Tommy Armour's classic How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time provides timeless golf instruction on the following subjects: * How to learn your best golf * What can your best golf be? * Taking you to the lesson tee * How your clubs can help you * The grip holds your swing together * How to get ready to swing * Footwork, the foundation of best golf * The art of hitting with the hands * The waggle, preliminary swing in miniature * The pause that means good timing * Assembling your game in good order * Saving strokes with simple approach shots * The fascinating, frustrating philosophy of putting * The simple routine of an orderly golf shot These classic bits of advice are accompanied by over four dozen two-color illustrations.
It is actually super hard to learn any sport from a book. There was a time when I thought that it was easy, just read a book on anything. Still after some really good lessons, it was only then that I could actually understand the great advice here.
It is just so hard to know what that "windup" feels like without someone to push your shoulders that one degree extra. I spent alot of time visualizing, but it really didn't help until after I had done it IRL.
Still, this is super useful after that insight to help you understand the things to think about. Let's face it, it's a classic for a reason.
Written in 1954, Tommy taught golf in a simple manner. He tries to avoid making the student think too much. He recommends keeping an 8 iron nearby when reading the book and it was very helpful. I gave a 4 rating because he really didn't do much to help in putting other than to say, keep your head still and hit it hard enough to get it to the hole. Otherwise it is a very helpful book.
How not to write a good instructional golf book. There is little in the way of golf instruction and more about how highly he praises elite players how bad we golf 'duffers' are. The author regularly advises that he is a top instructor and would charge many dollars for tuition. Thankfully, there are many better golf books available.
The only true version of this was the green one that I purchased when I was 17 years of age. I read it at home and practiced playing at Friars Park in Shoeburyness and a great time with just a 3 wood and a 9 iron. :) :) :)
This is a great book, one that has been extremely useful in helping me focus on the basics of golf, a way of thinking strategically about the game and about each round. It was recommended by a friend, an avid golfer, when he learned several years ago that I'd begun taking golf lessons. I re-read it every year when golf league season starts.
What I like about this book is that it reminds me of the basic moves needed to improve my game while also stressing that practice, practice, and more practice will be needed for those moves to stick. Golf is both simple and very complex, a game that's relatively simple to figure out in one's head, intellectually, but difficult to actually put into practice. (If you've ever played golf, you'll know what I mean!)
It's no substitute for actual golf lessons (and if you're serious about improving your play, then individual lessons really are the way to go), but it's a great supplement to those lessons and a good refresher. My two favorite Tommy Armour rules? Number one, always play the shot you have the best chance of doing well. Number two, always play the shot that will set you up best for the next shot.