Golf Books

Not much to say other than that these manuals are indispensible if you're planning on doing work on your Jetta.
Other than the factory manuals these are the standard. In fact, I believe some auto companies pay Bentley to develop the factory manuals, they're that good.

The Bentley model is good, but not quite great. It shows very detailed exploded views of all systems on the car, and has torque settings for every single nut and bolt on the car. It lacks a few component processes that could be easily separated from another component's instructions (e.g. Separate procedure for removing the cooling fan housing, rather than consider it inseparable from the radiator).

This is an excellent service manual for the shade mechanic, but having either a Hayes or Chilton manual to supplement this would be an excellent idea.

This manual is FAR better then any other manual out there. It goes into depth. IF you own one of these cars, its be far, very worth the investment.

However, some of the repairs may be above your head if you never turned a wrench before. Still, even if you dont fix the car much yourself, or it came without an owners guide, its a very good book to have.

It can make needed repairs much more clear to understand.

I have the Haynes Manual for my MkIII Golf and it had some holes. This manual answers all the questions I had. It's the book to have if you are wrenching your own VW. It isn't without it's thin spots, but all in all, it's invaluable.

Robert Bentley has the most concise coverage of most typical and some rarely need repairs. The manual is easy to follow and understand.

This is an understandable, straight forward, easy to adapt to method. Probably the best treatise on putting available.

I first knew Stan when I read the book "the Art of short Game", after reading that book, my short game improved a lot and ususally, I can get ups & downs by 50%.

After that I bought the other book "The Art of Putting", again it is a very good book, but it needs the reader to think before you can learn how to putt well. I am now very confident in putting for the range from 8 feet up to 25 feet.

I would recommend this book to those more serious player that have got medium level of skill.

This is an excellent technique. Unlike Dave Pelz, Utley's system -- which is very much like what George Low advocated, is for golfers who have a heartbeat and don't want to become machines.
If everyone who plays golf tried this system, 90% would improve their putting, and the others were doing it already.

First off, I am a 3 handicap that is working hard at trying to get to a 0. My biggest struggle was with my short game, my pitching was decent at best, chipping was pretty steady, but my putting was awful. I was averaging about 33-34 putts per round. I attempted to read both Pelz books but found them extremely dry, poorly written and the methods didn't do anything for me. After reading this book and applying Utley's method, I started getting better and better, now, my last 3 rounds I've had 26, 29 and 31 putts, and shot 75, 73 and 81. My game will never be the same due to this book. I now feel confident over 4 footers whereas last year I dreaded these putts, I'm even dropping some 15 to 25 footers now, which really improves your scores. I highly recommend this book!

I love to hate this game and the in-congruity of a ball traveling 400+ yard in two shots then requiring 2-3 shots from within 20 feet has frustrated me for years. Utley's simple/natural approach to the process of putting is a stark contrast to Peltz more mechanical/technical method. After reading this book, I have relaxed more over my putts and the biggest thing for me was alignment and the placement of my forarms. I am already more confident with my putting and can focus more on distance and read instead of mechanics.

The book could use some better editing, more examples/pictures at different moments in the process, but all in all a great approach to putting that will improve anyones performance who is frustrated with this aspect of their game. Like anything practice and diligence is key.

Where is the video??????

An intriguing book on man's efforts, as the title says, to control nature. The question is, can or will man succeed. The book leaves it open to conjecture, but does an excellent, though sometimes wordy job, of describing man's efforts...

The Mississippi River chapter badly needed a map to help the reader udnerstand perspective and location. Imagine New Orleans high and dry with what is now the Mighty Mississippi as a meara creed passing the French Quarter. hard to imagine, but possible, even probable...

The image of men using water hoses to cool and direct lava is, at first, unbelievable and incomprehensible, but it worked...and the chapter on California debris (not mud) slides is extremely enlightening....a good book to learn about nature and things you woudn't normally think about...

Recommended.

I was disappointed after reading this book. The author uses 10,000 words to describe things/man-made structures that could be better described by adding a simple illustration. The writing is not organized in sections/chapters. A lot of unnecessary information is added that renders the book boring and unfocused. It will take me a while to read another book by this author...

