RoryAlan Shipnuck
- Genre: Golf
- Publish Date: April 7, 2026
- Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
- Apple Books | $16.99Amazon Kindle
The top 50 best selling golf books at Apple Books. Chart of the most popular golf eBook best sellers list is updated daily.
Chart list of the golf eBook best sellers was last updated:
1
RoryAlan Shipnuck
The definitive biography of the most important, popular, and confounding golfer of the post-Tiger era, masterfully chronicled by Alan Shipnuck, the bestselling author of Phil and LIV and Let Die. “Shipnuck produces a rich, nuanced picture.” — The Wall Street Journal Rory McIlroy contains multitudes. He can overwhelm a golf course with his transcendent talent and then, at the next tournament, look utterly lost. McIlroy is golf ’s most eloquent ambassador and a trash-talking troll, sometimes in the same press conference. The child of a working-class family from a small town in a war-torn homeland now commutes to work in his own private jet and counts billionaires as confidants. A dozen years ago, McIlroy asked Alan Shipnuck a question about the player he had modeled himself after, Tiger Woods: “What’s he really like?” As McIlroy enters the last act of his highly eventful career, this book is a chance to redirect that old question and try to understand a man of deep complexity and contradictions. McIlroy’s victory at the 2025 Masters packed such an emotional punch because he is golf’s most vulnerable superstar. Across two decades as a pro he has been the anti-Tiger, letting fans into his heart and into his world. When McIlroy collapsed onto the final green at Augusta National, having at last completed the career Grand Slam, golf fans cried along with him because so many saw themselves in his struggles. But there is much that the public does not know about McIlroy. With reporting chops honed across thirty years on the golf beat, Shipnuck traces McIlroy’s evolution from a young phenom in Northern Ireland to a game-changing force on and off the golf course. Shipnuck has shadowed McIlroy throughout his career, and he brings to life all the heartbreaks and triumphs with thrilling immediacy and unparalleled access. Tabloid romance, bitter business disputes, divisive politicking—it is all part of this portrait of a man in full. Shipnuck has long been known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, and he goes deep into McIlroy’s personal history at a time when the spotlight on Rory has never been brighter. This book is squarely in the tradition of extraordinary golf biographies like Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian’s Tiger Woods and Shipnuck’s own Phil .
2
Golf is Not a Game of PerfectBob Rotella
Filled with insightful stories about golf, Dr. Bob Rotella’s delightful book will improve the game of even the most casual weekend player. Dr. Bob Rotella is one of the hottest performance consultants in America today. Among his many professional clients are Nick Price (last year's Player of the Year), Tom Kite, Davis Love III, Pat Bradley, Brad Faxon, John Daly, and many others. Rotella, or “Doc,” as most players refer to him, goes beyond just the usual mental aspects of the game and the reliance on specific techniques. What Rotella does here in this extraordinary book, and with his clients, is to create an attitude and a mindset about all aspects of a golfer's game, from mental preparation to competition. The most wonderful aspect of it all is that it is done in a conversational fashion, in a dynamic blend of anecdote and lesson. And, as some of the world's greatest golfers will attest, the results are spectacular. Golfers will improve their golf game and have more fun playing. Some of Rotella's maxims include: -On the first tee, a golfer must expect only two things of himself: to have fun, and to focus his mind properly on every shot. -Golfers must learn to love 'the challenge when they hit a ball into the rough, trees, or sand. The alternatives—anger, fear, whining, and cheating—do no good. -Confidence is crucial to good golf. Confidence is simply the aggregate of the thoughts you have about yourself. -It is more important to be decisive than to be correct when preparing to play any golf shot or putt. Filled with delightful and insightful stories about golf and the golfers Rotella works with, Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect will improve the game of even the most casual weekend player.
3
Putting Out of Your MindBob Rotella
This old adage is familiar to all golfers but is especially resonant with Dr. Bob Rotella, the bestselling author of Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect and one of the foremost golf authorities today. In Putting Out of Your Mind, Rotella offers entertaining and instructive insight into the key element of a winning game—great putting. He here reveals the unique mental approach that great putting requires and helps golfers of all levels master this essential skill. Much like Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect and Golf Is a Game of Confidence, Putting Out of Your Mind is an informative and valuable guide to achieving a better golf game. While most golfers spend their time trying to perfect their swing so they can drive the ball farther, Rotella encourages them to concentrate on their putting—the most crucial yet often overlooked aspect of the game. Great players are not only aware of the importance of putting, they go out of their way to master it, and mastery can only begin with the understanding of the attitude needed to be a better putter. Rotella's mental rules have helped some of the greatest golfers in the world become champion putters and, for the first time, are now available to golfers everywhere. With everything from true-to-life stories of such greats as Davis Love III, David Duval, and Brad Faxon to dozens of game-changing practice drills, Putting Out of Your Mind is the new bible of putting for amateurs and pros alike.
4
Ben Hogan's Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of GolfBen Hogan
From the mind of golf's most relentless perfectionist comes a revolutionary approach that transformed an entire sport. Ben Hogan, the man who rebuilt his swing from scratch to become one of history's greatest champions, opens his vault of secrets in this extraordinary instructional masterpiece. Written at the peak of his legendary career, this isn't just another golf book - it's a window into the obsessive pursuit of mechanical perfection that defined the Hawk himself. Hogan strips away decades of conventional wisdom to reveal the five fundamental lessons that form the bedrock of championship golf. With surgical precision, he dissects every element of the perfect swing, from grip and stance to the mysterious hip action that generated his legendary ball-striking power. This is golf instruction elevated to an art form, where every word carries the weight of countless hours spent perfecting the most repeatable swing in professional golf. Hogan's analytical mind transforms complex biomechanics into clear, actionable principles that serious golfers can immediately apply to their own games. The atmospheric black-and-white illustrations capture the essence of mid-century golf instruction, when dedication and practice reigned supreme over quick fixes and gimmicks. More than six decades after its publication, Hogan's methodology remains the gold standard for serious golf instruction. This book doesn't promise overnight miracles - it demands the same dedication to excellence that Hogan himself embodied throughout his remarkable career. Whether you're a weekend warrior struggling with consistency or an accomplished player seeking that elusive next level, these five lessons offer a pathway to genuine improvement built on sound mechanical principles. Step into the world of golf's greatest technician and discover why champions still study these pages with religious devotion. Your journey toward better golf starts with understanding what made Hogan's swing the most envied and analyzed in the game's history.
5
3 Releases: The Short Game SystemDaniel Grieve
Simplicity is the key to Dan's golf coaching. He has created a short game system that any golfer can apply with immediate results – breaking down how you can improve your short game by learning new techniques and increasing your golfing IQ. Combining better technique and a better way of thinking will improve your ability to perform on the golf course. Amateurs tend to have very little understanding of the short game when playing golf, specifically how it differs from the long game or how they can make better decisions. They have no plan. This book will give you a clear, simple system you can apply immediately and further enjoy your golf. 3 Releases: The Short Game System will give you the three key shots you need around a green. A low-running chip shot, a soft-landing spin shot, and the lob shot. You will learn the set-up and swing fundamentals to execute these shots. In addition to the greenside shots you will learn the art of bunker play and pitching, along with many other specialist shots to add to your repertoire. Dan has taught these shots to hundreds of Tour Professionals and his clients have won Major Championships, Tour Championships, and several European Order of Merit titles. As well as learning these exact techniques, proven at the highest level, you will acquire crucial performance skills. You will develop an understanding of the intricacies of assessing the lie, the art of practice and, fundamentally, how to learn so you can perform to the best of your ability. Illustrated with hundreds of photographs, including swing sequences and practice drills, 3 Releases is your ultimate short game guide. Dan Grieve is head golf professional at the internationally renowned Woburn Golf Club, home of the European Tour's British Masters for many years and 10-time venue for the Women's Open Championship. Testimonials: “I was very much a long game player before I met Dan. He taught me the short game which was the key ingredient to gaining my European Tour card”. Inci Mehmet, Tour Pro and Sky Sports Analyst. “Dan’s Short Game System is revolutionary” Owen Hargreaves, Ex - England International Footballer. “Dan is one of the best coaches in the world, this is your chance to enjoy his World-Class coaching.” Sir Clive Woodward “Dan taught me a completely new way to chip and pitch” Charley Hull “I have no doubt this book will lower your scores.” Jos Buttler, England Cricket Captain
6
The Keys to the Effortless Golf Swing: Curing Your Hit Impulse in Seven Simple LessonsMichael McTeigue
Most golf instruction books are written by famous performers about how they personally swing the club, and there's no doubt the better ones can be helpful-especially if you share the authors's athleticism, ambition, appetite for work, and opportunities for practice and play. This book was written by a very bright but at the time unfamous young teacher whose daily bread depended on delivering permanently decent-to-good golf games to averagly endowed people with no interest in becoming slaves to the sport. He became so successful at that in his immediate community that his pupils demanded he put the system on paper for their constant reference and reminder. He called the result The Keys to the Effortless Golf Swing, and sent it to a number of star players, one of whom passed it on to me. After one quick reading I believed that the book would help so many other existing and would-be golfers to such an extent that it just had to be made available nationally. Jim McQueen, one of the world's top golf artists and a former professional, fully shared those sentiments and agreed to do the illustrations, and the nation's leading golf book publisher became an enthusiastic third party. The key to Michael McTeigue's success with his thousands of pupils af all sizes, shapes, ages and ability levels in California, and the beauty of this book, is the clarity and simplicity and the supremely logical sequentiality of its approach to the golf swing. Follow the easily mastered steps or Keys in the recommended order and with a reasonable degree of patience, and in a remarkably short time, you will be experiencing entirely new sensations of both accurate striking and effortless power. Encouraged by those - and the accompanying evaporation of confusion - you will persist with these simple and clear cut moves until they become thoroughly muscle-memorized. At that point, you will be swinging the golf club effectively and with total confidence on every shot entirely by feel, which is the closest you or anyone else will ever come to golf's secret (ask any champion if you doubt that). Gone forever at long last will be the Band-Aids and the gimmicks and all that frustrating stumbling from one fruitless theory to another. If you love golf and want to play better for a lot less effort, then forget Michael McTeigue's fame quotient and work with this little gem of a book. It could make you as big a fan of his as all those happy pupils for whom he originally wrote it. --Ken Bowden. A former editorial director of Golf Digest magazine, Ken Bowden has coauthored more than a dozen golf instrunction books, seven of them with Jack Nicklaus.
