Synopses & Reviews
TIGER WOODS TURNS TO HIM FOR ADVICE. SHOULDN'T YOU?
In the knowing eyes of Butch Harmon, every golf course -- every golf "hole" -- presents a unique challenge that is different for every golfer. For some, with no fear of sand and power to burn, the course is a castle to be stormed, a hurdle to soar over on the way to glory. For others, the course is a minefield, to be tiptoed through with caution and care. The questions posed by every hole are, Who are you today? And how will you meet my challenges?
For most amateurs, course management is the most overlooked part of becoming a golfer. They think it's a subject only for the great players, and that their own energy and effort should be directed toward improving their swings -- that strategy can wait. But it's the average golfers who will benefit most from learning how to play the course, because they're the ones who pay most heavily for their mistakes; pros get into less trouble, and they recover from it better when they do.
The best route to learning course management is a playing lesson with a great golf pro. And now, for the first time, one of the world's greatest teachers has put a playing lesson in book form." Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons" takes three golfers on three different levels of the game -- a low-, a mid-, and a high-handicapper -- out onto the golf course of their dreams, and walks them through all the elements of how to approach playing each hole. Using eighteen of the greatest holes from the finest American courses, public and private, Harmon shows each player how to think about the setup of the hole from the vantage of the tee, picking up clues from the terrain to guide you to proper club selection andchoice landing area. He shows how to pick a target that minimizes the damage from a poor shot, and gives techniques for getting out of trouble as expeditiously as possible. (He also recommends drills that will correct the fault that got you into trouble in the first place.) And he carries this approach through all the way to the hole, with advice on the all-important short game and tips to make you a better and smarter putter.
In his decades of experience as a teaching professional, Harmon has worked with the full range of golfers, from the weekend player hoping to break 100 for the first time to his most famous pupil, Tiger Woods. He's seen every mistake there is to make, and he's helped thousands of golfers correct those mistakes and have fun doing it. He believes that course management is one of the four cornerstones of winning golf -- every bit as important as the swing, the short game, and your physical condition. Moreover, good course management is the fastest route to improving your score, because you don't have to make any big physical changes to try it. You just have to get used to playing smart and playing golf according to "your" game, not your partner's, your friend's -- or Tiger Woods's.
For every golfer, no matter their level, "Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons" is a fun book to read, a great tour of some of the country's finest courses, and the fastest route to lowering your score. Short of having Butch walk the course with you every time out, it's your best ticket to being a better, smarter, and happier golfer.
Synopsis
Tiger Woods's golf instructor takes us through some of the country's greatest courses -- and, in a unique playing lesson format, teaches us how to think and how to play to get the most out of our game.
The playing lesson is the Rolls Royce of golf instruction. In this sensational golf guide, Butch Harmon -- considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport -- shows would-be professionals and Sunday players alike the secrets that have helped catapult golfers like Tiger Woods and Greg Norman to unprecedented success.
This book takes three players of vastly different levels of ability and walks them through 18 of the greatest holes in America -- with Butch Harmon at their side, every step of the way. Harmon shows how to use your strengths to plan a hole from green to tee. After each player tees off, we go to the next shot, where Harmon shows how to adjust your stance to the tilt of the terrain; when to go for the pin or aim for the fat of the green; and how to hide your weaknesses to lower your score. Complete with photos and diagrams of each hole and exercises to master all of the shots, this book's unique approach will help golfers at all levels play the best golf of their lives.
About the Author
Claude "Butch" Harmon, Jr., son of Masters champion and longtime teaching pro Claude Harmon, has become the most sought-after teacher in golf. In addition to Tiger Woods, his most famous pupils include Davis Love III, Greg Norman, and Mark Calcavecchia. He is the Director of the Butch Harmon School of Golf at the Rio Secco Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the author of The Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf.
Table of Contents
Introduction (by Butch Harmon)
HOLE 1: Shinnecock Hills -- Par 4: 366 yards
HOLE 2: Olympic Club -- Par 4: 380 yards
HOLE 3: Medalist Golf Club -- Par 5: 485 yards
HOLE 4: National Golf Links of America -- Par 3: 177 yards
HOLE 5: Winged Foot Golf Club (East) -- Par 4: 368 yards
HOLE 6: Seminole Golf Club -- Par 4: 373 yards
HOLE 7: Pebble Beach -- Par 3: 103 yards
HOLE 8: Inverness Club -- Par 5: 515 yards
HOLE 9: Shoal Creek -- Par 4: 356 yards
HOLE 10: Winged Foot Golf Club (West) -- Par 3: 183 yards
HOLE 11: Tournament Players Club -- Par 5: 508 yards
HOLE 12: Augusta National Golf Club -- Par 3: 121 yards
HOLE 13: Atlanta Athletic Club -- Par 4: 339 yards
HOLE 14: Muirfield Village Golf Club -- Par 4: 339 yards
HOLE 15: The Country Club of Brookline -- Par 4: 417 yards
HOLE 16: Merion Golf Club -- Par 4: 407 yards
HOLE 17: Oak Hill Country Club -- Par 4: 452 yards
HOLE 18: Westchester Country Club -- Par 5: 510 yards
The 19th Hole
Index