As always, McPhee is a pleasure to read and a pleasure to review. In these chronicles, based both on narrative and on interviews, McPhee's big theme is ambition (a good thing), hubris (no problem, simple answer), and willful ignorance.
McPhee talks about three major `wars' against nature - the effort to keep the Mississippi River running through New Orleans, the semi-successful effort in Iceland to keep a volcano from filling in a critical harbor, and the ludicrous attempt to prevent fire and flooding from destroying the east side of Los Angeles. In each of these, the threats are portrayed as utterly real and frightening, the science is lucid without being boring or full of jargon, and the people speak for themselves.
If you ever wanted to change the inevitable force of geology by piling up sandbags, stop a lava flow by spraying water on it, or keep your house from being filled with boulders and sand (debris flow) - this book will be a lesson on fighting rear guard actions against enemies that will, eventually, win.

Mc Phee presents three well written, beautifully researched case studies, short term marvels of engineering skill and determination, doomed from the outset by humanity's ignorance and disregard of natural processes. This book examines an unstable river system in Southern Louisiana, unpredictable massive lava flows in Iceland, and episodic debris flows in Los Angeles mountain foothills. Each case presents the heroic bad judgement of short-lived humans in conflict with gradual natural processes, catastrophic at long intervals, by human measure, and ultimately inxorable, indifferent long-term to our futile efforts at intervention. He wastes few judgemental words on the human folly his stories chronicle, but lets them speak for themselves. He fills the shoes of both writer and teacher.

McPhee examines three recent attempts by man to alter natural changes on the surface of the planet. The first is the Corps of Engineers attempt to control of the flow and course of the Mississippi as it heads, with ever increasing power, toward New Orleans, or Texas if it had its way. And if you think that there was not some early warning of eventual problems in New Orleans, note that this book was written in 1989. The second is the partially successful effort by the Icelanders to use water from fire hoses to halt the flow of lava from a very destructive volcano. Finally, the third is the battle between Los Angeles and one of natures weapons of mass destruction, the debris flows coming down from the San Gabriel mountains that, with the Pacific, frame the city. McPhee has also written intriguing books about the geologic histories of Nevada (Basin and Range), Wyoming (Rising from the Plains), California (Assembling California) and about tectonic plates, ice and oil (In Suspect Terrain). In the process he has portrayed the important English pioneers in the discipline such as Hutton and Lyell, in addition to Agassiz and his fascination with glaciers.

The flow of the Mississippi with its enormous drainage extending from Western New York to Montana has been increasing with every newly paved Wal-Mart or football stadium parking lot in the Midwest. In the process it has carved out the sediment that forms the fan that extended the coast line of Louisiana over fifty miles into the Gulf in the last century. Historically its mouth has wandered for nearly two hundred miles along the Gulf coast between Mississippi and Texas, creating most of Louisiana. Its flow of sixty-five kilotons (two million cubic feet of water) per second in high years is now channeled by the levies, which are not without defects as demonstrated by recent hurricanes. But that doesn't mean upstream threats can be ignored. The Atchafalaya, with a much steeper drop and connected to the Mississippi by the Old River in Northern Louisiana, is constantly bidding for the Ohio and Missouri mud that gives the Mississippi its color. The saga of the construction efforts by the Corps to keep it as a safety valve to prevent the flooding of New Orleans, and not have it turn the lower Mississippi river basin (the "American Ruhr" as the locals call it) into a pasture or salt water lake, is McPhee's first war story. It has been a "close run thing" with a near disaster in 1973 when the Old River Control, an enormous weir, nearly failed. The proliferation of commissions, competing commercial interests and colorful characters overshadow the geology, but the movement of sediment is still the enemy and the story keeps it under "close surveillance".

The attempt by the Icelanders to control the flow of lava erupting from a volcano on one of their offshore islands is magisterial. This effort is a saga of human endurance, persistence and geological knowledge. He describes Iceland as one of the two most productive geologic hot spots on the planet (the other being Hawaii). However, while the Hawaiian Islands are moving with the Pacific plate, Iceland is being torn apart by the Mid-Atlantic ridge which runs directly beneath it. The 2000 degree (F.) magma under it came up, in 1973, to punch through the sixty mile thick plate of Vestmannaeyjar island "like a sewing machine needle punches through cloth." The offshore island has one of Iceland's main fishing harbors. Indeed, it is one of the most active in the North Atlantic and hence worth saving.