7
Paper TigerTom Coyne
A fascinating memoir of amateur golfer's yearlong quest to elevate his game "Think country-club clinic meets Navy Seals training. I will pay any price, bear any burden, leave my home to follow the seasons, build my own swing studio in the basement, construct a practice green in my backyard. . . . Everything the big boys have access to, I want double." Like most amateur golfers, Tom Coyne had often wondered whether the pros won because they were more talented or because they were more obsessed. Overweight and burdened by a 14 handicap, he decided to find out for himself what it takes to play like a pro. In Paper Tiger , he charts every step of his journey, which included sessions with top golf gurus such as Dr. Jim Suttie, the Michelob tournament (a win for Tom), and the Australian Tour—where forty-mile-per-hour winds and a driving rain scare off his Japanese partners. With each chapter, he tracks his weight alongside his handicap, pursuing his dream with a reckless abandon that comes to involve hardcore diets, pricey technology, even psychologists. With echoes of Dead Solid Perfect and Who's Your Caddy? Tom brings his uniquely edgy, deeply human perspective to a game that can simultaneously bring out the best and the worst in everyone who tries to master it.
8
My Golden LessonsJack Nicklaus
He made his first cut in a professional major championship in the 1958 U.S. Open, at age eighteen. Forty years later, he had his most recent top-10 finish in a major at the Masters. In between, he won eighteen professional majors, a hundred tournaments worldwide, and provided countless thrills along the road to being named “Golfer of the Century” by his peers and by publications from America to Antarctica. In his unprecedented run at the top of the game, Jack Nicklaus has seen the importance of constant learning and constant refinement. Your game at age sixty cannot be the same as your game at age twenty; where you were once able to overpower the golf course, with time and wisdom you discover new ways to approach the challenges of the game that depend less on physical ability and more on mental agility. Along the way, you learn which fundamentals will always put you in good stead, and you see what advice has stood the test of time. In My Golden Lessons, the greatest golfer of them all takes the best from his many years of playing, practicing, and studying the game, and distills it into over 120 pieces of priceless instruction. Drawn from his immensely popular columns in Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, the topics cover the full spectrum of the game, from choosing the right equipment, on through the fundamentals of stance, grip, and setup, to the pursuit of power and the subtleties of the short game and putting. These techniques helped Nicklaus set the marks that future generations will strive to match, but it was his mastery of the mental side of golf that truly set him apart from his peers and his predecessors -- and he shares his advice on the mind game as well. In addition, the book presents a beautifully drawn sequence of the Nicklaus swing at its peak, alongside advice tailored to the needs of the better players who want to be better still. My Golden Lessons is a book that took a lifetime to prepare, but one that will improve your game from the first few minutes it spends in your hands. These are the techniques that made Jack Nicklaus the golfer he is, and his clear, bite-sized pointers will show you the path to hitting better shots, shooting lower scores, and enjoying the game more every time you play.
9
Ben Hogan's Five LessonsBen Hogan
With a new introduction by Lee Trevino, this is the first definitive edition of the timeless golf classic that has sold over a million copies—now with never-before-seen photos and memorabilia, hand-selected from the Hogan estate archive, as well as nearly 100 pages of new writings that expand on Hogan’s unbelievable life story and extraordinary career. Over the past sixty-five years, millions of golfers have studied Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons , making it the bestselling golf book of all time. Now, Hogan’s masterpiece has received the definitive edition it deserves. Widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers in the history of the sport, Hogan is especially known for his mastery of the golf swing. At the start of his career, he played with a hook that threatened to ruin his game, until he dedicated himself to correcting it—and in doing so, he gained a rare and hard-fought understanding of the fundamentals. Curious fans itched for clues about his legendary technique, dubbed “the secret,” that allowed him to persevere and even return to the height of his powers after a car crash that shattered his body and almost took his life in 1949. His terse answer, “I dug it out of the dirt”—the dirt of the driving range—fueled the Hogan mystique. He went on to become one of only five players to win all four professional championships, claiming nine major championships in total. In 1957, Hogan partnered with Herbert Warren Wind, “the dean of American golf writers” ( The New York Times ), and illustrator Anthony Ravielli to capture his expertise from the peak of his career in a series of lessons. Hogan believed that any golfer with average coordination can learn to break eighty. In each chapter, a different tested fundamental is explained and demonstrated with clear illustrations, as though Hogan were giving you a personal lesson with the same skill and precision that made him a legend. Now expanded with a new introduction by Lee Trevino, essays about Hogan and the book’s legacy, unpublished photos of the publicity-shy Hogan, and more, this definitive edition offers greater context and fresh insight into an icon of the game.
10
The MastersCurt Sampson
The Masters golf tournament weaves a hypnotic spell. It is the toughest ticket in sports, with black-market tickets selling for $10,000 and more. Success at Augusta National breeds legends, while failure can overshadow even the most brilliant of careers. But as Curt Sampson, author of the bestselling Hogan, reveals in The Masters , a cold heart beats behind the warm antebellum façade of this famous Augusta course. And that heart belongs to the man who killed himself on the grounds two decades ago. Club and tournament founder Clifford Roberts, a New York stockbroker, still seems to run the place from his grave. An elusive and reclusive figure, Roberts pulled the strings that made the Masters the greatest golf tournament in the world. His story—including his relationship with presidents, power brokers, and every golf champion from Bobby Jones to Arnold Palmer to Jack Nicklaus—has never been told. Until now. The Masters is an amazing slice of history, taking us inside the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Augusta's most famous member. It is a look at how the new South coexists with the old South: the relationships between blacks and whites, between Southerners and Northerners, between rich and poor—with such characters as James Brown, the Godfather of Soul; the great boxer Beau Jack; and Frank Stranahan, the playboy golfer and the only white pro ever banned from the tournament. The Masters is a spellbinding portrait of a tournament unlike any other.
