Golf Improvement » scoring

Putting Bible – Complete Guide to Mastering the Green by Dave Pelzs

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:18:06 +0000

Golf's foremost apostle from 100 yards in, Dave Pelz follows up the bestselling Short Game Bible--his essential testament on how to get on the green--with chapter and verse on what to do once you're finally there. The lower your handicap, the more of a religious experience it should be. While you don't have to be a rocket scientist to explain the forces at work in rolling a small, dimpled ball over changing terrain toward a cup that looks far too small for its purpose, Pelz was in fact a rocket scientist by trade. His approach is analytical, theoretical, mechanical, and systematic, brimming with graphs, charts, and illustrations. But don't let that scare you--for all the science, Pelz and the gospel he preaches are as inspiring as a good sermon and readily understandable regardless of your skill level. Yes, advanced players will no doubt be more intrigued with the depths Pelz plumbs, but high handicappers can draw solace from the quality of the supplicants who've sought his counsel--Lee Janzen, Annika Sorenstam, Steve Elkington, and Colin Montgomery, for starters--and proceed from there. Numbers, charts, and graphs aside, Pelz preaches good grip and stroke, proper reading of lines and distances, the importance of leaving a ball in the best location (that only seems obvious), and the need to identify your putting weaknesses, learn why they're your weaknesses, and address the proper fixes. "Never give up on putting well," Pelz stresses. By studying his bible and heeding his golden rules, you'll find yourself standing over those knee-rattling, downhill 4-footers with a lot more going for you than just a prayer. --Jeff Silverman

Art of Scoring – Ultimate On Course Guide to Short Game

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:53:25 +0000

"The hottest instructor in golf"(Sports Illustrated) presents a revolutionary guide for lowering your score with a powerful new approach to strategizing, decision-making, and management for every part of your short game. Stan Utley's breakthrough short game and putting techniques have made him one of the most sought-after golf instructors in America. Now he offers a breakthrough approach for golfers of all skill levels, with a course- management approach designed to help golfers at the crucial stages of a round of golf. The Art of Scoring shows readers how to understand the way their short game handicap and overall skill level should dictate strategy. Breaking down pitching, chipping, bunker play, and putting into three proficiency categories, Utley presents customized techniques for saving shots simply by making better decisions. He leads us through a round with three amateurs-two 10-handicappers and a 20-handicapper-to show how improved strategy and execution can transform a player's game. With behind- thescenes pro teaching sessions, crash courses on the three hardest greenside shots, and one hundred black-and-white and color photographs, The Art of Scoring is like getting a brand-new set of state-of-the-art clubs, customized by one of the game's premier teachers.

Short Game Bible – Master the Finesse Swing and Lower Your Score by Dave Pelz

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:54:02 +0000

As the reigning rabbi on the mysteries of golf from 100 yards in, Pelz has earned the right to anoint his expansive instruction on the short game a "Bible." A scientist by training, he's analyzed the macros and dissected the micros to come up with a gospel for pros (Lee Janzen, Vijay Singh, and Anika Sorenstam, to name a few disciples) and weekend hackers alike. Pelz fills his scripture with photos, illustrations, charts, and plenty of sage advice on pitching, chipping, sandplay, putting, equipment, execution, mechanics, technique, practice, attitude, lots of questions, and plenty of answers. Much of the Short Game Bible is pretty sophisticated stuff aimed toward better players--or, at least, players who take their golf seriously. But its basics are appropriate to any skill level of the game: Accurately assess your own weaknesses, and then go about improving them systematically with the author's carefully researched and tested plan. It seems so obvious, but the truth is, most golfers either beat balls on the range in search of distance or slave over eight-foot putts on the practice green; they fail to pay enough attention to the shots in between. Pelz does the math for you here; his figures add up, so that yours can go down--the golfing equivalent of forgiving sins and absolving trespasses. --Jeff Silverman