I had a chance to read “Better Recreational Golf: Improve Your Game in the Time You Have” after the author (Bob Jones!) emailed me and sent me a copy of this terrific book (how’s that for full disclosure?!).

While I very much appreciated what Mr. Jones tried to accomplish with his book, I think video would have helped very much explain some of the concepts and drills in the book. That said, I did want to point out that even so, this book is aimed perfectly at that golfer who just doesn’t have enough time to practice but wants to continue to improve their game.

I absolutely loved the tempo and impact ball drills and very much appreciated the recreational golfer perspective. For example, giving up some yards with a smaller turn could actually help save your back, and keep you playing longer! Now that’s some good advice.

I was intrigued by the suggestion in the chapter on chipping that recreational golfers use a 5-iron from around the green, and consider it a lofted putter. That might be worth trying!

I also very much appreciated that the book repeatedly talks about getting lessons from a local pro - smart advice and an acknowledgment that a book alone isn’t going to solve all of our golfing problems.

My favorite part of the book though, has to be the game strategy chapter. Bob talks a lot about thinking shots through and making safe plays. He includes breakdowns of par 3, 4 and 5 holes, and how to think about when to go for a good score, and when to simply avoid a horrible hole.

All in all, I totally recommend this book, but be prepared for a bit of confusion in some of the more complex drill examples. They don’t translate that well to book format, though there are plenty of photos to try to offset that! Here’s another link to the buy the book!

Just finished reading a terrific book “How Tiger Does It” by Brad Kearns. It provides some great insights into Tiger’s life and how he maintains his competitive edge. The book is much more interesting however, when read from a parent’s point of view, I think.

The author talks a lot about kids and parenting (he must have his own!) and translating Tiger’s winning ways into tools you can give your kids. The biggest takeway for me, across the board however is the idea that your child must be internally motivated (pure motivation), and that motivation must come from inside them.

My daughters both play sports (softball, basketball, soccer and golf) but never, ever practice on their own without being asked. Never. They do however, read, write and practice their instruments. My younger one draws pictures just because she feels like it. It’s hard as a parent who knows that in order to get better, your kids have to practice - but the very act of pushing them to practice could be just the push your kid is looking for to quit. I’d prefer they keep playing casually instead of quitting because I’ve been an overbearing, winning obsessed parent.

The author points out “tips for raising a Tiger” towards the end of the book. I think they are worth listing here:

1. Nurture your child’s pure motivation and natural potential (in other words, don’t project!!)
2. Be a good caddie (help your child navigate, but let her take her own shots!)
3. Place high expectations on your child (no for results, but honest, sportsmanlike and maximum effort in competition - direct praise at effort and behavior, not at ability or results)
4. Apply the success formula (don’t over do it, enforce expectations for effort and character and reduce emphasis on natural ability and winning)

The book is filled with great stories about Tiger’s youth, his dad and mom’s approach and full of quotes and bromides from the man himself. Well worth the time to read this book.

Full disclosure: I was not asked to do this review, I found the book in the library!

Is a Four-putt.

This sage advice comes directly from Jeff Foxworthy in his new golf handbook “How to really stink at Golf."

The good news is that this book will take you about 10 minutes to read. More good news is that it makes for a terrific gift for your golf obsessed friend, spouse, etc. It’s also worth 2 or 3 really good laughs.

In particular, I loved Jeff’s swing thoughts:

“Feet shoulder width apart, relax at the knees, arms straight, hands forming a perfect V, remember to rotate your hips, not too fast on the takeaway, are your shoes tied? Yea, I’m pretty sure they are, check the wind, did I leave the stove on this morning?” Etc, Etc, Etc.

I got a copy of “The Rotary Swing” from the publisher who apparently, thought I’d love to read it and review it here on my blog. Luckily, for both of us, that turned out to be true! I read the book on a flight to Seattle last week and absolutely fell for it - hook line and sinker.

In my hotel room, I was practicing my turn, feeling the “bump” and working on my legs and body with the hope that my swing will get less “handsy” and I’ll start to hit the ball more consistently.

I had intended to get to the range this weekend, but my 9 year old convinced me to play 9 holes with her earlier today. I knew I was risking it by going out on the course without trying out the new swing, but what the hell… why not.

I was nervous at the first tee, but hit an amazingly solid shot with my hybrid and proceeded to par the first hole! Unfortunately, the rotary swing can tend to make shots go left if you don’t do it right… the next two holes proved that. I realized that I was over-turning and corrected my swing on the 4th hole by sticking an 8-iron from 140 yards to 20 feet. I was shocked!

I hit the ball so pure, I hardly felt it. Over the next 6 holes I shot 2 over with 4 pars and 2 bogies.

The book is written in a simple, conversational style and while there are illustrations, the quality isn’t great. That said, I do believe I’m a rotary swing convert. The companion web site and drills are terrific - I’d recommend this book, especially for high handicappers like me. I’m really looking forward to digging into some of the drills and working on this more as I try to improve my game.

On vacation in Myrtle Beach I read the last of the 3 Rotella books that I have, “Putting Our of Your Mind.” Similar to his other books, it’s filled with stories and examples, some of which are hard to believe, but all of which are very compelling.

I liked this book about the same as I liked the rest of them - but I’m not sure I’m a good enough golfer quite yet to get the full value from these books.

That said, I will take away a few key points when putting, a few of which seem to be helping already.

The book reiterates what we all know but seem to forget - which is that roughly 40% of all your shots in a given round will be putts. That’s a lot… shaving 5 or 10 strokes is totally doable - that’s just 5 less 3 putts in round!

I also liked that Rotella doesn’t prescribe any particular mechanics to putting. I recently switched to a “left-hand low” style and was wondering if I should switch back. After reading this book, I do believe it doesn’t matter. I’m sticking with the new style simply because it’s comfortable for me.

The biggest point however, is the assertion that I already “have the touch” and just need to relax and let my body do it’s thing. This is tough in reality, but I’ve been working hard in my routine to take a look, line it up and just let it go. I played a round recently and think I started to really allow myself to feel this while putting. I played well - breaking my 9 hole course record on an executive course here. I believe I only 3 putted twice (that’s a miracle!).

In any case, I do recommend Rotella’s books - the books are not going to help your mechanics, but they have brought me a certain amount of psychology that I’m able to bring to the course with me. The proof is going to have to be in my scoring though - I’m simply not scoring like I should be yet.

Yes, I had to do it… I’m reading Ekhart Tolle’s A New Earth and doing Oprah’s web master class to boot. I’m very much enjoying it and learning a lot about myself and my ego. I will try to blog more about A New Earth later, but wanted to connect the dots to my current golfing obsession with a quote from a golf book I just finished.

Bob Rotella’s Golf is a Game of Confidence is a terrific book (read more here on my golf blog). I read it while on a trip to Seattle while I was finishing up the Rotella book. In a chapter about how Byron Nelson won eleven straight tournaments, Byron told Rotella that he never knew how he had scored until after his round. “He felt as if he played in a trance."

The book goes on however, and startlingly hits one of Tolle’s key concepts right on the head.

“I would come in and I’d have to go hole by hole on my scorecard, carefully, to realize what I’d shot. I didn’t ever know if I was five under, three over, or whatever it was. I never carried that in my conscious mind,” he said. “I never knew where I stood in a tourament."