Golf Books

 Our Editor's Choices: (please scroll down for more)

Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul	Chicken Soup for the Golfer's Soul : 101 Stories of Insights, Inspiration and Laughter on the Links (Chicken Soup for the Soul) A pleasant read for any golfer. It will help non-golfers to understand the people who play this game and a little bit of why we do.
Physical Golf	Physical Golf begins with the valid (though sometimes overlooked) assumption that golfers are athletes. Thus, a main avenue to success on the course, as in any other sport, is through training and physical conditioning.  To this end, author Neil Wolkodoff, a sport scientist and professional trainer, provides a detailed workout regimen for the golfer who wants to strengthen his or her game. With diagrams, photos, and detailed instructions, Wolkodoff outlines exercise routines, nutritional needs, ergonomic advantages, and mental conditioning to aid golfers of all levels and ages. Get physical on the golf course and watch your performance improve.
Office Golf	By David Owens! What do you do when the snow flies and it's below zero, the golf course is closed, but you still want to play? Why office golf of course! I loved this book! You can read about how to do business relationship up above, but this book will let you do business golf in the office! It comes with 9 holes, and the tongue in cheek humor left me chuckling. Very funny and a great gift.
Business Golf	This book is directed to all levels of golfers, as well as the non-golfers who are somewhat intrigued by how others they know use the game for business. Business Golf has little to do with how well or poorly you play. It's about how effective you are at communicating with your guests, managing yourself around the course, and following up. There is no peer to golf when developing relationships for business. The key is understanding the nuances of the game and developing a different mindset before you get to the course. Business Golf shows you how to play the "Perfect" round for your future business develop needs.
The Short Game Bible	As the reigning rabbi on the mysteries of golf from 100 yards in, Pelz has earned the right to anoint his expansive instruction on the short game a "Bible."  Much of the Short Game Bible is pretty sophisticated stuff aimed toward better players--or, at least, players who take their golf seriously. But its basics are appropriate to any skill level of the game: Accurately assess your own weaknesses, and then go about improving them systematically with the author's carefully researched and tested plan. It seems so obvious, but the truth is, most golfers either beat balls on the range in search of distance or slave over eight-foot putts on the practice green; they fail to pay enough attention to the shots in between.

The Majors: In Pursuit of Golf's Holy Grail	Editor's comment: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did not appreciate the added stress and strain that the pros endure in the environment of a major's. A great insight into the tournaments, especially the Masters. The dauntingly prolific John Feinstein once again steps up to take a swing at golf. While A Good Walk Spoiled chronicles the pressures and tension s of a full season on the PGA Tour, The Majors narrows the vista, and expands the importance, to the chase for the four prestigious titles--the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA--that separate the great careers from the pretende rs. That the chase occurred in 1998 turns The Majors from a compelling chronicle into a thrilling one. As Feinstein observes, "Four days a year, golfers go out to play for Forever. Those are the four Sundays at the major championships. They all know what is at stake."
Ben Hogan's Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf	Ben Hogan's premise when he originally wrote this 1957 classic is: "THE AVERAGE GOLFER IS ENTIRELY CAPABLE OF BUILDING A REPEATING SWI NG AND BREAKING 80."  Religions are founded on less, and Hogan's detailed analyses and illustrated demonstrations of grip, stance, posture, and the two basic components of the swing make up a sacred book. Though its very simplic ity seems dated, this is the tome of technique that should serve as the foundation of every golf library. An Editor's choice: "If you only buy one golf book, This is the one to have! ... a classic!"

The Legend of Bagger Vance

This will be a big screen movie soon! Directed by Robert Redford and starring Matt Damon and Will Smith! Read the book now and impress your friends when the movie debuts! For anyone who embraces life with the concept of a loving benevolent God, you not only must read this book by Steven Pressfield, you must own it. Its prose will both captivate and move you. You' ll feel blessed for having read it. Steven Pressfield's work is a true original, a spellbinder, an inspiration for golfers and nongolfers alike--a story in which the search for the Authentic Swing becomes a metaphor for the search for the Authentic Self. The Legend of Bagger Vance reveals that, in life as well as in golf, the real battle is not with outside opponents but with oneself.

Just a Range Ball In a Box of Titleists

Gary McCord might just be called the spice of golf. He wants to be known as a broadcaster who is a little different. Who started a trend. Who mak es people look at golf a little differently. Have some fun looking for Just a Range Ball in a Box of Titleists!

The Making of the Masters: Clifford Roberts, Augusta National, and Golf's Most Prestigious Tournament

Editor's Note: David Owen was given access to Augusta's records. In this book he sets the record straight about golf's most storied site and it's founder! Analyzing the legend and lore of golf's most celebrated tournament has become something of a cottage industry of late, but Owen, now goes where his competition hasn't gained access: to the source--via access to Augusta National's archives, records, and membership. The result is a sympathetic, yet still critical and complex portrait of the club and its founder, Clifford Roberts, to whom golf history has not been particularly kind. Indeed, for better--and for worse--Roberts and Augusta remain linked throughout what is essentially a volume that weaves biography with social history played against a sporting canvas. Naturally, finance, ego, Bobby Jones, television, and President Eisenhower figure into the tale, but Eisenhower's not the only leader of the free world to use the club's exclusivity to his benefit; Owen uncovers the delicious bit that Ronald Reagan and George Schultz helped finalize the invasion of Grenada there.