11
LIV and Let DieAlan Shipnuck
“A terrific history…gossipy as hell…the writing is classic Shipnuck…he will never bore you.” — Golf Digest The New York Times bestselling author of Phil and “master of both the art and science of sports journalism” ( Sports Illustrated ), delves into the heart of the golf industry controversy—the battle for the soul of professional golf between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League—in “his best book yet” ( Golfweek ). In recent years, professional golf has been at war, and Alan Shipnuck has been our most trusted correspondent on the front lines. Now, Shipnuck turns to the conflict that made Phil Mickelson, and many other top golfers, villainous in the eyes of the public: LIV Golf’s disruptive—and belligerent—storming of the professional golf world. (LIV’s unofficial motto, immortalized on hats gifted at a staff party: “F**k ’Em All.”) In LIV and Let Die , Shipnuck delivers fly-on-the-wall reporting from the yachts where LIV was hatched and within the corridors of power as the PGA Tour flailed to fend off the threat. Shipnuck has traveled seamlessly between both tours—having countless conversations with players, caddies, CEOs, agents, financiers, lawyers, flaks, fans, and Instagramming wives—to deliver a no-holds-barred account of the most chaotic moment in golf history. Anyone who had a stake in professional golf lined up for an interview with Shipnuck—because they knew everyone else was talking to him, too. The disruption to an old, proud sport was largely conducted in the shadows, but LIV and Let Die delivers numerous revelations about what really happened, and why. Shipnuck’s unparalleled access and award-winning reporting chops provide rich portraits of the brand names at the center of this sprawling tableau: Greg Norman, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Jay Monahan, His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Donald Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Dustin (and Paulina!) Johnson, Pat (and Ashley!) Perez, Patrick (and Justine!) Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, Jimmy Dunne, and many more. Bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV Golf has upended the men’s professional game with vast riches—blatant “sportswashing,” from the mouth of Mickelson himself. The bitter feuding (and trolling) between the PGA loyalists and the LIV camp made the battle between the tours deeply personal—but for the top leaders of the two tours it was strictly business, and in a series of secret meetings they reshaped the future of the sport. LIV and Let Die provides the previously unknown background and crucial context to understand what happened between the tours that shocked the world in June 2023. Long known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, Shipnuck has delivered the definitive account of the biggest (non-Tiger) golf story this century and a lively page-turner that in places reads like a spy thriller.
12
PhilAlan Shipnuck
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “A rollicking good time.” — Golfweek * “Thoroughly engaging.” — The Washington Post Now with a new afterword: a juicy and freewheeling biography of legendary golf champion Phil Mickelson—who has led a big, controversial life—as reported by longtime Sports Illustrated writer and bestselling author Alan Shipnuck. Phil Mickelson is one of the most compelling figures in sports. For more than three decades he has been among the best golfers in the world, and his unmatched longevity was exemplified at the 2021 PGA Championship, when Mickelson, on the cusp of turning fifty-one, became the oldest player in history to win a major championship. In this raw, uncensored, and unauthorized biography, Alan Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories, crushing defeats, and countless controversies. Mickelson is a multifaceted character, and all his warring impulses are on display in these pages: He is a smart-ass who built an empire on being the consummate professional; a loving husband dogged by salacious rumors; a high-stakes gambler who knows the house always wins but can’t tear himself away. Mickelson’s career and public image have been defined by the contrast with his lifelong rival, Tiger Woods. Where Woods is robotic and reticent, Mickelson is affable and extroverted, an incorrigible showman whom many fans love and some abhor because of the overwhelming size of his personality. In their early years together on Tour, Mickelson lacked Tiger’s laser focus and discipline, leading Tida Woods to call her son’s rival “the fat boy,” among other put-downs. Yet as Tiger’s career has been curtailed by scandal, addiction, and a broken body, Phil sails on, still relevant on the golf course and in the marketplace. Phil is the perfect marriage of subject and author. Shipnuck has long been known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, and he delivers numerous revelations, from the true scale of Mickelson’s massive gambling losses; to the inside story of the acrimonious breakup between Phil and his longtime caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay; to the secretive backstory of the Saudi golf league that Mickelson championed to wield as leverage against the PGA Tour. But Phil also celebrates Mickelson’s random acts of kindness and generosity of spirit, to which friends and strangers alike can attest. Shipnuck has covered Mickelson for his entire career and has been on the ground at Mickelson’s most memorable triumphs and crack-ups, allowing him to take you inside the ropes with a thrilling immediacy and intimacy. The result is the juiciest and liveliest golf book in years—full of heart, humor, and unexpected turns.
13
Harvey Penick's Little Red BookHarvey Penick
The twentieth anniversary edition of this classic work—the bestselling golf instruction book of all time and hailed as “the golfer's equivalent of The Elements of Style ” ( The New York Times )—includes a new introduction by a prominent golfer, twenty new illustrations, and never-before-published materials from the Penick family archives. The most beloved golf book of all time, Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book has become required reading for all players and fans of the game, from beginners to seasoned pros. The legendary Harvey Penick, whom Sports Illustrated called the “Socrates of the golf world,” began his golfing career as a caddie in Austin, Texas, at the age of eight, and over the course of nearly a century worked with an amazing array of champions. In this classic book, which is named for the red notebook he always kept, Penick’s simple, direct, practical wisdom pares away the hypertechnical jargon that’s grown up around the golf swing, and lets all golfers, whatever their level, play their best. This twentieth-anniversary edition features a treasure trove of rare images from the Penick family archives, commemorates Penick’s lasting achievement with a moving new foreword by 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III—whose father learned the game under Penick’s tutelage—and reminds golfers everywhere to “take dead aim.”
14
Every Shot Must Have a PurposePia Nilsson, Lynn Marriott & Ron Sirak
Two legendary coaches give golfers a powerful new approach to the game... and to life. As coaches to some of golf’s top players, Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott have designed and refined a revolutionary way of teaching the game, with phenomenal results. They don’t believe in prescribing the same stance, grip, and swing to everyone, followed by hours of purposeless drilling. They don’t even believe in beginning with physical technique. Their success has proven to them that a great game begins with a great vision. Unlike any other golf book, Every Shot Must Have a Purpose offers cutting-edge techniques for integrating the physical, technical, mental, emotional, and social parts of a player’s game. The book’s revolutionary pre-shot routine will improve your focus, leading to a golf swing that is not only successful but can be repeated under extreme pressure. Emphasizing the individual golfer rather than a rigid set of mechanics, their VISION54 method takes the frustration out of the game. Why 54? Because they believe it’s possible to shoot a 54 (making a birdie on every hole of a par-72 course) if you have the right mind-set and well-honed intuitive power. An engaging read for the beginner or the seasoned golfer, Every Shot Must Have a Purpose is inspiration for life, not just the links.
15
The Unstoppable GolferBob Rotella
From the bestselling author of Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect and the preeminent golf psychologist to the game’s top players comes the defining guide to mastering the enormous challenges of chips, pitches, bunker shots, and putts. Dr. Bob Rotella is the preeminent golf psychologist to the game’s top players—he has coached stars like Keegan Bradley, Padraig Harrington, and Darren Clarke—and he has offered his advice to golfers of all skill levels in his bestselling books, including Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect and Golf Is a Game of Confidence . Now, he tackles the mind’s role in the most difficult aspect of golfing—the short game. It’s no secret that more than two-thirds of the shots a golfer makes are short ones: putts, chips, and pitches. Long drives may garner applause, but whether a golfer wants to win the Masters or just five bucks from a friend on Saturday morning, it’s the little shots that make the difference. Yet many players either fail to recognize or choose to ignore the importance of the short game. In The Unstoppable Golfer, Dr. Rotella applies the same wisdom and experience that have worked for clients like Davis Love III and Graeme McDowell to help every golfer master this special art of short shots and take all the frustration out of this increasingly challenging element of the game. Requiring extraordinary levels of concentration, the short game is typically a source of fear for amateurs and pros alike. In this book, Dr. Rotella teaches readers how to overcome that fear by using their minds to achieve a state of calm in which the focus is on one thing alone: the hole. Rotella shares stories about professionals with whom he has worked who have mastered the psychological aspect of successful putting by adhering to simple—but hard-to-follow—rules and practices that will improve any golfer’s game: stay focused on your targets, visualize your shots, commit to your routine, and accept completely whatever happened to the golf ball. On top of citing his experiences with golfers, Dr. Rotella also probes the science of memory and how knowledge of the brain’s workings—especially those areas that deal with physical tasks—can markedly improve a golf game, particularly when it comes to getting out of a bunker or taking the measure of a long putt. For casual and dedicated golfers alike, a better short game provides one of the ultimate pleasures of golf—a pleasure they will come to know by training their minds to allow them to become unstoppable golfers. Since 1984, golfers coached by Dr. Bob Rotella have won a total of: -74 major professional titles 2 Masters tournaments -12 U.S. Opens -12 British Opens -11 PGA Championships -4 U.S. Women’s Opens -6 LPGA Championships -5 Kraft-Nabisco Championships -5 Tradition Championships -7 Women’s British Opens -2 Senior PGA Championships -5 U.S. Senior Opens -3 Senior Players Championships
16
Who's Your Caddy?Rick Reilly
The funniest and most popular sportswriter in America abandons his desk to caddy for some of the world’s most famous golfers—and some celebrity duffers—with hilarious results in this New York Times bestseller. Who knows a golfer best? Who’s with them every minute of every round, hears their muttering, knows whether they cheat? Their caddies, of course. So sportswriter Rick Reilly figured that he could learn a lot about the players and their game by caddying, even though he had absolutely no idea how to do it. Amazingly, some of the best golfers in the world—including Jack Nicklaus, David Duval, Tom Lehman, John Daly, Jill McGill of the LPGA tour, and Casey Martin—agreed to let Reilly carry their bags at actual PGA and LPGA Tour events. To round out his portrait of the golfing life, Reilly also persuaded Deepak Chopra and Donald Trump to take him on as a caddy, accompanied the four highest-rolling golf hustlers in Las Vegas around the course, and carried the bag for a blind golfer. Between his hilarious descriptions of his own ineptitude as a caddy and his insight into what makes the greats of golf so great, Reilly’s wicked wit and an expert’s eye provide readers with the next best thing to a great round of golf.
