Jim McLean - Golf School: The Tuition-Free Tee-to-Green Curriculum from Golfs Finest High End Academy

ALSO BY JIM MCLEAN

Power Game Pocket Companion

The X-Factor Swing

Wedge-Game Pocket Companion

The Eight Step Swing

Putters Pocket Companion

Golf Digests Book of Drills

Diversion Books

A Division of Diversion Publishing Corp.
80 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1101
New York, New York 10011

www.DiversionBooks.com

Copyright 2012 by Jim McLean
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
For more information, email .

First Diversion Books edition June 2012.

ISBN: 978-1-938120-34-3

T O MY SONS M ATT AND J ON ,
WHO I HOPE DO THE BEST THEY CAN
IN WHATEVER WALK OF LIFE THEY CHOOSE
AND THAT THEY ALSO HAVE A GREAT FAMILY .

M Y WIFE J USTINE AND I
HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH
TWO GREAT BOYS .

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I have to thank Larry Dennis, who compiled tons of my notes and then personally went through two golf schools, plus observed two others. Larry truly captured the essence of our schools. I hope together we have produced a book that is a true quality work.

Thanks must go to my staff of master teaching professionals, who strive every day to make our instruction programs the best in the world. That means a total commitment to, as Tom Peters would say, towering competence. Our superstations house incredible technology, but its the professionals using these tools that make all the difference.

My operational staff led by Warren Rogan, Kara Watter, and John ONeill do a fantastic job working with the hotels, sending letters, and one hundred other small details that make a golf school successful. They have a major responsibility in making our guests feel special and in having all the behind-the-scenes activities run seamlessly.

Finally a special thank-you to all of our students who return to our schools year after year and give their personal recommendations, which are truly the lifeblood of our business.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

T he reason you bought this bookor are even looking at itis that youre a golfer, or you want to become a golfer, and you want to get better at playing the game.

Golf is an infinitely complex game, full of pleasures and rich rewards at every level but difficult, if not impossible, to learn without expert help. In a perfect world, each of us would have a skilled personal instructor who would help us develop a concept of swinging and playing and who would regularly coach us through the physical and mental drills, both off course and on, that would help us learn and improve. The tour professionals, the best players in the world, now all have coaches with whom they work on a regular basis. Unfortunately, that kind of help is not available to most amateur players, usually because they do not have the time, the money, or the access to quality instructors.

Given that, the next-best approach would be to attend a Jim McLean Golf School. There a student receives personal and personalized instruction in all aspects of the game from a cadre of Master Instructors who are the best in their field. They take each student through a comprehensive curriculum that covers exercises that will help him or her play better, swing mechanics, instruction on playing different shots, the correct mental approach, and oncourse strategy and game management. The schools last from one to six days and offer a variety of specialized subjects, ranging from schools that cover the game in general to those that concentrate on areas like power, the short game, scoring, and playing. At any of these schools, students are given an evaluation of their current skills and then provided the tools to improve them.

With a very low studentteacher ratio and the use of video and the latest in computer technology, the golf schools offer an ideal learning situation. Students leave the school sometimes without their problems solved but always with their problems identified and the means to cure them. The rest, as in any endeavor, is up to the individuals and their willingness to put in the time and effort to develop their game to its highest potential.

The problem is that all top golf schools, quite frankly, are expensive, especially when you factor in travel, lodging, and meal costs. They also require students to carve out a specified period of time.

Fear not. If any of this is a problem for you, this book is the answer. Between these two covers you will be given all the instruction you would receive in all of McLeans schools. And it costs you only the price of the book. You will be taken on a step-by-step journey through a school, just as if you were on site. You will receive the same variety of instruction from McLean and his instructors that you would get at the school. And you will receive the same instruction in the specialized schools that you would get if you attended them.

The beauty of it is that you can learn at your own convenience at your home course, in your back yard, or in your living room. You can take your time in studying the text, the instructional drawings, and the photographs. And you can visit the school every day for as long as you like.

When you finish the book, you will have a clear vision of what our students have when they leave a Jim McLean Golf School. You will have the tools to improve your swing and your ability to play the game better. There is no one secret to playing golf well, no magic panacea. As with any activity you want to do well, playing good golf requires a measure of devotion, time, and effort. You might call it work, except that golf is a game, and even working at it can be fun. And after you have read and studied this book and applied the lessons contained in it, you will have a gigantic head start in playing this game to your potential.

What and How You Will Learn

B efore beginning to read and work on the actual instruction in this book, its important for you to understand what golf is and what it isnt.

Golf is a game in which you use no more than fourteen clubs to send a small ball into a cup at different distances, over all kinds of obstacles, in the fewest number of swings.

Golf is not an accumulation of tips, and the ability to play it well is not based on helter-skelter thoughts that usually have no bearing on each other. Unfortunately, thats the way a lot of golfers try to find improvement. A tremendous amount of information is out there now through the Internet, the Golf Channel, all the televised instruction shows, the golf magazines, and even tips in newspapers. Thats not to mention the advice from your buddies in your Saturday foursome. Every golfer, you know, is a teacher. And since most amateurs really dont have any clear concept of the golf swing, most also dont even know what they are actually doing or trying to do. As a result, they tend to listen to anybody who is walking up and down the range offering advice. None of this bodes very well for somebody trying to improve his or her game. I always say, Too much information can be worse than no information at all.

Golf is a game of fundamentals, of basic positions and motions that you must learn before you have a chance to play the game well. These fundamentals essentially apply to your grip, your body motion, and the club, and a wide range of subtopics apply.

It is my job in this book, just as it is in our schools, to make the golf swingall of the different swings you use in golfas simple as possible and to make your thoughts and concepts clear. This book cant make you a great player, but it can teach you to learn to play better golf. It can help you learn the fundamentals of golf and how to maximize the assets you possess. In other words, you may not have the physical skills or body structure of Tiger Woods or Ernie Els or Annika Sorenstam, but you can learn to play as well as your own talent and body will allow.