My favorite golfer here shares some of his game thoughts.

Being one of the best at tempo and scrambling, you'll find some great advice here.

I especially have put his idea of swinging down the line on pitch shots where the ball is snug down in the longstuff.

My favorite golfer here reveals some of his thinking about the game.

Renowned for his tempo, short game and scrambling ability, you'll take away much in these areas.

From reading this, I too now play gloveless. It saves money, I feel the clubhead much better and have much better grip pressure from making this change.

Another tip that has saved many shots in my rounds, is that when the ball is down snug in the grass, play pitch shots down the line.

Freddie has many like these in here you'll find so useful as well. Good stuff!

Since I purchased Total Shotmaking the book has been my constant source of reference and review whenever my game drops a notch. The best part of this book, for me, is the section titled "Couples' Clinic." This section includes 60 excellent tips on shot making. Its almost as if Fred Couples becomes your personal instructor to help you correct bad shots or develop new shots to enhance your game.

Total Shotmaking has helped me lower my handicap because it has expanded my bag of shots to help me recover from difficult spots.

This an excellent gift for the upcoming holiday season. It is full of helpful tips for all handicaps as well as containing a brief synopsis on some of the more important rules of the game. It has a cool "games" section that gives you fun ideas on how to take your friends cash.

This book is very handy if you doing bad itl will help you figure out what your doing wrong

There are a bazillion golf instruction books, including several that are very similar to this one in format and scope, but as a certified glutton for everything that comes down the pike I can say without reservation that this is one of the better ones. The writing is clear, the illustrations are excellent and the topics are well-organized and fleshed out. Golf Magazine itself has improved greatly over the last decade, and this is a first-class product -- not something that has been quickly pieced together from previously published articles. It's genuinely educational in the sense that it discusses alternative approaches and doesn't simply try to get you to Swing Like Tiger or Swing Like Ernie. It strikes me as very reasonably priced for the depth of the material and the quality of the book itself. If I had to pick a target audience, I'd say it would be ideal for the 80 to 100 shooter. It may be a bit much for a raw beginner and perhaps a bit basic for someone who considers The Golfing Machine to be light reading, but for everyone else it should be a very worthwhile addition to your library.

Wow! What an outstanding instruction book. Every element of the game is presented here, from the one handed putting stroke of Mike Hulbert to the funky swing of Lee Trevino. "Since no two golfers are exactly alike in size, athletic, ability or temperament, what works for player A almost certainly will not work for player B." This book will definitely give you all the "golf theories" out there without over emphasizing any one over the other. What I found special about this book was it's ability to show the "prevailing wisdom" as well as a host of alternative methods and different strokes throughout each chapter. I truly enjoy this book and would recommend it to golf enthusiasts. BUY THIS BOOK!!!

I am like any other golfer who wants to hit my drives with more distance. I have read other books on golf but nothing like this one.I used to hit my drives around 220 to 230 yards, but after reading this book and following Mike Dunaway's instructions I can consistently drive the ball 270 yards. My golf buddies can't believe it.We all used to drive the ball around the same distance. But not anymore hee-hee! The book starts out fine with stories of Mike winning long drive contest and out driving golfing pro Fred Couples, and a list of other long driving contestants. And having John Daly introducing him as the one man that can out drive him. Wow now that says something. I took my time to read this book, which is very easy to understand. I have taken lessons from 2 golf pro's and they never did tell me or show me how to develope long drive power. Sure I hit it straight but I could never reach the par 5's in two strokes, now I can thanks to Mike Dunaway. I am 43 years old, I have been playing golf for about 4 years. I own the books "Swing like a Pro" by Dr. Ralph Mann and Fred Griffin, and also the book "How to perfect your golf swing" By Jimmy Ballard. Both which are fine books to read. But if you really want to drive the ball far then you can't pass up this book "Hit it Hard"

(The review below titled "Course Management 101" is a review of another book, specifically "Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons")

The book provides information on every aspect of the game, which comes from hands-on experiences in top level of playing and teaching. Unlike others, it has been well justified and makes a lot of sense. Get the book and follow what he says, which will definitely improve your game.

He demonstrates a very good command of what many of us believe is the hardest game to play well. He and his family have long been among golf's greatest teachers.

Here with four basic areas: ball striking, short game, mental game and physical conditioning, he gives any golfer wishing to improve four key areas to look into developing.

Many scoff at such suggestions, thinking it isn't detailed enough. He not only provides the basics of the swing, but then what I think is excellent unique area of this is book is the section" "Harmon's Hints, or Just Do It!" To give but one example out of this excellent some twenty page suggestions (about 100 in all) is "Putting on Wet Greens" --- Allow for about half as much break."

Most high handicappers don't want to work on their game, i.e. mental and conditioning and strategy like Butch teaches here. Just teach me to "grip and rip 300."

This is definitely good book for all caliber players to benefit from.

Pretty well done. Golf Rules Plain & Simple is a book that I hope only gets better with future editions.

With that in mind, I offer some suggestions that the author or other readers may want to comment on.