The lava spread in all directions from the volcano, covering most of the island and threatening its harbor. The government decided that it would try to save the harbor by cooling the lava and holding it back with fire and other large water hoses. An Icelandic physicist calculated that one cubic meter of water would change seven-tenths of a cubic meter of lava from red hot flow to hard rock. The water hoses were brought from Reykjavik, the capital, and the American air base nearby at Keflavik. They were trained on the ever encroaching lava day and night at the direction of the fire chief from the base who became known, not unaffectionately or undeservedly, as "Patton".

They succeeded, but not until three million cubic yards of tephra fell on the island's town (compared to only 500,000 cubic yards, which fell on Pompeii), and three hundred feet of basalt rose next to it. Nature gave in and the eruption stopped after five and a half months. It had increased the size of the island by twenty percent, and perhaps will press its case against the harbor at a later time. While the topography, characters and customs of The Big Easy and Tinseltown may be familiar to us, Iceland is not. Tidbits about the oldest democratic parliament, the Icelandic prohibition against selling beer in favor of "Norwegian Cough Drops" (shots of Johnny Walkersson and Jack Danielsson), the local learning on how to avoid volcanic bombs, etc., add the color. Pages turn.

His final example of man's attempts is the effort of the City of Los Angeles to keep the San Gabriel Mountains (three thousand feet higher than the Rockies from bottom to top) from sending debris into the foothills of the city and washing away houses in the process. Los Angeles has built more than 120 catch basins to arrest the debris. McPhee describes the effect of fire upon the chaparral in the mountains (it provides an impermeable cover which sends the water runoff in a large storm cascading down the valley) is impressive as one of those ideas that seemed good at the time. However, other than the effect of the angle of repose, this section is a bit of a filler in an otherwise very interesting book.

I have to agree with other reviewers. The message is a good one but it takes way too many pages to make the key points. There are also too many stories of PGA golfers and not enough of regular Joes using his technique. He writes well and the science was interesting but I didn't really get to the meat until the last 60 or 70 pages.

Great book,

This book is a must have in your library. there's plenty useful information that can be put into practice.

Ramon A. Puchales

Fearless Golf is a total transformation of our attitude about golf. It is simple but gives you peace of mind when playing with only concern for your personal game. When practiced, Fearless Golf not only greatly enhances your game but also how you feel and enjoy the great game. The philosophy applies not only to golf but to all aspects of life. The major point of the book is driven home relentlessly, often to the point of redundancy. This is not a one time read. Keep it in sight at all times and go back to it over and over.

Excellent book on the mental game. Good tips. Book was shipped promptly and was in better condition than stated.

Being a golfer who can shoot in the 70's on one day, then in the 90's the next, I figured the best thing I could add to my bag was a book or several on the mental aspects of the game. And, this is one of the most useful I've read. The author applies Professor Albert Bandura's credible concept of self-efficacy to a game that is oh so mental (I suggest you read Bandura's 1994 hallmark paper entitled "Self-efficacy" for more insight). Clearly, this book is helping me go lower and play more consistently. My primary criticism of the book is that the author takes way too long to deliver the message. I was compelled to skip pages containing endless examples and redundant messages. I guess Valiante wanted to hit the 200 page standard to justify the price, but he could have written it in 50 pages.

Nonetheless, if you experience rather wild fluctuations in performance, this book will likely ring true for you.

Some would say it makes sense, others hmmm! Trouble is not one swing fits all!

If you follow this you will get back pain and risk ending up like Fred Couples.

This book is all you need. Don't believe the other reviews that talk about this swing needing timing, or hurting your back. It requires less timing than the traditional swing and, because the clubface is square throughout the swing, even mis-hits go straight. The biggest difference is the early wrist break under, not around, which feels weird at first. It does get you to the top nice and square, and with the neutral grip you return square as well. If you get a sore back you are doing something you're not supposed to.