17
Every Shot CountsMark Broadie
Columbia Business School professor Mark Broadie’s paradigm-shifting approach that uses statistics and golf analytics to transform the game. Mark Broadie is at the forefront of a revolutionary new approach to the game of golf. What does it take to drop ten strokes from your golf score? What part of Tiger Woods’ game makes him a winner? Traditional golf stats can't answer these questions. Broadie, a professor at Columbia Business School, helped the PGA Tour develop its cutting-edge strokes gained putting stat. In this eye-opening new book, Broadie uses analytics from the financial world to uncover the secrets of the game of golf. He crunches mountains of data to show both professional and amateur golfers how to make better decisions on the course. This eagerly awaited resource is for any player who wants to understand the pros, improve golf skills, and make every shot count.
18
The MatchMark Frost
In 1956, a casual bet between two millionaires eventually pitted two of the greatest golfers of the era -- Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan -- against top amateurs Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi. The year: 1956. Decades have passed since Eddie Lowery came to fame as the ten-year-old caddie to U.S. Open Champion Francis Ouimet. Now a wealthy car dealer and avid supporter of amateur golf, Lowery has just made a bet with fellow millionaire George Coleman. Lowery claims that two of his employees, amateur golfers Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi, cannot be beaten in a best-ball match, and challenges Coleman to bring any two golfers of his choice to the course at 10 a.m. the next day to settle the issue. Coleman accepts the challenge and shows up with his own power team: Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, the game's greatest living professionals, with fourteen major championships between them. In Mark Frost's peerless hands, complete with the recollections of all the participants, the story of this immortal foursome and the game they played that day-legendarily known in golf circles as the greatest private match ever played-comes to life with powerful, emotional impact and edge-of-your-seat suspense.
19
A Course Called ScotlandTom Coyne
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “One of the best golf books this century.” — Golf Digest From the author of A Course Called Home comes a heartfelt and humorous golf travel memoir that celebrates his quest to play on every links course in Scotland, the birthplace of the game he loves. For much of his adult life, bestselling author Tom Coyne has been chasing a golf ball around the globe. When he was in college, studying abroad in London, he entered the lottery for a prized tee time in Scotland, grabbing his clubs and jumping the train to St. Andrews as his friends partied in Amsterdam; later, he golfed the entirety of Ireland’s coastline, chased pros through the mini-tours, and attended grueling Qualifying Schools in Australia, Canada, and Latin America. Yet, as he watched the greats compete, he felt something was missing. Then one day a friend suggested he attempt to play every links course in Scotland and qualify for the greatest championship in golf. The result is A Course Called Scotland , “a fast-moving, insightful, often funny travelogue encompassing the width of much of the British Isles” ( GolfWeek ), including St. Andrews, Turnberry, Dornoch, Prestwick, Troon, and Carnoustie. With his signature blend of storytelling, humor, history, and insight, Coyne weaves together his “witty and charming” ( Publishers Weekly ) journey to more than 100 legendary courses in Scotland with compelling threads of golf history and insights into the contemporary home of golf. As he journeys Scotland in search of the game’s secrets, he discovers new and old friends, rediscovers the peace and power of the sport, and, most importantly, reaffirms the ultimate connection between the game and the soul. It is “a must-read” ( Golf Advisor ) rollicking love letter to Scotland and golf as no one has attempted it before.
20
RainmakerHughes Norton & George Peper
NATIONAL BESTSELLER From his work with Tiger Woods and Greg Norman to his thoughts on golf’s current money-grab era, golf superagent Hughes Norton presents a rollicking tell-all that “takes you inside the room with some of golf’s biggest personalities for some never-before-heard stories” (Chris Solomon, host of No Laying Up ). When twenty-one-year-old Tiger Woods stunned the world by winning The Masters by a mind-blowing twelve strokes, the first thing he did was embrace the three most important people in his life: his father, his mother, and Hughes Norton. At the peak of his career, agent Norton earned a million-dollar salary, flew to all corners of the world in first class, and enjoyed a lifestyle nearly as lavish as his A-list clients. That dizzying success, however, came at a high price. The seventy-hour work weeks, constant travel, and intense pressure—both from his players and their corporate partners—took Norton away from his family and ultimately led to divorce. At the same time, to protect his players and his career, he found himself making ethical and moral choices he would later regret. Soon, he realized he had made as many enemies as friends. Now, in Rainmaker , Norton offers “the most amazing ‘behind the curtain’ view ever written about the world of sports management” (Jim Nantz, CBS Sports). With exclusive insights, he discusses what it was like being Tiger’s first agent, his time representing the narcissistic Greg Norman, and shining a bright light on his sudden—and controversial—ouster as the head of IMG’s Golf Division—a juggernaut he helped build. This is an engaging and unforgettable memoir that explores golf as never before.
21
Golf Basics for BeginnersAaron Knight
Golf enthusiast and avid player, Aaron Knight, has written Golf Basics for Beginners to help novice players understand the history, the terminology and distinction that makes this sport unlike any other. Golf requires its own coded language and etiquette that you must understand and follow if you want to be respectful of the game and fellow golfers. A few of the golfing fundamentals you'll learn include: o Golf terminology o Golf etiquette o Selection and Care of Golfing equipment o Training tips to improve your game Not sure what club to use and when? Knight covers the purpose of each club and explains when to use a particular club. Once you understand your clubs, let's get down to hitting the ball! Knight covers how to perfect your grip, stance, your swing and putting tips. Golf Basics for Beginners is geared for new players to better understand the game and feel more confident when they tee up for a friendly round amongst friends.
22
Golf My WayJack Nicklaus
Hailed as a classic and read everywhere golf is played, Golf My Way has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide since it was first published in 1974. Finally, Jack Nicklaus, golf’s leading master, definitively covers the whole of his game through a lifetime of greatness. Golf My Way presents an all-inclusive, A-to-Z explanation of how this greatest of champions thinks about and plays the game. This book includes: -New introduction, endpiece, and illustrations -Brand-new chapters discussing the changes in Nicklaus’s outlook and techniques -Reflections on the differences in tournament golf today compared with when Nicklaus joined the PGA tour in 1962 -Advice on the mental elements of improved playing that are not directly related to ball-striking or shot-making
23
OpenJohn Feinstein
Tiger Woods has called the U.S. Open "the most difficult national championship." With Open, John Feinstein goes behind the scenes to tell for the first time the full story of how the 2002 U.S. Open Championship came into being-how a public course was transformed into one of the most difficult and surprising in the tournament's history, and how the greatest golfers in the world rose to its almost insurmountable challenges. The Black course at the public golf club in Bethpage, New York, has long had a mythic status among golfers. Designed by legendary course architect A. W. Tillinghast in 1936, it is known as a work of genius-with long fairways, gorgeous vistas, and roughs and bunkers that stymie all but the very best golfers. It is a course where any player can compete, but its cult reputation means that golfers often have to camp overnight in the parking lot to get a tee time the next day. The 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black was the first time in history that golf's greatest championship had been held at a true public course. Open is the full drama of that championship, from the moment that officials first considered holding it there until the last putt rolled in at dusk on Sunday. Along the way, John Feinstein reveals the full glory of golf as it's never been explored before. He digs deep to find out what it really takes to make golf's most famous event worthy of the champions who compete in it. He tells the remarkable story of the artisans who transformed the Black from a downtrodden and rough-around-the-edges public course to one that top pros hailed as "unbelievable" and "the toughest par-70 I've ever played in my life." He also tracks the drama of the masters who battled for supremacy at the Black-Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Nick Faldo, Phil Mickelson, Jeff Maggert-to show how true champions respond to the toughest conditions. Open is the story of people who devote their entire lives to golf, both behind the scenes and inside the ropes. Their struggles and exhilarations as they master the monster known as Bethpage Black make for a story every golf lover will want to read again and again.
