Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mission accomplished, October 24, 2005
This is far and away the finest golf swing instructional that I have read in a very long time.
First and foremost, this book is very well written. Mr. Bradley covers every aspect of the modern golf swing in a clear, detailed, and very concise manner. He covers each and every facet by explaining what a golfer ought to do, why he ought to do it, and how he can develop the ability to do what he should.
The truly unique feature of this book is the art. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this book has many, many more thousands of words in it than the number of pages would indicate. I would even dare to claim that many of his pictures are worth far more than a thousand words. Before I bought and read this book, I spent an hour previewing it in the bookstore. What really captured my attention while I was previewing it were the pictures. One in particular was of the author (or model used in this book - I'm not positive that the author is the person posing, though he does resemble the author's picture) in the midst of a backswing. In this particular picture, a laser beam is shooting out of the butt of the club, and the target line extending away from the target is being set aflame by the laser beam. I found the picture aesthetically pleasing, but I also found that the visual was burned into my brain. I used this picture to mentally replace Ben Hogan's "Five Lessons" book's famous visual of the "sheet of glass" resting on the shoulders with the head sticking out, with great success. I honestly like Nick's visual better for checking to ensure that I'm staying on plane during the backswing. It's easier and more reliable for me. After I went home and put to practice some of the visuals I found during my preview, I knew I had to own this book. What's written works. I'm very glad that I bought it.
There are a couple of details about which I do not agree completely with Mr. Bradley. For example, I like Mr. Hogan's right foot position (perpendicular to the target line) better than Mr. Bradley's (~30 degrees flared to the right), but these are details particular to me. I really very much like Mr. Bradley's description and detail of the release. It really allows me to pour on the power when I need to. Swinging the club in this traditional manner is a pure joy for me. I love being able to feel the power gather in the shaft through the downswing. I love the fact that when I stand over the ball and take the club back, I know that the shot won't be uncontrolled. My bad shots have gotten much less bad because of this book.
In the introduction, Mr. Bradley showed me he had my number. He said that he knows quite a few amateurs and professionals who are classic "tinkerers". For those of us who fall into this category, the search never ends for the perfect swing. I've been searching for years. One of the author's goals is to allow players to stop the tinkering and enjoy the game.
Thank you, Mr. Bradley. I don't need to tinker no more.
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36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Golf as Art, October 17, 2005
"It would be great if you could pinpoint the very essence of great timing in the golf swing. However, while improved coaching methods and technologies over the past decade or so have allowed us to achieve a better understanding of what constitutes good swing technique, one favor that remains elusive for many golfers is good timing."
If you have started to think of Golf as your favorite art form, then this book will impress you with its artistic layouts and very professional approach to the game. The entire design of the book is especially intriguing and the pictures literally dissect each motion so you can achieve a perfect swing.
Here are the laws as presented in this book:
The Grip
The Geometry of the Setup
Groundforce Dynamics
Synchronicity
Swing Plane
Firing Into the Ball
Dance with the Target
The author, leading tour coach Nick Bradley has coached winners on the European Tour and he also coaches corporate clients.
I was very intrigued by the artistic elements, like the hands almost melting into the club as if both were united in metal. The entire book is filled with practice pages where you can try to duplicate the swings. Many of the pictures look like X-rays so you can even see what your joints and bones are doing as you swing. It is not "medical" but more artistic.
There are also pictures of a man and the moon, where he is practicing the moon crescent drill so when you visualize a crescent moon it makes it easier to leave the book and go out and actually perform the exercise.
Of all the golf books I've read, this one is my favorite.
~The Rebecca Review
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pictures are good, but don't over do them, August 1, 2006
The book has some valuable information on golf swing. I especially like the idea picturing a certain part of the motion with a image. But somehow, there're too many of them, which miss the point a little. One picture is worth a thousand words, what about 200 pictures? This means an overflow of information. I still like this book, but I think novice golfer or people who want to learn from a book should also pick up Ben Hogan's 5 fundamentals first.
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