Best Golf Books of All Time

[scagnetti]

how has Dan Jenkins's Unplayable Lies not made a mention here?!

 

Phenomenal stories from a legendary sportswriter, our day's Grantland Rice, let's tell the truth, Jenkins is a legend.

And his book of stories is wonderful.

[DGA3]

The Fine Green Line by John Paul Newport.

[Billy Baroo]

How is it possible no one has mentioned "Golf in the Kingdom" yet?

 

That's supposed to like the de facto answer I guess. :) I remember enjoying the first half of the book and getting utterly bored with the last half.

[Billy Baroo]

I remember reading INTO the LINKSLAND by Michael Bamberger which I found very entertaining, insightful, and also inspirational. It covers Bamberger's stint as a caddie in the European Tour for a journeyman pro, Peter Teravainen, then his inner call to play the great Scottish courses. This book helped get me excited to get back into golf again and I recommend it to anyone.

[PGA_AllTheWay]

I enjoy reading plenty of instructional books, but one of my favorite golf reads is "who's your caddy" just had to add that to the list.

[Wedge]

In no particular order:

 

"The Match" by Mark Frost. Great read.

"American Triumvirate" by James Dodson. Nelson, Hogan & Snead.

"Golf is Not a Game of Perfect" by Bob Rotella

" Little Red Book" by Harvey Penick

"Elements of Scoring" by Raymond Floyd. I've been reading bits & pieces of this for 18 years now.

[platgof]

Now I am going after Golf Exercise books, and see what happens there.Just finished James Dodson's Dewsweepers.

[scagnetti]

Has anyone read Carl Hiaasen's "The Downhill Lie"?

[Dbogey]

James Sieckmann, Your Short game solution and Your putting solution

[Shilgy]

How is it possible no one has mentioned "Golf in the Kingdom" yet?

 

That's supposed to like the de facto answer I guess. :) I remember enjoying the first half of the book and getting utterly bored with the last half.

No doubt the second half of the book was "out there". A little too mystical for me. :)

[Texsport]

Jimmy Ballard & Dan Jenkins

 

 

Texsport

[smashdn]

GITK

 

There it is.

 

Most of my golf books are architecture related. Have to check the library to see what I have. Grounds for Golf by I think Tom Doak is solid. Get in the mind of the Archie and recognize challenges on the ground.

 

Ken Venturi's book, I forget the name, is a decent instruction book if you like pictures of the swing. I have a Ray Floyd book that is more of a between the ears type book.

[hankmoody]

The Pro- by Butch Harmon

 

Great story of growing up Harmon, with his dad and his own career.

[lhahn]

Rotella has 7 books I can see on Amazon. I don't want to buy all of them so if you had to choose just a few, which would they be?

 

Not a Game of Perfect

Putting Out of Your Mind

How Champions Think

Unstoppable Golfer

Golfer's Mind

Golf is a Game of Confidence

Your 15th Club

 

Do they have a lot of overlap?

 

Thanks

[lhahn]

Anyone?

[dlam]

I would start with Golf is not a game of perfect. It was recommended to me by a previous tour player and it helped me very much. It was the first self help book I bought. Seems common sense Made me more aware of my feelings on the course than mechanics Often it management of oneself and proper thinking that produces lower score

I also have putting out of your mind.

[platgof]

I really wish someone had given me the book "How to play your best golf all the time," by Tommy Armour, when I started playing golf. He covers all the basics and makes it easier to understand. The best golf instruction book I have ever read.

[RooneyTunes]

My personal favorite is "A Course Called Ireland" by Tom Coyne. Be prepared to laugh your a** off.

[Strömsborg]

This is my favorite, The World Atlas of Golf - The great courses and how they are played.

Descriptions, retellings of certain events and fantastic watercolor illustrations of all the greatest courses (that were built prior to the 1980s). Also a few essays and technical chapters about equipment and of course golf course architecture.

 

 

 

[nichho]

A couple of books that you may not be aware of over there.

 

Dream On: One Hackers Challenge to Break Par in a Year by John Richardson. The title says it all.

 

Ripening Hay: Tale From a Golfing Life by Alex Hay. Alex Hay was Tonto to Peter Alliss on the BBC golf coverage for many years. Lovely anecdotal stuff, both interesting and funny

[jimwgt26]

My personal favorite is "A Course Called Ireland" by Tom Coyne. Be prepared to laugh your a** off.

 

Love this one. Coyne's other book Paper Tiger is great too.

[scagnetti]

So...

After having read and contributed to this thread, and of course living over here in SEAsia without my books for the last five years, I went back to the States a month+ ago and returned with some of my old books, and ordered others I had read about on here...

 

 

 

Already finished the Hiaasen book (FANTASTIC!) and just started the Plumpton book (you can just hear his voice, which is both hysterical and sad). And so excited to read Kingdom... and The Penick Little Red.

[playa]

Playing Lessons easily. Great book, all about the course management aspect of the game, how to play golf out on the course. Makes you appreciate how brilliant Jack is.

[gvogel]

Anything by Bernard Darwin.

 

PG Wodehouse...The Clicking of Cuthbert, The Heart of a Goof

 

PG Wodehouse is very funny. He tells the same story over and over, but does it very well.

[gvogel]

OMG, Percy Boomers book is a hard read, but great information! He has so many details that take a lot of time to absorb.

 

Yes, it is worth a re-read, or three!

[danattherock]

[Douglas Larsson]

My top two are "Golf In The Kingdom" and "The Match"

[Douglas Larsson]

Also, if Gibbons writes a book I will read it for sure! He went on a whole new level by saying "The golf isn’t the hard part," he said. "It's the walking. My biggest expense is golf shoes — I've used 11 pairs."

[platgof]

So...

After having read and contributed to this thread, and of course living over here in SEAsia without my books for the last five years, I went back to the States a month+ ago and returned with some of my old books, and ordered others I had read about on here...

 

 

 

Already finished the Hiaasen book (FANTASTIC!) and just started the Plumpton book (you can just hear his voice, which is both hysterical and sad). And so excited to read Kingdom... and The Penick Little Red.

Where are the Tommy Armour books, heresy!

[gretch]

Based on this thread I perused the other day, I just listened to The Match while doing some other busy work.

 

I'm tellin ya, if you do not know the history of some of the past greats, you must read/listen to this.

 

I can't believe how much I really didn't know about the beginnings of professional golf, nor really who the players actually were. The match itself was incredible as well.

 

 

Ten thumbs up!!