24
Bud, Sweat, and TeesAlan Shipnuck
The PGA Tour is the most interesting subculture in sports, though you wouldn't know it from most golf books. The Tour is home to rowdy, randy young men often drunk with money and fame; fueled by alcohol and adrenaline, they barnstorm from town to town like rock stars, with all the attendant excesses. And in each player's shadow is his faithful caddie -- performing a thankless six-figure job that comes with all the security of a handshake deal. The PGA Tour offers fabulous rewards, but its good life does not come without a price. In Bud, Sweat, and Tees, Alan Shipnuck takes a no-holds-barred look at modern professional golf. Rich Beem, the hero of our story, joined the Tour as the most clueless of rookies, a logo-free rube only a couple of years removed from the straight world, where he made seven dollars an hour hawking cell phones. Beem took his winnings from big-money matches all across the state of Texas and scraped together enough to go out on Tour, but as he would quickly find out, getting to the big leagues is only half the battle. The fun-loving Beem, more likely to pound beers than range balls, first struggled to fit in among the country-club brats who populate the pro golf scene, and then had to fight to survive the cutthroat competition and crushing self-doubt. Staying true to his girl back home would prove equally challenging. Meanwhile, Steve Duplantis, the one-time golden boy of the Tour's caddie ranks, was enduring his own tribulations. At the tender age of twenty-one Duplantis began packing for Jim Furyk, and together they reached the pinnacle of the golf world, from Ryder Cup dustups to near misses at the Masters. But like Beem, Duplantis has a taste for the wild life, which helps explain how he wound up as a single dad, trying to balance the demands of fatherhood with the siren song of the road -- a juggling act that eventually cost him his lucrative job on Furyk's bag. Fate brought Duplantis and Beem together, and in their first tournament, the Kemper Open, they pulled off one of the most improbable triumphs in golf history. What happens next, at this unlikely intersection of lives and careers? How does a lifelong underdog like Beem handle overnight fame and fortune? Would Duplantis make good on this second chance and turn his career, and maybe his life, around? And would Beem and Duplantis's partnership survive the course of a turbulent season chock full of enough misadventures to land them in a Scottish jail? Bud, Sweat, and Tees is a sometimes bawdy, often hilarious, and always unpredictable account of a strange and magical year in the lives, on and off the course, of golfer and caddie. An exciting and often poignant story, it stands as the best insider's sports book since Jim Bouton's Ball Four, and marks Alan Shipnuck as a writer of extraordinary promise.
25
How to "Break 100 or 90 Made Easy"Mike Pavese
This book teaches you just how easy breaking 100 or 90 in golf can be once you know all the secrets that no other golf teacher or Internet guru will teach you without spending BIG Bucks. This is the book the all other Golf Teaching Pro’s hopes you’ll never read.
26
How to Play the World's Most Exclusive Golf ClubsJohn Sabino
The most exclusive golf clubs in the world are special places that elicit feelings of awe and wonder from most golfers. How great would it be to play some of the storied venues of the game such as Winged Foot, Riviera or Muirfield? Or, the ultimate for any golfer, Augusta National, home of the Masters? How to Play the World’s Most Exclusive Golf Clubs highlights the many ways that golfers can enter the world’s elite clubs, located in some of the most beautiful locations in the world. How do you go about gaining access to some of some of golf’s hallowed grounds? Who do you have to know? How do you find a member? What is the etiquette to follow? This book gives insights into what has worked for the author and other motivated golfers. An avid golfer and student of golf history, John brings an unparalleled enthusiasm, a unique perspective, and an insider’s insights to the task. Throughout each chapter there are personal stories about the author’s experience and unique stories about some of the lengths to which golfers have gone to gain access to golf’s premier venues. The proliferation of golf course ratings by magazines, combined with the expanded information about golf courses and golf architecture that the Internet age has brought to the fore, has created a new and expanding group of golf aficionados who dream of playing at exclusive golf courses and are eager to learn the secrets of doing so. This book’s coverage of more than 125 global clubs will be perfect for any player. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
27
OSVEAIain Highfield
In golf, there are drills for every tiny, technical element of the swing. But where are the drills that help a player improve their mental game and develop a focused mind? Telling a student to 'stay in the moment'.'focus on the target' or 'play one shot at a time' are just words, if we don't have the tools to help a player become aware of how these things actually feel. OSVEA, the 5 components of a golf shot, is precisely that kind of tool. Through the practical drills, challenges and games in this book, players can develop their own personal interpretation of what the world's top players do in the pre and post-shot routine. (They can also see just how much fun golf training can be.) What's more, with OSVEA everything you think, feel and experience during these challenges is transferred into your game - helping you enjoy a higher level of competitive golf. This is a book for coaches, for dedicated parents and for passionate players who want to know more about the powers and possibilities of a stronger mental game. This is OSVEA.
28
Making the MastersDavid Barrett
Contested the second weekend in April each year since 1934, the Masters is the world’s most prestigious golf tournament and most-watched tournament on television. Tickets are in such demand that even the waiting list is closed, and players value the title above all others. In Making the Masters , award-winning golf writer David Barrett focuses his attention on how the Masters was conceived, how it got off the ground in 1934, and how it fully established itself in 1935. The key figure in the tournament’s creation and success was Bobby Jones, who was a living legend after winning the Grand Slam in 1930 and immediately retiring at the age of twenty-eight. He went on to found Augusta National and sought a high-profile tournament for his new course. But nearly as important was Clifford Roberts, a banker friend of Jones who not only embraced Jones’s vision but became his right-hand man in working to bring that vision to reality. Barrett explores how Jones and Roberts built the Masters from scratch, creating a golf institution embellished by the often surprising details of what that entailed as they were trying to establish a golf club and golf tournament in tough economic times. It also vividly chronicles the events of the 1934 and 1935 Masters, with Gene Sarazen’s spectacular victory in 1935 providing the climax. Set against the backdrop of golf, and America, in the 1930s, the book provides an informative and entertaining read for fans of the Masters and students of golf history.
29
Fix It YourselfDavid Leadbetter
From the world's number one golf coach, the pro who teaches the pros, comes the only guide you'll need to improve your game, whatever your level of play. Leadbetter's Faults and Fixes , published in 1993, remains one of the most important golf guides to players all over the world. Over thirty years later, he brings us a modern approach to this revolutionary format, based on the extraordinary innovations in performance and technology in recent years. While golf superstars push the boundaries of performance, most recreational golfers lack access to the technology that would enable them to take their game to the next level. If you are serious about golf, you will forever be in search of clear-cut remedies to the various faults that plague your game. This comprehensive fault-finding guide, containing easy-to-understand solutions to the game's most common errors, is invaluable for any aspiring player. In this manual, you will find: - Solutions to 72 of the most common problem areas in golf - Drills and exercises specially designed to cure even the most persistent faults - Full color illustrations to take you step-by-step through your grip and swing - A unique instruction package that will enable you to identify the weaknesses in your game—and then systematically eliminate them. Golf's #1 instructor has reimagined his bestselling book, to the benefit of golfers everywhere!
30
The Four Foundations of GolfJon Sherman
#1 Amazon Golf Book Best-Seller Lower Your Scores, Increase Enjoyment Are you struggling to take your golf game to the next level? Learn the philosophy that has helped thousands of players worldwide lower their scores and improve their relationship with golf. Swing tips come and go, but foundational golf skills last forever. Whether you are a complete beginner or an advanced player, The Four Foundations of Golf will give you the blueprint to build a stronger, longer-lasting game. This is not your typical, fluffy golf guide that leaves all the important details out. Since 2015, Practical Golf has been one of the top online game-improvement resources for golfers. Jon Sherman has written hundreds of articles, sharing his perspective as a “player-coach.” You can finally get all of the methods he’s used to become a scratch golfer and coach other golfers in one complete guide. Every golfer wants to know the secrets to golf. But they are always looking in the wrong places. There are four foundations to building a successful game - expectation management, strategy, practice, and a sharp mental game. In each of these sections, you will receive tangible and actionable advice. In this book, you will learn how to: • Become a happier, more fulfilled golfer through expectation management • Understand how scoring truly occurs and use modern data analytics to lower your handicap efficiently • Learn a strategic framework a golfer of any level can quickly adopt - pick smarter targets with every club in your bag and watch your scores drop overnight • How to practice efficiently. Get detailed, step-by-step instructions on methods that will increase your skills and finally transfer your practice range game to the course • Improve your swing without thinking about your technique • The secrets to increasing your distance used by touring pros and elite amateurs • Use statistics to customize your practice sessions and strategy • Learn mental techniques to calm yourself, build routines, and stand over the ball with more confidence • And much, much more Finally, you will no longer have to feel like you are lost and alone in your golf game. The Four Foundations will teach you how to be your own coach, and not waste time on methods that don’t work. Stop listening to your friend’s questionable tips and learn what all the greats have figured out. If you like detailed, straightforward information with plenty of examples, you will love this book. It will reshape how you think about golf entirely and give you the tools and strategies to transform your entire game.
