Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf

Harvey Penick's life in golf began when he started caddying at the Austin, (Texas), Country Club at age eight. Eighty-one years later he is still there, still dispensing wisdom to pros and beginners alike. His stature in the golf world is reflected in the remarkable array of champions he's worked with, both men and women, including U.S. Open champion and golf's leading money winner Tom Kite, Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, and LPGA Hall of Famers Mickey Wright, Betsy Rawls, and Kathy Whitworth. It is not for nothing that the Teacher of the Year Award given by the Golf Teachers Association is called the Harvey Penick Award.

Now, after sixty years of keeping notes on the things he's seen and learned and on the golfing greats he's taught, Penick is finally letting his Little Red Book (named for the red notebook he's always kept) be seen by the golf world. His simple, direct, practical wisdom pares away all the hypertechnical jargon that's grown up around the golf swing, and lets all golfers, whatever their level, play their best. He avoids negative words; when Tom Kite asked him if he should "choke down" on the club for a particular shot, Harvey told him to "grip down" instead, to keep the word "choke" from entering his mind. He advises golfers to have dinner with people who are good putters; their confidence may rub off, and it's certainly better than listening to bad putters complain. And he shows why, if you've got a bad grip, the last thing you want is a good swing.

Throughout, Penick's love of golf and, more importantly, his love of teaching shine through. He gets as much pleasure from watching a beginner get the ball in the air for the first time as he does when one of his students wins the U.S. Open.

Harvey Penick's Little Red Book is an instant classic, a book to rank with Ben Hogan's Modern Fundamentals of Golf and Tommy Armour's How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time.

Penick's life in golf began at the age of eight when he caddied at the Austin (Texas) Country Club. Now, 78 years later, he is still there, dispensing simple wisdom and common-sense advice to famous pros and high-handicap amateurs alike. His Little Red Book is a classic to be cherished by generations to come.

Harvey Penick lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife Helen. This is his first book.

Contents

Introductions

My Little Red Book

Golf Medicine

What's the Problem

Looking Up

Hand Position

The Three Most Important Clubs

The Grip

The Waggle

Holding the Club

The Easiest Lesson

Palm Reading

Starting Young

Hole Them All

Learning Around the Cup

Do You Need Help?

The Right Elbow

Take Dead Aim

Beware

How to Knock Five Strokes Off Your Game

Reassurance

The Practice Swing

The Average Golfer

How to Tell Where You're Aimed

Seasoned Citizens

The Left Heel

Backspin

Heavy Clubs

Hints on Greenskeeping

The Wrist Cock

Hit a Full Approach

Easy Bunkers

Bunker Play

Don't Relax

Positive Thinking

Psychology

Stay Behind the Ball

Hitting From the Top

Hypnotism

The Slow-Motion Drill

Powder the Ball

Ball Position

Swing the Bucket

The Weed Cutter

Placing Your Feet

The Turn

Instant Humility

Maxims

The Mythical Perfect Swing

First Things First

The Prettiest Swing

Hitting the Target

The Magic Move

How to Practice the Full Swing

Warming Up in a Hurry

Chipping

Putting

The Dreaded Four-Footer

The Shank Shot

Why I Decided to Become a Teacher

The Stance

A Very Bad Habit

The First-Time Student

Competition

Kids and Carts

A Story by Helen

Learning

Some of the Women in My Life

And Some of the Men in My Life

The Sexes

A Practice Rule

John Bredmus

Hooking and Slicing

Strange Penalty

Yardage

Long and Short

Best Dressed

My Best Boys

Chip or Pitch

Out of Sight

The Follow-through

A Little Bit

A Golfer's Poem

Preparing for a Big Match

Uphill and Downhill

Playing in the Wind

Titanic Thompson

Trick Shots

Caddies

A Life in Golf