Customer Reviews

Golf for Dummies

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I'm not sure about the reader from NYC or the one from Rockford, IL. I went and bought the Complete Idiot's Guide after reading the review by NYC, and I liked it, but it is nowhere near as good as Golf For Dummies, 2nd Ed. Granted, Gary does put in a lot of extra information. But, there's more to the game than swinging the club, and he fills in a lot of holes.

I compared the breakdown of the golf swing in both Idiot and Dummies. The description in Idiot is reasonable, but completely overlooks the role of the wrists in the swing. Dummies has an excellent series of photos that shows the entire swing and how the club head turns - this is essential!

I just started learning a few weeks ago. Last Saturday was my third lesson and I can now hit the ball pretty straight and reasonably far for a beginner. All of the advice my teacher gave me is in Golf for Dummies, but it isn't in the Idiot book. Golf for Dummies has much better drills, better illustrations and about twice as much information, all of which is useful.

I can see myself referring back to Golf for Dummies in the future, but I doubt I will look at the Idiot book again. You might consider Dummies a bit wordy, but what's your hurry? Golf is a game that will take you years to really become good at. Enjoy the process. Gary gives you lots of history and other facts that tell you why certain things are done the way they are. Personally, I appreciate all of the information he provides.

This is a really good book on golf. Buy it.

I have never picked up a golf club until a week ago. I started browsing the internet for information at a beginners level. The web turned up dry but thanks to IDG I have the definitive golf newbie resource. The book is 400 pages with the first 238 being strictly information on how to golf. From descriptions of each club to how to hit the ball every different way imaginable. The rest of the book shows you how to handle yourself on the green, rules of the game, and how to score yourself.

From what I can see, this book will be invaluable to my venture into the sport of golf. I will recommend it to anyone wanting to play golf but just don't know where to start. Lets face it, we're all dummies in the beginning!

As a complete novice to the game of golf I needed a guide to get me started. This book gave me the information that I needed to know in order to start playing the game of golf. In this book you not only learn the fundamentals of the golf swing, but you also learn the language, the rules, and the do's and don'ts of the game. That way you don't make a idiot of your self out on the golf course. Gary also gives advice on everything from buying clubs to tipping the caddie. Gary lays down a common sense approach that is easy to follow and fun to read. I picked it up and could not set it down. This book put me on the right track in my golf game, and after a short while of applying the instructions that Gary suggests I have already seen a dramatic improvement in my game. The main reason for this improvement is advise from Gary's book; 1.Know your game, 2.Stick to your strengths, 3.Work on your weaknesses, 4.Don't compare yourself to other golfers. My first golf outting I couldn't hit a fairway to save my life. After reading this book, and practicing a lot as Gary suggests, I saw a dramatic improvement. I have since hit my first two greens off the tee, one of which resulted in my first par. And the only reason I didn't birdie either one of those holes is that I DIDN'T follow Gary's advice; practice putting a lot. If you are new to the game of golf I know you will enjoy and appreciate this book. I gets my highest endorsement.

To clarify, I am a beginning adult golfer; former college athlete; sports nut; but with no fromal golf experience. I bought this book as my first foray into golf reading, and before I ever picked up a club at the practice range. I was familiar with the Dummies series of books, and figured that this book would give me a good overview on the game to get me started.

On the positive side, the book is extremely easy to read. The author, Gary McCord, is very entertaining and uses plain English to speak to the reader. Especially helpful were the sections on golf language (from the appendix), golf etiquette, the basics of the swing, and a little of the golf history. Additionally, the book has several good illustrations to compliment the textual descriptions.

On the negative side, the book was completely devoid is some very basic information I was hoping for, including how to care for your golf equipment, average distances that each club hits, and all the different aspects of the clubs (loft, lie, head size, length, etc.). It would also be nice to find out about some of the more obscure clubs, like a 1-iron, 11-wood, 13-wood, etc.

The aspect of the book I found least valuable was the accounts of the golf telecasts. Since I don't plan on being a telecaster, don't work for a television company, and don't really see myself ever being telecast on the air as a player, I thought those were wasted pages that could have given me more basic information.

All in all, this book was a decent place to start, but only if you have the perseverence to keep reading other texts to get additional information you want and need.

As someone who is new to golf I need all the help I can get. I found the text very informative and easy to follow. The author's sense of humour make the read all the more enjoyable and he certainly doesn't mind admitting his own mistakes as an aid to help others learn.

Following the exercises and instructions in the book has helped me a lot and I can now hit the ball almost every time (getting it to go in the right place may take a little longer). The photos demonstrating the techniques are okay but would be better if they were perhaps in colour and some could be slightly larger (mind you this would probably put the cost up). Other than that I can't find any fault with the book at all.

I would reccommend this book to anyone (I have already) who wishes to improve their game. It addresses all the areas I need to cover and keeps me laughing when my entire game is falling apart.

This is a great book for a beginner or someone not sure if they want to start playing golf. The book gives a brief overview of golf history, an explanation of golf equipment, and lessons on how to build a golf swing, and some tips on how to play the game. Although Gary McCord peppers this book with some corny jokes, his knowledge and enthusiasm for the game make the book a great overview for a beginner.

I just recently started playing golf and the book gave me a quick and entertaining overview of the game. Although the lessons to build your swing are well written and informative, I would recommend looking for books devoted to teaching the golf swing, watching videos, or taking lessons from golf pro if you are serious. The instruction in the book is inadequate as a sole source of information for learning how to correctly swing a golf club. Get this book as an introduction, but find something else to learn a great swing.

This is a great book for a beginner, once he or she decides that another terribly frustrating hobby is needed in life.

As noted, it gives an overview of the game, some of its history and the rules of etiquette . It will let one know about "playing through (with the mantra "Play fast"), and how to comport oneself at a country club.

Like another, I picked up golf this past year, and the book gave me a brief overview of the game. I agree with another reviewer that the lessons to build your swing are well written and informative, but I disagree with the reviewer who suggests that the money spent on a good professional coach to learn the swing is better spent here.

For that, no video, or book is a substitute for a good live teacher, and a few hundred buckets of balls.

I picked up a golf club for the first time just a few short weeks ago. The confusing jargon, the mountain of rules and all the "advice" I've received from EVERYONE who finds out that I'm learning the game has been overwhelming. Gary does a fantastic job of breaking down a difficult game...without making me feel like a moron. I appreciate his humor and his suggestions really do work! I wish there were more tips for women golfers and left-handers, but overall, this book is more than worth the price!

what a ripoff. the "miniature version" is stashed in the details, not placed in the title. the reviews are for the full version. and now i feel like "amazon shopping for dummies". i have absolutely no use for a 2"x2" book on anything.

I was expecting a book with good helpful tips for learning how to play this game. I tired of reading about all the tournaments the author had been in or who he knew in the golf world. Half the book was wasted on golf information that have no place in an instructional manual. Some factoids were interesting, most were trivia. A big disappointment--I would not recommend it to the beginning golfer. Most of the book is a waste of time.