31
The Playing LessonMichael Bamberger
You are cordially invited to join Michael Bamberger on a year-long golfing adventure—playing alongside the pros of the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour, LIV Golf, and more—as he seeks to unlock golf’s most stubborn secrets in various and surprising ways, all in the name of… improvement ! Nearly fifty years after taking up the game, Michael Bamberger made a pair of startling discoveries: golf had never meant more to him, and he knew almost nothing about it. He decided to cover himself in green in a whole new way. He spent a year inside the ropes of professional golf—playing, caddying, competing, volunteering, and interviewing—looking for a door into the sport’s sanctum sanctorum . In The Playing Lesson: A Duffer’s Year Among the Pros , Bamberger goes on the ultimate golfing bender. You’ve read about St. Andrews before, but here you will experience the home of golf in a whole new way. You’ll join the author as he volunteers in one tournament, caddies in others, plays in men’s and women’s pro-ams, and conducts intimate interviews with elite figures in the game. You’ll mooch off the lessons Bamberger takes from instructors, famous and obscure, who teach golf in novel ways. You’ll learn how to buy a better golf game. Maybe you’ve had club fittings, but not like the one Bamberger experiences in various tour trailers. In a pro-am, Bamberger gets driving tips from one of the tour’s longest hitters, Jake Knapp. He receives a putting lesson from Brad Faxon. He learns how to hit hook wedges from Gary Player. He lives through the intense pain of Rory McIlroy’s misses and rejoices at Lydia Ko’s triumphs. He plays Pebble Beach and Royal Oak, a down-home nine-hole public course in Detroit with perfect greens. He receives an unexpected hug from Greg Norman at a LIV Golf event in Miami, along with the words, “Come on in here, you a*****e.” He spends a lot of time at driving ranges, some of it productive. What Bamberger has done here, when you get right down to it, is create his own tour. The Playing Lesson is a report on a real-life golfing safari, with stops inside the heads of the game’s high priests, his own—and yours.
32
Bobby Jones on GolfBobby Jones
From the best amateur golfer ever to play the game comes an essential instructional guide for any golfer. Bobby Jones is universally acknowledged to have been the best amateur golfer of all time. He held at least one major title every season of his career and electrified the world with his 1930 Grand Slam, winning all four major amateur and open tournaments in the United States and Great Britain. Bobby Jones on Golf is a distillation of all that he learned about playing golf over more than half a century of devotion to amateur competition. Drawing both on the practical and the theoretical, this classic work addresses such topics as the feel of the club, placing the feet, using the body, and cultivating the proper backswing. Like the author's impeccable reputation, Bobby Jones on Golf is as timeless as the game itself.
33
The Short Game, DistilledPete Styles
The Short Game, Distilled is an illustrated step-by-step golf guide into the scoring distance . It features over 190 carefully produced illustrations that along with text clearly show you what to do - and what not to do - in order to improve your: • pitching, • chipping, • bunker shots, • and your putting. Using the golf tips in this guide will help you hit pitch shots closer to the flag. It will help improve your bunker shots so you don't stay stuck in them or see the ball fly off across the green. You'll learn how to chip the ball to gimme range for more frequent up and downs, whatever the lie. And finally, you should see a reduction in the number of putts you take and an increase in the number of tap-ins all the while helping to avoid 3-putts. If you want to easily lower your golf scores and increase your confidence around the greens you owe it to yourself to improve your short game. This guide will show you how!
34
The Golf Swing, DistilledPete Styles
The Golf Swing, Distilled is an illustrated step-by-step guide into a proper golf swing . It features over 40, carefully produced illustrations that along with text clearly show you what to do - and what not to do - in order to play better golf We’ve all seen the best golfers in the world showcasing their silky skills week-in, week-out, on various professional tours. For the most part, they have golf swings that seem so natural, so efficient and so consistent that replicating them seems too difficult to even contemplate. My aim, with this illustrated guide, is to break down the complex actions that combine to make a classic golf swing into golf swing basics, and encourage you to incorporate them into your existing golf swing. The golf swing tips give you a step-by-step guide which focuses on specific aspects of your golf swing, from the takeaway and backswing to the transition and downswing and finally onto impact with the ball, release & extension and the follow through . Think of it as painting by numbers, with the aim of creating a masterpiece! With my help I’m confident that you can start to play the best, most efficient and most consistent golf you’ve ever played and above all, play the most enjoyable golf you’ve ever played. Whether you are a golf beginner or a keen golfer already, don’t let poor golf swing fundamentals hold your golf game back!
35
Practical GolfJohn Jacobs & Ken Bowden
In Practical Golf, world-renowned teacher John Jacobs presents a simple, sound way to an improved game, no matter the skill level. Distilling his unrivaled knowledge of golf into clear, practical instruction, Jacobs shows how to develop a consistent swing, improve mental attitude, achieve superior results from the rough, cure a slice in five minutes, get greater distance, and much more. For decades, this book has helped golfers lower handicaps and better enjoy the game, making it one of the best ever.
36
Pocket Golf Rules Guide 2026For the Love of the Game
Golf rules explained simply. Pocket Golf Rules Guide 2026 is a clear beginner-friendly guide that explains golf rules, penalties, drops, relief situations, and common on-course decisions in plain English. Golf has many rules—but they don’t have to be complicated. Pocket Golf Rules Guide 2026: Golf Rules Made Simple is a clear, easy-to-understand guide to the essential rules of golf. Designed for beginners, casual golfers, and anyone who wants a quick reference on the course, this pocket guide breaks down the official rules into simple explanations you can actually remember. Topics covered include: • Golf rules for beginners • Golf penalty rules explained • How to take relief in golf • Out of bounds rules • Lost ball rule • Water hazard penalties • Basic golf etiquette Whether you're new to golf or just want to avoid costly mistakes on the course, this guide helps you play with confidence and understand the game better. Perfect for: • Beginner golfers • Casual players • Golf lessons and coaching • Quick rule checks before or during a round Simple. Clear. Practical. Learn the rules, avoid penalties, and enjoy the game even more.
37
The Story of The MastersDavid Barrett
Experience the drama, joy, and heartbreak of golf's most iconic tournament. Delve into the rich history of The Masters, from its humble beginnings to its place as one of the world's most prestigious sporting events. This comprehensive account chronicles every tournament since 1934, highlighting the legendary players, unforgettable moments, and fierce competition that define this celebrated tradition. Discover the stories behind the green jacket, the hallowed grounds of Augusta National, and the evolution of the game itself. Perfect for golf enthusiasts and sports history buffs, this is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the enduring legacy of The Masters. Relive the excitement and passion of golf's greatest stage today!
38
The First MajorJohn Feinstein
From legendary sportswriter and #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a dramatic chronicle of the bitterly-fought 2016 Ryder Cup pitting a U.S. team out for revenge against the Europeans determined to keep the Cup out of American hands. "Richly detailed and entertaining. . . . Feinstein captures the intensity, the flavor, the pomp and all the circumstance that is. . .the biggest event in golf."-- USA Today The rivalry between the U.S. and European teams was at an all-time high even before the first swing of the 2016 Ryder Cup. The Americans had lost an astounding six out of the last seven matches. With the U.S. team out for revenge and the Europeans determined to keep the Cup out of American hands, the showdown took place in Hazeltine, Minnesota—just days after the death of golf legend Arnold Palmer. It became one of the most raucous and heated face-offs in the Cup’s history. Award-winning author John Feinstein takes readers behind the scenes, providing an inside view of the dramatic stories as they unfolded, including the assembly of veteran Phil Mickelson’s superb team, the intense match between European superstar Rory McIlroy and American Patrick Reed that almost came to blows, and the return of Tiger Woods. Throughout, Feinstein vividly illustrates why the Ryder Cup has become golf’s most intense and emotional event.