Some suggestions:

While there is a footnote that gives the author's opinion as to the more important rules, he doesn't use them to order his book. Rule #1 (for example) is about seeking advice on golf club selection - and of his five key rule situations - the first one drags in at Rule Number 18. Also, it would seem to be much more helpful to put yellow and red staked hazards on adjoining pages for the reader to compare and contrast.

After stating each rule situation, the author gives the most common mistake made (first) before giving the correct procedure. This is not helpful and potentially confusing. When telling someone how to do something - do you want to start with the wrong way or right way? Nothing wrong with pointing out the common errors - just put it at the end.

Some more could have been expected as to the top issues. For example, how to come to agreement with others as to where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard. Things to say to an opponent could make this a lot less trying in match play, for example.

To the author, page 67 talks about a provisional ball played for a ball that you think is lost in a water hazard. Agreed. But the more common argument is when it is unclear. Where is your explaination in the book that if you don't see it land (and stay) in a water hazard - the ball is assumed to be lost? Another point that your book appears deaf on - what happens (for example) if you are playing a match and hit a ball towards the woods bordering the fairway. You don't have any indication that it is a hazard (it looks like normal woods from the tee) - you announce your intention to hit a provisional ball as you may have a lost ball. You and your opponent both agree as to where the ball seemed to drop down. You find your ball but those nice woods actually turns out to be a red stake marked lateral hazard. You have a shot to the green (without penalty) that you would like to try. Your opponent says no. He says, "you can't use the provisional ball rule when a ball lands in a hazard. Lack of knowledge of the hazard's existance offers no help. You need to play your second ball (i.e. no longer provisional)as it is the live ball" (in other words, no five options for a lateral hazard). Is he correct?

Finally, while you give the five options for a lateral hazard correctly, a note that "playing it as it lies" also means no grounding of the club (while covered elsewhere) would be a helpful reminder here.

Hope these suggestions help.

Though the rules of golf are not as difficult as they are often said to be, they can nevertheless be arcane at times, but this book does a good job demystifying them. Knowing the rules can save you strokes, as you can sometimes use them to your advantage. In a format small enough to fit in a golf bag but with print big enough to read easily, common situations are presented, then common mistakes in this situation are shown, followed by the correct way to play. To help even further, one or more pictures accompany each of the 37 situations. All this, along with a modest price, combine to make this an excellent purchase for the golfer without the patience to read the official rulebook.

Like most golfers I think I know the rules, but I don't. Who has the time to read the very confusing USGA rules book?

Mark Russell simply and clearly explains the basic rules of golf. O.B., lateral hazzard, lost ball-these are the rules that 95% of golfers DO NOT understand.

Thanks Mark!

Alan

the most useless piece of junk i have ever wasted my money on!

Harmon takes eighteen of golf's best holes and then proceeds to play them from the reference point of the mind of three levels of player --- A shot a 76, B a 84 and C a 89. He replays their shots and gives suggestions on what they might have did differently.

Only way likely most of us will play these holes. Excellent advice given by one of the best. This with Watson's "Strategic Golf" are the two best in this neglected category.

When I first started golfing I didn't realize how important course management was. I was really just interested in hitting the ball far and straight. And to be honest, that is what a beginner should concentrate on. But after hitting that first plateau, this book was really a breakthrough. Not only does it teach you how to manage a course to lower your score, it adds a very intriguing dynamic to the game itself. It is much like watching a football game without knowing the rules and strategies - laborious and dull. But once you know the rules and the intricate strategies developed to acheive your best score, you are infinitely more pleased with what you see.

Though I love that we get a guided tour of America's most storied golf holes, the fact that Harmon read my mind half of the time is what impressed me most. He lays out three separate strategies for three different levels of players. It is astonishing how he contrasts the different thought patterns of the lower v. higher handicappers. There are times where he makes high handicappers feel like idiots, but if you want to get better, hearing the truth about your game is the best way. I recommend this book very highly for all those tired of "reading" golf books with nothing but pictures and tips in them. While Butch does give a few tips, it is his golf mentality that is so fresh. And while the book is graphically impeccable, it isn't overcrowded with a bunch of confusing graphics and diagrams. Not your run-of-the-mill golf instruction book.

A very solid book on all aspects of the short game by one of the top rated PGA instructors. Includes practice routines and drills, equipment needed, course management, grip, distance control, shots for every situation(rough, sand, backspin, chipping, and even a little on putting and much more), as well as a list of golf schools if you REALLY need help. Even lists who and what to watch for when watching golf on TV. I love "Idiot's" books for reference, this one included, for their great indexing and detailed contents pages that let you go directly to a section without reading the whole book if you are looking for an instant solution to one particular problem. I would also recommend Dave Pelz's great book.

Someone gave me this book as a gift and I really think it's clever. Andrisani can be a character, but his insights are very valid -- you *can* learn alot about someone by playing a round of golf with them. And he gives you some great ways to draw information out. Interesting and useful.

Ritson tries to demonstate the simplicity of the swing (one side pulls back, other side pulls through) but also provides discussion of more complex aspects of tweaking the swing for different situations. Lots of clear photos follow the text. Both beginners and more advanced golfers should find plenty of food for thought in this volume. Perhaps the best endorsement of this book would be this: I have shot two 80s in my life and both came on the morning following a full reading of this book. Hope it works for you.