If you've been a traditional golfer for a while it may take some time to learn this swing, but it's worth it.

There is a lot of rehashed material in this book and frankly its a little hard to read and not terribly insightful. I've read many many many golf books over the years and this one has some good information in it but it takes way too long to get to the point sometimes. Also, I think some of the wrist techniques are outdated and really have to be developed with perfect timing. A decent book for Novice and better golfers but NOT recommended for beginners. Their is no "magic" here folks.

Approaching sixty, for some godforsaken reason I have determined to construct a serviceable golf swing. It appears that no one book will satisfy that intention, rather one must sort through and experiment with what the literature provides. That said, the one constant during my erratic golf career, other than high scores, has been a wicked, wicked slice. It is a big reason I have only played the game some ten times in the past twenty five years, the greens fees here in Japan being another. Joe Dante's Magic Move #1 has cured me of it. Whether the 'backward wrist break' has driven a stake through Banana's evil heart remains to be seen, but each trip down to Hanazato Golf confirms that MY SLICE IS DEAD. Anyway, I think so. Joe seems to revel in the pain inducing awkwardness of the Magic Moves and the 'wrist break' has indeed caused a dull ache in my hands and forearms. One hopes it will go away. In the meantime I'm enjoying sliceless golf shots and even the occasional draw. The rest of the 'magic moves' are yours for the taking; I'm not so sure about them. I suppose any book which cures someone of a slice should get five stars but it's all so relative. What worked for me may not for you. But don't forget Fred Shoemaker's book. Or Jim McLellan's video! And good luck!

Being a hack golfer I'm open to anything that will help my game. Although I do stretch prior to every game, I was doing only the stretches I was familiar with from years of playing raquetball and suspected I was missing some key stretches for pre- and post golf. In other words, I know I could do a better job.

This book could have been so much better! It's not awful, but the one star is awarded because it pales in comparison to other tomes available.

This is just a book with a marketing angle. To borrow from another local sport: I took the bait, they set the hook. Golf? Stretching? That's me! (This is a good time to give me that dope-slap.)

I either didn't understand the instructions or it's not a 10 minute a day program. The first time I attempted the program it took me 45 minutes to complete...I was definitely stretched out but I was also quite short on time. I can't devote that much time every day to a stretching regimen. It's possible that I was suppose to go through several of the exercises faster than I did. If that was the case, I don't think I'd get the benefit of the stretch.

After purchasing this book, I put more focus on finding a good book on stretching for golf. I found it. Get Bob Anderson's "Stretching". The book is well written, concise, and clear. (Time for another dope slap: It's considered the best on the market.) Plus, there are clearly described stretching programs for almost every atheletic endeavor...from bowling to football to windsurfing.

I wish I hadn't wasted my money on "Golf Flex", but at least it was cheap.

If you want to hit the golf ball further (and who doesn't!) you need to do flexibility exercises on a regular basis, every body knows that, right? But what exercises should you do? Well, this Golf Flex book details the exact exercises you should do and shows you (with clear pictures) along with simple and clear instructions how you should do each stretch to get the best results for your golf game.

I've started using this program and I'm already hitting the ball longer as well as feeling better physically and mentally. I highly recommend that any golfer who want's to make golf easier and more fun get this book and start using it. This book will not do anything for you unless you follow the advice but if you do, watch out - your golf shots will travel further and your golf swings will be easier.

I did have a few questions about this book so I emailed Paul and was almost shocked to not only get a response back but the responses to my questions were detailed and well thought out.

Get this book today and as soon as you get it start doing the program because the older you get the less flexible you will become UNLESS you do some regular stretching program!

Though this book does contain a comprehensive list of stretches, it lacks a solid routine for their use. The author states that you can improve your game in 10 minutes a day, but it would take quite a bit longer than that to complete the 30+ exercises. The only routine offered does not incorporate the exercises into a daily routine.

I was looking for a stretching program geared specifically to golfers, intead I found a set of stretches and conditioning exercises that were really not very useful to an athletic 30 year old.
This book is great if you don't go to a gym, have never stretched, and are in really poor shape.
However if you are active, fit, do some weight training and know about basic stretching (and I mean basic) then save your $$, e.g. there are examples of exercises using soup tins for your deltoids etc ... obviously this has not been written for the better golfer, or the fit golfer, but instead for the very unfit golfer.
I was hoping for something that would help me push the envelope -this book is certainly not it.