39
Hank Haney's Essentials of the SwingHank Haney
"Hank knows more about ball flight and what controls it than anyone in the game." ?Masters and British Open champion Mark O'Meara Get back to basics and build your best possible golf swing Lots of golf instructors can show you tricks to correct a hook or to stop hitting the ball fat, but these are just quick fixes that leave you with a swing built on mistakes. In Hank Haney's Essentials of the Swing, the world's premier expert on the golf swing takes you back to step one to master the essentials and build a complete, powerful, and consistent swing that will improve your game quickly and keep you playing better for years to come. This step-by-step guide brings you the same careful analytical approach that Hank has shared with the hundreds of touring pros who have been his students ? including the world's #1 golfer. It walks you through every aspect of your swing, from grip to contact to follow-through, and shows you how to analyze ball flight to shape your shots and put the ball where you want it more frequently and with much more consistency. Packed with helpful pictures, invaluable practice tips, and insightful pointers on everything from club selection to the difference between a good miss and a bad miss, Hank Haney's Essentials of the Swing is the resource you need to hit the top of your game and stay there.
40
Own Your GameDave Stockton & Matthew Rudy
“The Pro Tour’s hottest coach” ( Golf Digest ) distills the lessons of a private strategy session into an indispensable “soft skills” companion. Credited with transforming the short games of world-class golfers like Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Annika Sorenstam, and Yani Tseng, Dave Stockton is one of the most sought-after coaches in golf. Yet Stockton’s natural abilities are more like the average player’s than those of most tour superstars. Not particularly long off the tee and average in terms of ballstriking, Stockton has won multiple major championships through a willingness to set his ego aside and analyze his game objectively—precisely what make him so effective as an instructor. The hallmark of Stockton’s coaching is the idea that “trying doesn’t work.” He shows students how to get out of their own way and let their subconscious take over. In Own Your Game , Stockton recreates the experience of riding eighteen holes with him at one of his highly sought-after corporate outings. He explains how any player can learn to use his or her mind effectively—both in the microcosm of the shot at hand and in plotting a way through a round. Amateur golfers are tired of trying to imitate the swings of the pros—to mostly disastrous results. Stockton gives players the tools and the freedom to play better with the swing they currently have. Portable, conversational, practical—and complete with a mini-guide to playing business golf with colleagues and clients— Own Your Game shows how players at all levels can master the all-important mental game.
41
The Battle for Augusta NationalAlan Shipnuck
An unprecedented look behind the scenes at one of the most intriguing controversies in golf history, when a fascinating clash of values, tactics, and political power comes to a head during a fight over Augusta National. The controversy began with a seemingly innocuous private letter, and spiraled into the biggest media event in golf history. The Augusta National membership dispute dominated headlines and watercooler conversation for nearly a year, propelled by twenty-first-century hot-button issues and a pair of perfectly drawn foils in Hootie Johnson and Martha Burk. But a year after Burk's messy Masters week protest, the meaning of the membership controversy remains elusive. Alan Shipnuck—who reinvented the PGA Tour narrative with the rollicking Bud, Sweat, & Tees— provides the definitive account of what really happened and why. Shipnuck chases the story from the chairman's office at Augusta National to the living room of the One Man Klan, along the way bringing to life a vivid cast of characters and revealing subplots aplenty. With meticulous reporting and penetrating insights, Shipnuck provides a nuanced look into the complex and contradictory worlds of Hootie and Martha, who were drawn together like moths to a flame; reveals Augusta National's secret plots to undermine the press and the accompanying turmoil at The New York Times, including an exclusive interview with the Times's disgraced executive editor, Howell Raines; and explores the Southern politics that led to Burk's Masters week banishment, drawing on Senate confirmation hearings and campaign contribution documents to link local politicians and a federal judge to Augusta National. From Tiger Woods to Jack Welch, Sandra Day O'Connor to Bryant Gumbel, Treasury Secretary Snow to Jesse Jackson, the gang's all here in this withering look at a story that never stopped churning.
42
To the Linksland (30th Anniversary Edition)Michael Bamberger
One of the greatest and most beloved golf books ever written is triumphantly back in print—“a cause for celebration” ( The Wall Street Journal )—with a new introduction by Golf in the Kingdom author Michael Murphy, a new afterword, and never-before-seen photographs. Thirty years (and counting!) after publication, To the Linksland still enthralls readers who pick it up for the first time—or return to the book for the sheer pleasure of it. In 1991, Michael Bamberger, a newspaper sportswriter, gave up his apartment, took a leave of absence from his job and his life, and, joined by his newlywed wife, set off to explore the wide world of golf. Bamberger’s first step in this madcap golfing adventure was to become a caddie on the European golf tour, where he encountered the game’s most dynamic players up close and personal, including golf’s greatest artist, Seve Ballesteros. Crisscrossing the Continent with his bride, Bamberger caddied for a true original, Peter Teravainen, a Yale-educated golfer with a workingman’s spirit and a knack for making brilliant, on-the-spot observations about the game (“Good shots must come in groups of two”). Over the course of one unforgettable year, Bamberger caddied in the national championships of Portugal, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, and, finally, Scotland, golf’s ancestral home. Once there, Bamberger fell under the spell of one of golf’s great teachers and thinkers, John Stark. To the Linksland is the captivating memoir of Bamberger’s golfing pilgrimage/extended honeymoon. From an all-night caddie bus on the back roads of southern Europe to Stark’s secret six-hole course in the Scottish Highlands, Bamberger takes you on a journey into the heart of golf. This thirtieth-anniversary edition of Bamberger’s classic, lyrical tale of discovery is bookended with a new introduction by Michael Murphy and a new afterword by Bamberger, with a trove of new photographs in between. Gloriously back in print, To the Linksland is a “great book for your golfing soul” ( Golf Monthly ).
43
The Ball in the AirMichael Bamberger
After a lifetime of writing about the professional sport, Michael Bamberger, “the poet laureate of golf” ( GOLF magazine), delivers an exhilarating love letter to the amateur game as it’s played—and lived—by the rest of us. Over Michael Bamberger’s celebrated writing career, he has written a handful of books and hundreds of Sports Illustrated stories about professional golf and those who play it—that is, the .001 percent. Now, Bamberger trains his eye on the rest of us. In his most personal book yet, Bamberger takes the lid off a game that is both quasi-religious and a nonstop party, posing an age-old question that is answered over its pages: Why does the game cast such a spell on us? Here is the story of modern golf that is not on TV. This is our story, we who pay to play, who can’t wait to get another crack at the game, even when golf doesn’t love us back. And just as every round is an adventure, every life in golf is, too. The golfers Michael Bamberger introduces will leave you inspired and moved. You’ll meet Sam Reeves, a golf-loving US Army soldier who becomes captivated by a fellow soldier, Cliff Harrington, a gifted Black golfer who’s cruelly robbed of the chance to show the world all he can do. You’ll meet Ryan French, who plays on a college golf team out of Animal House . You’ll get to know Pratima Sherpa, who grew up in a maintenance shed at the Royal Nepal Golf Club in Kathmandu and took up the game with a stick whittled by her father. The Ball in the Air is reported with Bamberger’s you-are-there intimacy and captures the sweep of time. Pratima finds her way from Nepal to a university golf team in Southern California. Ryan and his father caddie in minor-league events while sleeping in tents, a preamble to Ryan’s becoming the godfather of the popular Monday Qualifier Twitter feed. Sam Reeves, born in rural Georgia during the Depression, becomes a cotton king, the oldest amateur to make the cut at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and the ultimate man for all seasons. And there are Bamberger sightings, too, as he finds his own path in the game. You’ll make joyful side trips with the author, who’s spent more than forty years exploring golfers and golf, a way of life that captivates him down to his bones. You’ll visit the golf course at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and compete with Bamberger and other purists at the National Hickory Championship in rural Pennsylvania. At St. Andrews, you’ll get up close and personal with Lee Trevino, one of the few professionals in these pages, because Trevino, when you really get to the core of the man, is one of us. He can’t get enough of it. The Ball in the Air is Bamberger’s valentine to golf. The modern world, obsessed with fame and fortune, has infiltrated professional golf—but it hasn’t infiltrated golf . Bamberger is here to highlight the distinction and to celebrate the game and all who play it .
44
Turfgrass Management: TurfgrassesKarl Danneberger
Turfgrasses provide functional, aesthetic and recreational benefits to society. This book looks at the adaptation, use, morphology, and distinguishing characteristics of the major cool and warm season turfgrasses. Establishment procedures, management programs and the major pests of each turfgrass is discussed.
