Customer Reviews

Essential Golf

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John Dunigan's Essential Golf is a complete introduction to the sport and teaches the reader not only what to learn about golf, but how to best go about learning it. Dunigan provides a clear and illustrated explanation of the key and essential elements of the game including putting, chipping, pitching, the full swing, ball flight, and more. Essential Golf is enhanced with drills and more than 260 photos showing the reader clearly and informatively what they must do in each golfing circumstance in order to play the game well. A "must" for all novice golfers, Essential Golf has much of value to recommend it to those who have been away from the game and are returning to it, as well as to anyone seeking to improve their performance on the golf course.

last Sunday I finished reading a book on how the mind/body best learn how to perform complicated physical tasks like the golf swing (btw, I won't name this other book as I hate to see people using Amazon reviews to plug other books). but anyway, it said it's best to first focus on ensuring you're doing the proper physical movements. don't worry on results such as where the ball goes. keep practicing the proper mechanics, and eventually the brain will allow you to essentially do this almost on auto-pilot. once you reach that point (often referred to as "muscle memory"), only then is the time to worry about results such as making clean contact; having a smooth, powerful swing, etc. this book also talked about the concept of "flow" (which is well-documented in other books), and said it's most enjoyable to build up proficiency by taking on challenges that progress in difficulty as you get more and more skilled at what you're doing.

so on Sunday I decided that's how I'd try to improve my golf game. and then on Monday I received "Essential Golf" in the mail from Amazon. I'm glad to say that Dunigan's book is exactly what I was hoping for, esp. with this emphasis on learning proper mechanics (get your swing videotaped!), practicing new skills without a ball first to make learning easier, avoiding concern about ball flight when the ball is first introduced in learning something new, and emphasizing drills to speed learning and keep things fresh.

Dunigan's book says there is no secret to quickly developing a great golf game. he writes the best way to do this is by learning the right things the right way, and he gives clear instruction on how to do this. I wish I came across this book sooner.

After playing the game for over 30 years and having had instruction from 5 of Golf Magazine's top 100 teachers, I'm impressed with John Dunigan's grasp of the TRUE fundamentals of the game. He strips away the unnecessary and scientifically unsound (unproven) jargon of many other so-called "name" pros and focuses on the basics - proper posture, correct pivot, precise swing plane, proper release, stable body movements, and short game technique/strategy. Great job John!

Thanks for the easy-to-read instruction and terrific drills. It's about time someone made sense of the game for me after years of playing. I'm starting my kids the "Essential Golf" way.

First off, I took lessons with Dunigan years back and he is a standout guy. One of the most positive and fun people i've ever been around. His lessons were very helpful but since then i've slacked off on my game and have been disappointed when i've been out on the course. However I remembered that he gave me this book a few years back and I pulled it back out to freshen up on some of the fundamentals of golf. I have dropped a few strokes in only the past few weeks from going back over this book. His methods are so easy yet so helpful, he really is an amazing teacher. Anyone looking to drop a few strokes or to improve their game or their practice techniques should pick this up, its a great guide.

As a person who loves to play golf but cannot get out to play but once or twice a month, this book provides great instruction to help me monitor my own game.

This book makes it easy to understand the game and shows you how and why your ball does what it does. The illustrations are important to the beginner and helps get you on the right track.

This is the BEST golf instruction book on the market. The photographs are fantastic and the reading is simple and to the point. Mr. Dunigan has conquered the game in writing. Well worth the time to read it.

AFTER SPENDING MANY DOLLARS ON VARIOUS GOLF SCHOOLS, I FIND THIS PRESENTATION OF THE GOLF SWING ONE OF THE EASIEST TO UNDERSTAND, VISUALIZE AND EXECUTE. THE LESSONS ON THE SHORT GAME HAD AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON HOW I PLAYED. FOR THE FIRST TIME I HAVE A MODEL TO USE WHEN PRACTICING MY SWING. I AM ENJOYING THE DRILLS AND KNOW I AM IMPROVING. THANKS, JOHN.

I'm learning golf in a class of 25 people, not everyone get the teacher's attention. So I picked up this book. The drills are very easy to follow with lots of photos and explanation, even for me a left-handed player!! The exercises are broken down into pieces, step by step, one builds upon another. I can just go to the driving range and try on the drills. Some of them do not require hitting any balls at all so can be done at home. Not only I improve my swing, I now know what I'm doing.