. This was a very informative and useful section of the book.

There are many golf-instruction books out there, and this book stands the test of time, as did Hogan’s golf game. I recommend it to any golfer.

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Paper Tiger An Obsessed Golfers Quest to Play with the Pros

Paper Tiger An Obsessed Golfers Quest to Play with the Pros

The title is a sly acknowledgment on Coyne’s part of the karmic debt his memoir owes to George Plimpton, but while Plimpton merely finagled his way onto the PGA Tour, Coyne (A Gentleman’s Game) sets himself a higher goal: by dedicating a solid year to improving his golf game, he hopes to actually pass the qualifying school tournament that would allow him to compete as a professional. Believing that the difference between good and great golfers is consistency, Coyne moves to Florida for the winter for intensive training with swing doctors and sports psychologists, staying out on the course until his hands bleed. He faces the inevitable (and sometimes unexpected) setbacks with resigned humor, as he comes to realize that his year’s age difference with Tiger Woods is the only thing he’ll have in common with the champ. (In fact, it takes all the skill he can muster not to wind up DFL—”Dead [F---ing] Last.”) Coyne treads a fine line between sarcasm and sympathy in his observations of his competitors, and though he occasionally gets lost in big-picture ruminations, his quest should resonate with weekend golfers who dream of going all the way. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Tom Coyne is a champion writer (and golfer)
If you have been playing golf for any length of time you probably understand the love/hate relationship that develops between you and the game, the agony and ecstasy of thrilling shots and pull-hooked drives. This book captures one man’s adventure incredibly well. He is a top tier golfer, rusty from years of less than top tier golfing, and he dedicates a year to trying to compete on the main stage again. His tale is eloquent and funny, heartbreaking and endearing. Great stuff. If Tom Coyne’s golf was on the level of his writing he would be Tiger Woods.

2 Stars Humorous read but….
I will say Tom Coyne got me from the jump; I was intrigued from the beginning upon referral from a friend.. I bought in, settled in, and gave the book a go.. The first couple chapters flew by, I thoroughly enjoyed the “hacker’s ascent to respectability” portion of the book.. I enjoy his writing style, the self deprecating humor and everyman’s take on golf..

Then it all fell apart.. In my opinion, there is much more fantasy than reality in this book.. The constant failure to post legit scores combined with a GHIN lookup of Mr. Coyne made me doubt the author’s recollection. But I plodded on, hoping for a dramatic finish.. It never came..

In my opinion this was a golf odyssey failure turned marriage proposal; a writer moonlighting into his hobby, the end game not happening, and turning to Plan B, true love…

If a better golfer wrote this, it would have been more believable that he was a +HCAP.. But then, that better golfer probably would have been an awful writer..

For me, I just couldn’t buy in 100% because I just don’t believe Coyne posted the HCAPs he claims.. This is proven time again in his failure during public qualifying events..

4 Stars Breaking 80?
I have to agree with another reviewer that it would seem highly unlikely that a person could carry a plus-handicap and RARELY be able to break 80 (and sometimes 90) in the tournaments. That said, the book is full of insight into the PGA and the enormous effort it takes to qualify for “the show”. Mr. Coyne is an excellent and oftentimes very funny writer who finishes his story on a high note.

This book would make an excellent gift for the golf fanatic in the family!

5 Stars This Book Has It ALL
From Reid Sheftall, author of “Striking It Rich: Golf in the Kingdom with Generals, Patients and Pros”

I can’t begin to express how much I enjoyed this book. It works on every level. It is very, very funny. It is instructional. It is enlightening. It is honest. The main character (Tom Coyne, the author) is so very likable.

The book is rich with love of game and girl. Perspective abounds at the end.

Am I making myself clear?

5 Stars If you like golf you will love this book…if you don’t you will also
Tom Coyne has a wonderful book here. I ended up laughing more times then I can count reading it. He has such a smooth style about his writing that it will wrap you up and make you want to keep reading. Reading this book you will laugh, be shocked, and amazed at what is going on. I highly recommend this book to any golfers out there or any one who has dared to follow their dreams.

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