Customer Reviews

Extraordinary Putting: Transforming the Whole Game

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've only been playing for eight months, so this is a beginner's perspective...

I read this book five months ago, and did a few of the exercises one day while reading it. Looking back, I believe that it helped me to discover that I can relax and trust my bodymind to handle the stroke mechanics. I putt pretty well for my experience level, and it amazes me how little I contribute consciously, once I've looked at the line.

The exercises are exploratory -- rather than instructing the reader on how to putt, they set up an experience where one discovers how to putt. If you lack confidence in your putting, I'd suggest giving these ideas a try.

The bad part about putting is that the instant you hit the ball you know you've screwed up, you don't even get the few seconds of watching the ball fly through the air before knowing that it's just not going to go into the cup. As the sub-title of this book says, good putting can transform the whole game.

Fred Shoemaker has been teaching golf for more than thirty years. His technique stresses experience. But beyond experience he teaches how to get the most value out of experience. His technique is to offer you a series of exercises that will enhance and extend what you get out of experience. This way you learn more in a semi-self-taught manner. And perhaps this is really the only way to really learn something.

This is not a book of hints and tips. The author says that these really don't work. In fact it is difficult to understand just how to apply most tips. Instead he says 'try this, see what happens.'

Most of what he says is related to the mental attitude with which you approach golf. He is trying to give you the understanding, the attitude to understand what you are doing when you approach the ball. Over the years an awful lot of people have found his help invaluable. It certainly can't hurt for you to try it.

This is likely the best book I have read about the sport of Golf so far.
A great book, that is well worth the money (and time reading it more than once). The excercises in the book are great and easy to follow with amazing effects.

Awareness. It is something I never really experienced before playing golf. Being in the now and enjoying the sensations of the game will definitely be my goals for the upcoming season. Reading this book is like having a hypnotic session. You can start to see inside and outside of yourself and become amazed at how you work. I only wish that I was taught these things 20 years ago when I first started playing.

Extraordinary - I have been putting looking at the hole, first in practice then while playing. I had been averaging 34-36 putts per round; I had 31 putts looking at the hole (rather than the ball) during my last round and recently shot a 75 with 32 putts on a difficult course - "transforming my whole game". My 10 handicap is dropping quickly and I am enjoying the game like never before. Extraordinary Putting is a must read for the avid golfer tired of waiting for the next tip.

This book is awesome. Read it, then do it. It won't make you a professional golfer overnight but it will certainly do its part to improve your game. I read the book at least twice a year when I notice my putting starting to slack off.

very good book on putting In my opinion it will help your putting as much if not more than most of the drills out there by themselves

I loved the book, and then got the extra bonus of putting better, much better! Shot 72, with four birdies, last week! Putted well. Highly recommend. I have ordered Extraordinary Golf, as well.

I can't really say enough about how much I like this book and its companion book Extraordinary golf. Both books emphasis a guided self-learning approach to playing golf. I started to play golf a couple of years ago after I retired and took it up like most everyting else I have ever done with an obsession to do it perfectly. I took lessons, hit thousands of balls, purchased videos, books, training aids and anyting else I thought might help me. Both books (Extraordinary Golf and Extraordinary Putting) taught me the importance of becoming aware of what is happening to my body duirng the golf swing or the putting stroke. Fortuitously, at the time I was reading Fred Shoemaker's books I also had purchased a video by Tracy Reed (Ultimate Golf) that emphasized awareness of weight shifts in the bottom of the feet as a way to judge correct swing weight shift and balance. Immediately, these approaches led me to discover many aspect of my swing (unfortunately, mostly bad) that I had no idea about previously. In a very short time, I was able to start correcting these and within 2 or 3 weeks improved my swing more than I had in 2 years of very intense practice. I applaud Fred Shoemaker for these wonderful books. They may not be for everyone since they are not method oriented. But for those who want to learn how to self-teach, they are a must.

Jack Nicklaus was my golf role model. When I chose to play golf I did not have drinking beer and riding in carts as my visual but a flying right elbow. My how to bible for all swing things was, Golf my Way.

Thirtys some years later, I still fight the flying right elbow but, thanks to Fred Shoemaker and Jo Hardy I win the battle most rounds.

To be clear, Fred Shoemaker has written two books. Extraordinary Golf published in 1996 and Extraordinary Putting.

My experience - having read them both - is that the greatest exploration of ones golf possiblities can be found in Extraordinary Putting. In this book Jo and Fred introduce the possibility that for extraordinary learning to take place, what you're doing must not only be interesting, but relavent and meaningful.

The putting green is the perfect place. It cost nothing. You don't need buckets of balls or acres of real estate. Most golfers are pounding shots at the range leaving the green open for you to explore interesting and relavent. The discovery that one can turn putting practice into fun was huge for me, my putting and, as it turns out, the rest of my game.

So, whether you are new to the game or a plus handicap looking to put the joy back in your golf, you cannot go wrong buying Extraordinary Putting.