What are the best books for instruction and playing tips?

[GolfEngineer]

What are the best books for instruction and playing tips?

[sinclac]

Ben Hogans five lessons.

Jack Nicklaus Golf my way.

[AndersT]

The Stack and Tilt Swing: The Definitive Guide to the Swing That Is Remaking Golf

[Mr. Desmond]

I'd say to go to videos instead of books

1. The Golfing Machine (don't recommend but I do recommend the Tomasello TGM Videos)

Instead, try http://www.lynnblakegolf.com

and go to free videos and view the Tom Tomasello Videos

2. Stack and Tilt Book by Bennett and Plummer

3. Phil Mickelson's Short Game DVD

4. Pat O'Brien's Putting DVD (instructor to Zach Johnson, et al)

5. Pelz Short Game Bible

6. Utley - Art of the Short Game

7. Bob Rotella Books

(edited for books I see listed below but forgot about, it's been so long!)

[Zeph]

You have to be very interested in the swing to be reading The Golfing Machine. It does not teach you a swing, it explains every possible swing, in a very intricate way. That book is mostly for instructors.

The Stack & Tilt book is good, you could also consider getting the DVDs instead. Don't get too caught up in the name of it, this book or DVD makes a good job at explaining what we should work on, how, and why.

The Art of the Short Game by Stan Utley is a book I like.

Five Lessons is cheap and not too long, got some good illustrations in it.

The Impact Zone is primarily about a very important aspect of playing golf; hitting the golf ball first. It's got a lot of stories and perhaps not enough practical information on how to achieve things. Worth a read though.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by Zeph

You have to be very interested in the swing to be reading The Golfing Machine. It does not teach you a swing, it explains every possible swing, in a very intricate way. That book is mostly for instructors.

The Art of the Short Game by Stan Utley is a book I like.

I don't advocate reading The Golfing Machine -- but the Tomasello videos are gold. Lynn Blake is not too bad, either.

The Art of the Short Game is a great suggestion -- read it when it first was published -- it changed my game for the better. The principal reason I use one wedge around the greens. That, and Mickelson's DVDs are short game essentials for me.

[Zeph]

Lynn Blake got a lot of good videos. His biggest problem is going too fast and too complicated. He uses a lot of TGM words, which you won't understand without having read TGM or learned the words some other way. He throw so many things at you in such a short period of time, even an avid TGM guy would probably have to organize his thoughts to follow.

Haven't seen any Tomasello videos, I'll give it a go.

[Harmonious]

Definitely Ben Hogan's "Five Lessons".  Probably the only book you would ever need for learning the golf swing.  Also Dave Pelz's "Short Game Bible".  And I would throw in Stan Utley's "The Art of Putting" and Jim Hardy's "The Plane Truth".

[TourSpoon]

The Impact Zone ...the first five chapters lays out exactly what your clubhead needs to do through impact.  Understanding this will help you no matter what swing theory you choose. Golf is not a Game of Perfect ...to help you get your mind right.

[MiniBlueDragon]

The Stack & Tilt book is good generally but the DVD set are better. I've gone back time and time again to the DVD's but the book serves more as a reference point when my shots aren't as good as they should be.

Ben Hogan's Five Lessons is a great book for all golfers.

Bob Rotella's books I found useful to encourage free-thinking and confidence with golf.

I've avoided The Golfing Machine because I don't fancy the thought of reading an encyclopaedia.

On my "to buy" list I have:

• The Impact Zone
• Search for the perfect swing by Alastair J. Cochran
• Harvey Penick's Little Red Golf Book
• How to play your best golf by Tommy Armour
• Dave Pelz's 'Bible ' books

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by GolfEngineer

What are the best books for instruction and playing tips?

Of all the golf books I've read, the first one that comes to mind as a book I'll never read again is Golf is Not a Game by Bob Rotella - I already got the gyst of his message in "Golf: The Mind, The Body, The game", which I'd read earlier (not necessarily in the order they were published), Rotella's books have too many anecdotes,  told seemingly for the purpose of name dropping, for my taste. I liked Tom Kite's "How to Play Consistent Golf", but can't say I'd refer to it again.

Two that I really liked were both co-authored by Ken Bowden:

"The Full Swing" by Jack Nicklaus and Ken Bowden

"Practical Golf" by John Jacobs and Ken Bowden - if I was starting over this is the one and only book I'd need. A timeless classic, and probably the yin to Hogan's yang.

[Double Bogey]

Extraordinary Golf by Shoemaker is my go to book.  I try and read it once a season.  For some reason it seems to clear my mind of all the "garbage" that creeps in.

[Harmonious]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

"Practical Golf" by John Jacobs and Ken Bowden - if I was starting over this is the one and only book I'd need. A timeless classic, and probably the yin to Hogan's yang.

I had forgotten about this one. It's excellent.  The things he taught 40-50 years ago are being "reinvented" today by many of the big-name swing gurus.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[The Recreational Golfer]

In no particular order, some oldies but still goodies:

On Learning Golf , Percy Boomer (The first and still the best book on how to become a feel player.)

The Elements of Scoring , Raymond Floyd (Forget that Rotella stuff. Please. A player tells you how the mental game works, among other things, and he nails it.)

A Swing For Life , Nick Faldo (Best all-around book I know of.)

Shape Your Swing the Modern Way , Byron Nelson (A gold mine of golf instruction.)

The Short Way To Better Golf , Paul Runyan (Hard to find, but definitive.)

The Golf Handbook For Women , Vivien Saunders (Don't let the title of the book fool you, this is for you, too, guys.)

[JackLee]

"The Golf Swing and Its Master Key Explained" by Noel Thomas