Reddit mentions: The best golf coaching books

Late Edit: Practice a pre-shot routine. Slow movements, slow breathing, and go over grip, stance, alignment, target/trajectory visualization. It should help you focus on a routine that's 30-45 seconds long at most, and to signal to your brain that you've prepared to succeed. I think Parent rights about it creating a bubble of isolation.

I think I've posted this a few times for other similar questions, but there's a bunch of resources that might help.

Personally, I liked these books:

"Going Low" by Dr. Cohn

"Enter the Zone" by Dr. Pates, Robinson, and Gardner

"Fearless Golf" by Dr. Valiante

There's also mental game books by Dr. Bob Rotella (I don't like them as much), Joseph Parent (zen-like philosophy, so it may be hard to like for some), and Pia Nilsson (don't know her books, but she coached Annika Sorenstam).

I think you can find some youtube videos or podcasts for Parent and Cohn, maybe the others as well.

Extraordinary Golf by Fred Shoemaker has advice in it more for high handicappers, but also presents a philosophy for golf that could help anyone's mindset. I haven't read it, but Golf in the Kingdom (there's a movie now too) is supposed to be similar to the philosophy.

Last, go to Richie3Jack's blog. He has great articles on course management, I linked most of the good ones here.

He has a few posts on Aimpoint putting, and the differences/similarities of Aimpoint and Geoff Mangum's philosophy of putting. The Geoff's Reality of Putting video is well underpriced for what it teaches. You can get Geoff's lessons for free on his website (www.puttingzone.com), but the video is so much easier to digest. Also related to Geoff's video, is Steve Elkington's short game video. It's certainly influenced with The Golfing Machine, but it lays out solid advice with lots of options for creativity.

Edit: Want to clarify, if any of this seems helpful, you should probably only work on 1 thing at a time. Any more than that and it gets confusing. It took me 3-4 seasons to go through most of this information, and now I think I'm at a point were I can go back and reinforce 1 idea at a time (about 1 month of focus with one new thing should be the shortest time period).

Cool idea. I read a lot but haven't read many golf books... downloaded a lot of previews for my kindle but havent' been that taken with anything besides some old timey book by Harry Vardon (yep, the grip guy). Ha, he harbored a special disdain for people who weren't trying to improve their game. The opening line is "A great deal of unnecessarily bad golf played in this world." Ha, love it.

I find many golf books aren't available as ebooks which tends to put me off buying them. However, I did just order Annika Sorenstam's book in hardcover because besides her just being awesome and one of the least disputable GOATs in sports, even after 10 years of retirement, I've really liked the bits and piece of advice I've seen from her. She seems very self aware and thus able to see how things she does might apply to others.

This seemed fine and a little less self aggrandizing than one of the others.

I wouldn’t worry, either: plenty of folks learned to play out of books, you’re a better than average athlete (polo? Your balance and understanding of how to change direction with your body quickly is already way better than what you’re going to need) and you know what a good strike with a mallet feels like.

Get a copy of Robert Trent Jones Jr's "Golf by Design." Course management explained by one of the best course designers out there.

https://www.amazon.com/Golf-Design-Reading-Features-Course/dp/B003P2VBT4

Go to a custom clubfitter and get one you can actually control instead of a off the shelf driver that you cannot control.

http://www.amazon.com/Search-Perfect-Golf-Club-Wishon/dp/1587261855

This book right here is the absolute best money you can spend on Golf.

I read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Golf-Design-Reading-Features-Course/dp/B003P2VBT4

You might like it.

Long story short: with the advent of launch monitors and high speed video, we finally have a good idea of "why flight happens." However, it seems that many people, and even well intended instructors, have yet to review the math and the science.

Stiff shafts are a trivial component on the math of slicing. Without doing the math, the reason you slice is because you hit the ball with an open club face relative to instantaneous path of the club head immediately at impact. See here for a nice explanation.

The solution is simply learning how to release through the ball, or turn your hands over.

Still doubtful? Find somebody on the driving range that is crushing the ball. Then take your driver up to him and say "would you mind testing out my driver?" If they have skill, they will not slice the ball any more or less than a stiff shaft. If they are really good, they will be able to slice, fade, straight, draw and hook the ball. All with the same club.

If you have a bit of a scientific bent, I would suggest buying this book for some of the physics of the golf swing. One of the earliest, but holds up well over time. They were also the first ones to point out that the traditional "golf flight rules" were simply wrong, regardless of how many pros insisted they were right!

You may want to buy a new driver, or try a new shaft. However, you will find yourself very disappointed in that it does not fix your slice. By the way, both Jamie Sadlowski, VJ Singh, and (ahem) myself will use the Whippy tempomaster to train. You have not seen a flexible shaft like this training aid. Nobody slices this club if they have the right release.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449596924/ref=cm_cd_asin_lnk

Here you go... http://www.amazon.com/The-Fundamentals-Hogan-David-Leadbetter/dp/0385502109

http://www.amazon.com/Search-Perfect-Swing-Scientific-Fundamentally/dp/1572437294#reader_1572437294

I don't know where I got 145mph. But this is where I got the information.

Literally wanted to put the title in it but couldn't for the life of me find the book...here it is:

[The Golf Instruction Manual] (https://www.amazon.com/Golf-Instruction-Manual-Steve-Newell/dp/0789471647)

Literally spent hours watching my shadow or in the mirror learning position, grip, etc. I'd read then spend an hour in the yard. Haven't even come close to the game I had my first three years with that book.

The Golf Instruction Manual.

Yes 2 different ways to think about it.

First: wanting something [a well struck ball and a good result] and then not getting it [thin, fat, slice, hook, catching a tree limb] it is just natural to get mad. So, changing what you want is a good way to go about it - change what what to something you can control - [good aim, good setup, choosing the right club, being in the moment] then just watch and see what happens - and use that information to improve. Getting mad at yourself for not aiming is legit - that is just a dumb way to play and you can instantly modify that behavior.

Second: understanding the game itself - no one hits perfect shots all the time. Look how bad Tiger was when he was changing his swing and dealing with his back issues - he was hitting it everywhere, even flubbing chips. Sure, we can be unhappy about our misses, but it has to stay in perspective. The game is not about hitting perfect shots, it is about hitting the fewest shots - understand the game you are playing and act accordingly.

Unfortunately for a long time the PGA has taught the game as a 'here is how you swing' game - I learned a lot from Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons book - it talks strategy about how to play golf - where to aim, how to manage risk, how to go low (when you are on fire) and how to not go high (when you are not hitting it well)

I bet you have the wrong driver

"standard length" 10 or 9 degrees loft? Regular or perhaps stiff flex?

Throw it in the lake, and use your three iron wood from now until you regularly hit 16/16 fairways

Then buy this book

https://www.amazon.com/Search-Perfect-Golf-Club/dp/1587261855

Then thank me