I am far from being the most athletic person in the world. This was one of the reasons I became interested in fitness for golfers. I do, however, know how to set up a regular stretching routine from high school gym classes, and found little new here to add to the exercises I already knew.

Where this book will offer a range of ways to get going for the person who has no memory of gym class, most of the routines here are pretty much common knowledge. It may make a good reference for the variety of stretching routines that exist, though, meaning that anyone who buys the book will get their investment back in some fashion. If you are looking to get more out of your dollar, look into a more general book on fitness and exercise. It may not have golf in the title, but the aim will be the same: producing a looser and more fit body.

Its the first book by David Feherty that I have read and I can say that it wont be the last. A really enjoyable read, with so many amuzing scenarios. First book that has ever made me laugh out load.

I'm not much of a book reviewer, but let me say this much. I enjoyed reading this book. Some parts made me laugh quite loudly, while others made me snicker. At times, I had trouble following the plot, but is that really a requirement when entertainment is the goal? I'm not sure that it is. Nonetheless, I strongly recommend Feherty's book and I also think he's the greatest commentator working in golf.

A great book, I laughed so hard I almost ....well you just have to read this book!

In A Nasty Bit of Rough, by David Feherty, Gussett sets his mind to win the most prestigious prize in golfing history, the finger of St. Anderew, patron saint of Scotland. Though this novel, Gussett goes through battles with peculiar handicaps, single malt scotch, and other afflictions in order to win the finger in a competition with the McGregor clan.
This is a pure delight for those who love the game of golf and for those who like to laugh out loud for hours. If you like an easy book to read and a book that is about raunchy old men, then this is the book for you.

David Feherty's comic novel about the loveable inhabitants of the Scrought's Wood Golf Club, and their raunchy adventures on and off the links is a pretty funny story, with a few laugh-out-loud moments sprinkled in amongst piles of bathroom humor.

The writing is okay, though it leaves something to be desired, and even the most die-hard Feherty fan will grow weary of the barrage of bathroom jokes. Do we really need to know that a caddy pooped his pants in an airplane once (although the subsequent episode involving that caddy and a red sweatshirt is one of the funnier moments in the book)?

I laughed quite a bit at this book, and even if it was a little heavy-handed with the toilet humor, it has some absolutely hilarious moments. If you like golf and David Feherty's sense of humor, then you'll enjoy this book.

I saw Mr. Bradley on Golf Channel Academy Live and was impressed. I then got online and waited until his book price got low enough for me to want to buy it. The other reviews seemed overwhelmingly good and every one was impressed. I got it finally. What a let down. While the pictures are great and yet disturbing in some cases I have yet to complete reading it.
I cannot get past Mr. Bradley's overanalysis of the whole swing process. If you buy anything (and I don't mean to endorse) get anything by A.J. Bonar or just to go your pro and get at least 2 lessons. Golf does not have to be Rocket science although Mr. Bradley seems to write as though it is.

This book has some good tips on the golf swing, but I wouldn't call it a must read. It also shows a number of swing faults and how to prevent them.

It does have one of the best descriptions on how to grip the golf club of any book I've read. That one section makes it worth the money.

It does assume there is only one correct system for swinging the golf club (the modern, coiling swing). If you use another swing method (swing axis, traditional swing) some of the tips may not apply.

This is a must read book for every golfer. Especially mid handicapers (10- 15). He focuses on how the golf swing should feel, from grip to impact and completion of swing. He gives excellent examples for the feel, especially feather feel. I am reading this book every chance I get, I bet you will to.

I found the pictures in this book helpfull - they also look pretty cool. Some of the explanations of the optimal body postures are not straightforward and they require a second or a third reading - however this is a compliment since this book is not over-simplifying things - the author makes an effort explaining all the subtilities of golf.