Tiger: A Biography of Tiger Woods

Eldrich "Tiger" Woods is be the hottest athelete in sports today. Here's a biography about Tiger growning up to be a man and a golf empire! Interest in Tiger is nothing new. We've been watching him since he appeared on Th e Mike Douglas Show when he was 2 years old. Now he's a pro. Will he be a legend? Time will tell!

Golf's Mental Hazards

Your personality can create havoc on your golf game. No matter what your handicap, this unique approach of Golf's Mental Hazards will lead you to increased self-awareness and lower golf scores. Using his psychological experience, Dr. Shapiro has identified six major golf personality types or "Mental Hazards." You take a 48-question quiz to determine your Mental Hazard Profile. Then read and apply Dr. Shapiro's customized advice for overcoming the Mental Hazards that plague you on the course.

Putt Like The Pros

Putting has often been described as an art, but the author of this book, by trade a physicist, has analyzed it as never before, using scientific pri nciples. Dave Pelz has come up with a system to perfect your putting stroke, or at least as close to perfect as humanly possible. Dave is truly the "Master of the Short Game!" This guru of the greens will teach you: 1. About his research findings, 2. The VITAL mechanics of putting, 3. How to develop FEEL and TOUCH, and 4. The MENTAL side of putting.

Golf in the Kingdom

Imagine a classic novel, if you will, encapsulated in the spirit of a golf tale played on hallowed grounds in Scotland. Join in at midnight, with left-handed Shivas Irons, in this inspiring, metaphysical tour of the links between t he Firth of Fourth and the Firth of Tay. "Golf is an exercise in perspective: every shot requires that you estimate where you are in relation to the target. Enough golf springs you free. Free from your attachment to any point."

Mind Over Golf

"Not everyone can swing like a tour pro," says 1991 U.S. Open Champion, Payne Stewart, "but most everyone has it within himself or herself to begin to think like one." Mind over Golf examines all the dema nding psychological challenges of golf and explains in detail how to conquer them. Dr. Richard Coop is best known for his unique mental approach to the game. In order to play better, you have to find the key that allows your natural athletic ability to come to the fore...without being impeded by worry or anxiety of making a poor shot.

The Tiger Woods Way: Power-Swing Technique

Tiger Woods is electrifying golf the way Michael Jordan did basketball and Wayne Gretzky did hockey. Woods' breathtaking drives off the tee are the bas is of his game, and John Andrisani gives you the one guide that will help to make Tiger's dynamic and powerful swing your own. John Andrisani, a regular contributor to GOLF Magazine, reveals the fundamentals of Tiger's technique in easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. Andrisani explains the key elements of Tiger's: Unique setup position; Tremendous backswing; and Powerful downswing. Also included are simple drills and exercises to help you put these elements together.

The Golfing Mind

The Golfing Mind provides "a wealth of information...and a good guide to a better mental makeup," according to a highly rated revi ew by Golf Magazine. Here is a sophisticated analysis of how human thought works on the golf course. From the moment the ball is addressed, the mind takes over--memories of previous disasters at the same hole, fear of hazards, reams of golfing advice, fatigue, and any number of other thoughts flood into the golfer's mind. Recogn izing the effects of this onslaught, and learning how to hone the mental game into useful channels, is the focus of this fascinating and helpful book.

The Mental Game Pocket Companion for Golf

If you've ever experienced negative "self-talk" as you stepped up to the tee, The Mental Game Pocket Companion for Golf will keep you focused and on top of your mental game with 100 tips, anecdotes and strategies. The purpose of this book is two-fold: To explain how golfers can minimize the pressure, tension, fear and negative emotions they experience on the golf course; and To explain how golfers can develop the mental toughness they need to play their best golf. The good news is that the battle within yourself can be won.

Golf is Not A Game of Perfect

Dr. Bob Rotella, noted sports psychologist and performance consultant, roots around the golfer's mind to expose--and analyze--the doubts, the fears, and the frustrations that haunt anyone who's ever picked up a club and swung it. The latest book in his series. Through anecdote and aphorism he suggests how these mental and emotional hazards can be played through, and, regardless of skill level, how teeing off with a more positive and confident outlook will transla te into better performance. One of golf guru Jim Flick's mantras is that golf is 90 percent mental, and the other 10 percent is mental, too.

Even though The Battle of Brookline is over, you can still spend some time with the Ryder Cup, history that is! Pitting the best American golfers against the best Europeans, the biannual Ryder Cup is one of the few sporting events for professionals where patriotism, duty, and honor override the winner's check, of which there is none. The game is head-to-head match play for individuals and pairs. The history dates to 1927, when English seed merchant Samuel Ryder donated the trophy that gave the competition its name. Pretty much every golfer of import has left his divot on its fairways since. And then there's the competition. In 1997, a heavily favored American squad led by Tiger Woods; Fred Couples; Davis Love, III; Justin Leonard; Phil Mickelson; and Mark O'Meara shockingly failed to bring the trophy back from Valderamma, Spain.

A Good Walk Spoiled

Editor's Comment: While this book recounts the '93-'94 tours, Feinstein's insights are still as current as ever. A good insight to the tour. You'll appreciate the insight to the Ryder Cup also. Anyone who had ever played golf will doubtless agree that there are days when Mark Twain's famous assessment of the game, "Golf if a good walk spoiled," is 100 percent accurate. We invite you to get beyond the ropes. Read in this national best seller about the Paul Azinger story: stunning the world with news of his cancer. How John Daly rocked the establishment and upset his fellow players with allegations of drug use on the Tour. Understand what makes greats like Norman, Price, Watson, Kite and Couples tick. See what it's like to scratch out a living with the lesser known golfers. Pe ople like Brian Henninger and Paul Goydos.