Rich Mintzer - The Everything Golf Instruction Book: Essential Rules, Useful Tips, Amusing Anecdotes, and Fun Trivia for Every Golf Addict

The

Golf Instruction Book

Dear Reader:

Most golf books are written by the worlds finest golfers who have long forgotten what its like to shank half a dozen consecutive shots. However, this book is written by an ex-hacker who wakes up in a cold sweat every now and then from a dream about incurable slices and topped shots, and a golf coach whos seen the frustrations of scholarship athletes who have tons of talent, but scant ounces of patience. Thats a long way to say we know your game.

We can help you learn the swing for the first time or put new keys in your brain to help you find that elusive swing thats just right for you. We can teach you how to take what a course gives and execute the surest shots to get out of trouble and avoid disaster.

Golf is the perfect blend of physical and mental challenges. Success comes not from perfect mastery of the gameall golfers are doomed to fail in such an attemptbut from taking pleasure in the pilgrimage, from straighter shots and better lag putts to improved distance control and wiser decisions.

You can do it, and were glad to help.

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THE

GOLF
INSTRUCTION
BOOK

From teeing off to sinking the putt,
all you need to play the game

Rob Blumer and Dr. Rex Chaney

1. How to master the rules and etiquette of the game.

2. What equipment to buy and how to avoid breaking the bank.

3. Where to practice and which exercises will improve your game.

4. How to perfect your body positioning with proper stance, shoulder slant, and knee flex.

5. How to grip the club to ensure accuracy and power, and prevent injury.

6. How to focus on your target and visualize your shot.

7. How to coordinate all the parts of your body to ensure a fluid swing.

8. The physics of ball motion and the causes of hooks, slices, and pulls.

9. How to play from bunkers and avoid bad lies and hazards.

10. How to perfect your short game and putt like a pro.

THE GAME OF GOLF has been played for over 600 years. It was already being played on those hallowed grounds known as the Royal and Ancient Golf Course in St. Andrews by the time of the founding of the great St. Andrews University in Scotland in 1411. The clubs have changed from sticks of driftwood, to wooden shafts with wooden heads crafted by bow makers, to the hi-tech alloys of todays game. The balls have changed from leather pouches stuffed with feathers, to tightly wound wonders with titanium cores on the inside and computer-configured dimple patterns on the covers. Yet, the game is the same, and the passion of its playershackers to tour prosis as hot today as it was when Mary Queen of Scots played a round too soon after her husbands murder and was criticized for doing so.

Golf is a lifetime sport, and its the only truly multigenerational sport. Play over the centuries has yielded ingenious rules that allow anyone who can swing a club to compete with anyone else of any age, and of any ability. An average Jane or Joe doesnt have a chance to experience the thrill of batting in the bottom of the ninth at Yankee Stadium, but there are numerous golf courses around the country and in Europe where the less than average golfing Joes and Janes can pit their skills against the very holes that once brought great golfers to ruin, or elevated their names to immortality.

Golf is a mysterious game. Its part science, part art, and part alchemy. You can find great teachers and gifted pros who differ over how to swing the clubwhat happens first, how the weight is balanced, and so on. There are hackers whose hacking is mystifying because their swings seem okay at a glance, and outstanding professionals whose swings shouldnt work as effectively as they do.

This book helps to unveil the mystery of the swing, although it can never strip the game of its mystique. Youll learn troubleshooting tips to help you diagnose and correct hooks, slices, topping, and hitting behind the ball. Youll find drills to make your swing more reliable and exercises to keep your game strong and youthful. And, youll learn to match wits with the design of a golf course to help ensure that the great swing youre developing is properly applied with club selection and shot target to improve your scoring.

Keep in mind as youre reading that most golf courses are designed for right-handed players. Though this may not seem fair, its one of those facts of life that you must come to accept. Therefore, this book is written with the right-handed golfer in mind. If youre left-handed, you may need to alter the instruction somewhat, in regards to mention of right and left. However, for the most part, the authors have tried to guide you by referring to front (the side closest to the target) or back (the side farthest from the target) instead of the specific right or left.

The great American author Mark Twain called golf a long walk, spoiled. Poor fellow. Perhaps he thought he should have been able to command a three iron as easily as he controlled his pen. Youll never master the game. No one has, ever. Not Tiger, or Jack, or Arnie. Not Ben Hogan, or Sam Snead, or Gene Sarazen, or Bobby Jones. So, toss aside your frustrations, look forward to the conundrums, and enjoy the journey. Youre about to improve your game.