The brilliance of this book is in the fact that it uses pictures to explain the golf swing. As humans we think in pictures anyway and is why words alone are often a waste of time. Bradely also uses words along with the pictures but this only adds to the power those pictures have to emblazen the proper feel into the golf swing. Telling someone to feel that they have a nail driven through both hands to create a great grip is not as lasting as seeing the actual picture.

The techniques described really work after a little practice. My only difficulty was relating the pictures to the text. The text does not reference the pictures so you have to read the text, look at the pictures, read again and then determine what the pictures apply to. However, the methods really work and have already helped me drop a few strokes per round in 3 weeks.

After reading this book, I am confident that my short game will improve. However, time will tell with practice and repetition, I should see a significant improvement.

This is a different approach to the short game which seems to really work. I've tried it for just two weeks and the improvement is already evident.

I have struggled with my short game for years. This book is easy to follow and provides a reliable,simple method for chips, pitches and bunker shots. At first it seems different, but once you give it a try it feels right, and it also flows from the long game. Buy this book.

After reading Stan Utley's "The Art of Putting," I spent four months retooling my putting approach to great effect. I was really anxious to read his ideas about short game shot-making in this book.

After four weeks of absorbing and practicing his ideas in this great little book, I'm a bigger Utley fan than ever. He explains his short game ideas very clearly and concisely here. As in his first book, he gives some entertaining professional examples of tour players he works with.

Stan Utley emphasizes a natural, mini-swing approach to the short game, and he clearly shows how to make a simple, pivot-based swing for chipping and pitching. His sand shot technique is very interesting as well and will help to make more consistent and feel-based shots in bunkers.

I Have enjoyed this so much that I am reading it for a second time.. It has really been helpful to me in my game of golf. Made me more of aware of the things that go on with your body and mind while playing golf.. A Must read for all golfers....

This book shopuld be a starter in golf. All the complications reduced to simple actions based on allowing ourselves to play naturally, relaxed and easy.
If it's late in your golfing career, you'll wonder why it's all been so dotted with tips, tried and forgotten, when the simple big picture is enough.

May be a bit too "inner" for some, but I enjoyed the book. Good golf tips for all.

The Inner Game of Golf is a great, honest read that that any golfer will be able to understand and apply practically with ease. Tim uses straight forward language, and unlike many other authors, doesn't fill the pages with unnecessary anecdotes about famous players.

It has changed my game, and made me a much more relaxed and composed golfer. Although I'm not a fantastic golfer yet, it has given me direction for improvement and practice, and new enjoyment for the game.

Very highly recommended.

The Inner Game of Golf

Instruction will only get you so far. Any hack knows that. What most don't know, however, is that you can be your own worst enemy on the course, and for more reasons than one.

At the same time, however, you can be the best thing that has ever happened to your game.

Gallwey's Inner Game series has been around much longer than many realize. Not only that, but his ideas were at least a decade ahead of anything anyone was doing.

Gallwey's approach is simple. He divides a person's mind into two big regions. Self 1 is controling, egocentric, and demanding. Self 2, on the other hand, is non-judgemental, intuitive, and generally focused on whatever it is doing at the time. The problems begin when Self 1 starts getting in Self 2's way, giving it instructions it doesn't need, and locking it into a pattern of failure many are all too familiar with.

The goal, as Gallwey sets it out, is to get Self 1 to step aside during the swing and let Self 2 take total control. This is not easy to do, however, especially since many people have yet to realize the existance of these two selfs to begin with.

Gallwey bases his ideas on his experience in tennis, but appears successful in translating them into golf. He set a goal at the outset of writing the book to break 80 by basically putting only the time the average golfer has into improving his game (practice at home, plus a day or two at the range, and one round a week if possible), that and adhearing to his own methods. Obviously, he succeed, which helps give hope to those looking to try the same path.

Overall Gallwey's ideas are clear, and the writing narrative, which may put some readers off. Still, his exercises should help guide golfers into understanding how their mentalities can affect their play, as well as create barriers to further improvement.

The biggest drawback to Gallwey's theory of a Self 1 and Self 2 are that he seems to assign a bad-guy role to Self 1, while Self 2 is the trodden-upon hero. Whether this sort of duality is the final answer to things is a bit up in the air, and does not appeal to a more holistic approach to the game.