I figured I would take the approach to golf the same way I approached poker...just read books and try to get better.

I wanted to get my fundamentals sound, at least practice the right away. Any good golf books for recommendation? Thanks for everyone's input.

practice is much better than any books you can read. if you really want to read books that will help you improve, read some harvey penick or dave pelz. even if you want to read books, you have to practice the stuff you read for it to help your game.

if you have a solid foundation/fundamentals, read some golf psychology (rotella) and apply it when you play.

some of the golf 54 stuff can be good for working on the mental side of the game.

I highly recommend Dave Pelz's Putting Bible & Short Game Bible (two separate books). He takes a very scientific approach to explaining putting and the short game. He uses research, stats, and his work with tour pros to back up what he is teaching.

The books give you a solid understanding of what the various strokes should look like and why they should look that way. At the end of each book he gives you a series of drills and basically sets up an entire course on how to improve that part of your game.

I really enjoy going back to these books and refreshing my knowledge every once and awhile. I like to think of these books as "The Theory of Putting" and "The Theory of the Short Game." They provide a solid framework for learning the game and I think can do a lot to prevent you from developing bad habits.

I think you'll really enjoy the books and find them useful.

I just went to betterworld.com and got a few used books.

1 AAB-887-189 1 David Leadbetter's Faults and Fixes : How to Correct the 80 Most Common Problems in Golf by David Leadbetter $5.48
1 V-153-569 1 Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf by Ben Hogan $4.48
1 U-223-737 1 Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime of Golf by Harvey Penick, Bud Shrake $3.98

I heard the Ben Hogan book was good and ghostface reccomend the Penick.

Haven't read the Leadbetter one, but the other two are excellent.

Which Rotella would you recommend?

Is the Tiger book any good? it's titled something like, "How I Play Golf"...it got fairly good reviews on amazon. I mean just because it has Tiger's name on it might mean it's some gimmicky half assed book. But if it gets you inside the head of Tiger, it can't be so bad.

All the Rotella ones are good, but I would start with "Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect".

knight...

As a writer and a prodigious reader, and a collector of golf books and a passable golfer, on and off, for more than 50 years -- don't read anything.

Golf instructional books are like a lot of poker books, swing theories go in and out of vogue and, while golf swing technique has changed over the years, a lot of us have made a lot of money playing guys who had to give the latest bright idea a go.

If I've learned anything in this life, it's that we all need teachers. I have somewhere between three and six right now, and I'm fundamentally retired. If I could change anything in my approach to life as a young man, it would be: seek a teacher.

Golf is very difficult, but the fundamentals are few: grip, posture, alignment, ball position, tempo, course management, equipment fit and purposeful practice. Find a pro who communicates well with you. Practice. Repeat.

If you must read, don't read Pelz yet. Make a few 10-footers before he convinces you that you can't.

One book that has pretty much stood the test of time is Ben Hogan's Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf. There is a contemporary version of this, David Leadbetter's, The Fundamentals of Hogan. Buy that, if you just have to buy something. It's least likely to mess you up until a pro can get you off on the right path to a simple, repeatable motion.

OP,

The more books you read, the more you'll see that there are some fundamentals that are mentioned in every book.

E.g. ball flight laws, grip, setup, alignment, tempo, rhythm, a swing motion that's generated from "the ground up", swing plane, the release, etc.

Even if you do decide to see a teacher, it makes sense to educate yourself beforehand with the basic fundamentals.

I recommend Dean Reinmuth's "Tension Free Golf", materials and if you can find it, also "The Touch System" by Bob Toski (Reinmuth was a student of Toski's).

LeadBetter, McLean, Pelz, Rotella are all great.

If you can find books by Bobby Jones, his descriptions of the fundamentals still apply.

Two of my favorite "mental game" books, are "The Inner Game of Golf", by Tim Gallwey, and "Extraordinary Golf" by Fred Shoemaker.

Mike

I agree on the find a teacher philosophy, I have had some great mentors over the 23 years I have played golf.

The reason I mentioned Penicks book is that it teaches you how to learn as much as any golf book, rather than try to provide you with the secret to a perfect technique. I think Rotellas read a little that way too, he provides eaxamples to explain the correct mental approach. I could also highly recommend "The inner game of Golf" by Timothy Gallway.

None of those books will mess you up in any way. I don't like Pelz at all from a technique point of view only his stats are remotely interesting.

I agree on Penick. He might be a more fulfilling read first time 'round after some experience with the game.

I have friends who really connected with Rotella and I recall similar, earlier responses to Gallway. While I do indulge myself with the occasional Buddhist retreat, these guys are not my cup of tea. Probably more about the messengers than the message...

I thought Pelz' early, first effort was terrific; so much so that I phoned him for a chat. I love it when sharp guys (and gals) challenge conventional wisdom with a sweaty stack of data. (Look what my homie Bill James hath wrought!) But I can't see Nicklaus making every darn put he had to make, if a Pelz was in his head. I want some room left over for mystery in my golf physics.

Preceding Pelz, we had the extraordinary Homer Kelley and his Golfing Machine, an engineer on the physics, geometry and bio-mechanics of the golf swing. Let's get Mr darknight started on that one! He could really explore the dark side of golf with Bobby Clampett and Mac O Grady and Homer, who didn't write his book in order, or bother to cut and paste when he was through, after something like 25 years -- instead, he instructs you how to bounce around among the pages. Homer did come up with the concept of "lag," now a contemporary favorite.

Oh, man... What a game...

hah there's too much to get me started on...thanks for the recommendations

Which is why no one suggested it :P.

First, get 5 fundamentals from Ben Hogan, after that read "Swing The Clubhead" by Earnest Jones. Understand these simple concepts first put into print in the early 1900's and you will view golf in a whole new way. After that read "Understanding the Golf Swing" by Manuel De LA Torre.

I think reading the right instructional books in golf is as important as reading the right books about poker- they are not all created equal

Good Luck

+1 on Five Fundamentals. A true classic. Timeless.

If you are even a semi-serious player then anything by Bob Rotella is all you need.

ftw