45
Tiger v. JackBob Harig
SI golf writer and author of Tiger & Phil , Bob Harig's Tiger v. Jack , an examination of the greatest argument in golf—who was better—exploring the records, rivalries, statistics, and context of their illustrious careers, including the intangibles that made them both icons. When Jack Nicklaus stunningly won the 1986 Masters for his 18th major championship victory, it was a reminder of the greatness of a golfer who had done so much. The major title – six years after his last – brought into focus again the dominance of his career. At the time, nobody was close to him in major wins, and the idea of anyone getting within miles of Nicklaus’ major record, let alone match or overtake him, seemed, frankly, preposterous. And yet, there was a kid who was just 10 years old when Nicklaus won that last major. Tiger Woods was already thinking about Jack. He would put his accomplishments on a wall by age and try to beat those feats. Eventually, he put Nicklaus’ 18 major titles in his sights, and for the better part of a decade was on pace to match or exceed the record, a remarkable thought itself. The fact that he came up short doesn’t diminish the chase. In Tiger v. Jack, Bob Harig explores and compares the two legends in a lively examination of the greatest argument in golf—who was better, Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods—exploring the records, rivalries, statistics, and context of their illustrious careers, including the intangibles that made them both icons. They both had their moments of brilliance and dominance. What we’ve seen from Nicklaus and Woods is likely to never be duplicated, all the more reason to celebrate it.
46
ZokologyRichard Zokol
This honest, funny, and unforgettable memoir follows Zokol’s 22-year golf journey through talent, self-sabotage, classic rock, and the game that nearly broke him Like it or not, playing golf will pull you inside out and expose your soul — and there’s no place to hide. Zokology isn’t just a book about golf. It’s about learning to think when the way you’ve always thought is no longer working. And for Dick Zokol, that meant learning how to navigate the noise in his head and figuring out how to survive on the PGA Tour. Zokol’s Cinderella story began when he “walked on” the Brigham Young University golf team. Four years later, he captained BYU to victory in the NCAA Championship. Later that summer he won the Canadian Amateur and got through the notorious PGA Tour Q-School. But the fairy tale ended and Zokol struggled as a rookie on the PGA tour. Dealing with intense anxiety, expectations, and feeling he didn’t belong, he battled the loneliness of life on the road. He was soon desperately searching for something that would help him find solid ground. From here, Zokol opens up about the real stuff — the mental and emotional toil that defined his 22 years on the PGA Tour. His two wins on the PGA Tour, both in 1992 were evidence his path had taken hold. In his career, Zokol played over 450 Tour events and learned success wasn’t about the golf swing — success and failure are about your mind. Employing a thought-protocol can get you through those difficult situations. Zokology is raw, real, and sometimes uncomfortable. It’s a guide for when you get off track — on the course or just in your own mind.
47
Kathy Whitworth's Little Book of Golf WisdomJay Golden & Kathy Whitworth
Tiger Woods? Ben Hogan? Annika Sorenstam? None of these amazing athletes knows more about winning golf tournaments than LPGA legend Kathy Whitworth. In the bestselling tradition of Harvey Penick's Little Red Book, long-time Penick student and World Golf Hall of Fame enshrinee Whitworth presents readers with tee-to-green advice gleaned from years of teaching and tournament golf. She amassed a whopping 88 professional wins in her career—a record for both men's and women's U.S. Tours. Small enough to fit inside your golf bag and with much of the simple, easy-to-understand, common-sense manner of Penick's classic books, Kathy Whitworth's Little Book of Golf Wisdom includes expert advice on playing one shot at a time; thinking your way around the golf course; the common traits of all champions; the importance of confidence, concentration, and learning in practice rounds; practicing trouble shots; bad-weather golf; pressure putting; and how to turn things around when you're playing badly. With its invaluable advice, this is an indispensable resource for any golfer. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
48
An American Caddie in St. AndrewsOliver Horovitz
A hilarious and poignant memoir of a Harvard student who comes of age as a caddie on St. Andrews’s fabled Old Course. In the middle of Oliver Horovitz’s high school graduation ceremony, his cell phone rang: It was Harvard. He’d been accepted, but he couldn’t start for another year. A caddie since he was twelve and a golfer sporting a 1.8 handicap, Ollie decides to spend his gap year in St. Andrews, Scotland—a town with the U.K.’s highest number of pubs per capita, and home to the Old Course, golf ’s most famous eighteen holes—where he enrolls in the St. Andrews Links Trust caddie trainee program. Initially, the notoriously brusque veteran caddies treat Ollie like a bug. But after a year of waking up at 4:30 A.M. every morning and looping two rounds a day, Ollie earns their grudging respect— only to have to pack up and leave for Harvard. There, Ollie’s new classmates are the sons of Albania’s UN ambassador, the owner of Heineken, and the CEO of Goldman Sachs. Surrounded by sixth generation legacies, he feels like a fish out of water all over again and can’t wait to get back to St. Andrews. Even after graduation, when his college friends rush to Wall Street, Horovitz continues to return each summer to caddie on the Old Course. A hilarious, irresistible, behind-the-scenes peek at the world’s most celebrated golf course—and its equally famous caddie shack— An American Caddie in St. Andrews is certain to not only entertain golfers and fans of St. Andrews but also anyone who dares to remember stumbling into adulthood and finding one’s place in the world.
49
Golf Beneath the SurfaceRaymond Prior, PHD
An essential resource for golfers who want to play a smarter, more fulfilling game on the green For as long as golf has existed, the game’s greatest players and instructors have lauded the importance of mental resilience. However, while golfing equipment and course strategy have evolved over time, the field of golf psychology has not kept pace. Many outdated, unscientific notions remain widespread, despite the fact that they actually lead to repetitive, harmful patterns that impair golfer gameplay and create mental barriers to success. In Golf Beneath the Surface , performance consultant Dr. Raymond Prior expertly debunks these “surface-level” psychology myths and explains psychological predictors that encourage long-term growth and skillful performance under pressure. Backed by rigorously researched neuroscience and psychology, and drawing on years of experience working with some of the world’s best players, Dr. Prior shares fresh, practical insights into how golfers think, train, and play, both on and off the course. With a customizable experience that places the reader’s own psychology front and center, this book breaks down: • how the brain ’s design impacts their performance • how to interact with their own thoughts and emotions and train awareness for the present moment • how to understand and effectively change unproductive habits • the critical importance of their psychological framework and how to shape beliefs that cultivate and support steady confidence Accessible and entertaining, Golf Beneath the Surface challenges the status quo and brings a long-overdue update to modern performance psychology.
50
Commander in CheatRick Reilly
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Reilly pokes more holes in Trump's claims than there are sand traps on all of his courses combined. It is by turns amusing and alarming." -- The New Yorker "Golf is the spine of this shocking, wildly humorous book, but humanity is its flesh and spirit." -- Chicago Sun-Times "Every one of Trump's most disgusting qualities surfaces in golf." -- The Ringer An outrageous indictment of Donald Trump's appalling behavior when it comes to golf -- on and off the green -- and what it reveals about his character. Donald Trump loves golf. He loves to play it, buy it, build it, and operate it. He owns 14 courses around the world and runs another five, all of which he insists are the best on the planet. He also claims he's a 3 handicap, almost never loses, and has won an astonishing 18 club championships. How much of all that is true? Almost none of it, acclaimed sportswriter Rick Reilly reveals in this unsparing look at Trump in the world of golf. Based on Reilly's own experiences with Trump as well as interviews with over 100 golf pros, amateurs, developers, and caddies, Commander in Cheat is a startling and at times hilarious indictment of Trump and his golf game. You'll learn how Trump cheats (sometimes with the help of his caddies and Secret Service agents), lies about his scores (the "Trump Bump"), tells whoppers about the rank of his courses and their worth (declaring that every one of them is worth $50 million), and tramples the etiquette of the game (driving on greens doesn't help). Trump doesn't brag so much, though, about the golf contractors he stiffs, the course neighbors he intimidates, or the way his golf decisions wind up infecting his political ones. For Trump, it's always about winning. To do it, he uses the tricks he picked up from the hustlers at the public course where he learned the game as a college kid, and then polished as one of the most bombastic businessmen of our time. As Reilly writes, "Golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man." Commander in Cheat "paints a side-splitting portrait of a congenital cheater" ( Esquire ), revealing all kinds of unsightly truths Trump has been hiding.