Customer Reviews

Homer Kelley's Golfing Machine: The Curious Quest That Solved Golf

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

As an authorized instructor of The Golfing Machine it was interesting learning the history behind Homer Kelley and his quest to solve the mysteries of the golf swing. If you're interested in the trials and tribulations of Homer's 28 year journey you will find this book interesting. If you're looking for cliff notes to better understand his book The Golfing Machine this book will be of little help. I'm giving this book 4 stars because it gives us light into Homer Kelley and who he was. Had this book dealt more with Homer's research and how he was able to probe deeper and deeper into the mechanics of the golf swing or had it even contained pictures I would have given it 5 stars. In all fairness I don't hold this as a flaw in Mr. Gummer's book because Homer worked on this project alone and the only records we have are his book and the notes he left behind.

What I find interesting is some of the criticisms Mr. Gummer's book is receiving. Case in point, Mr. Steen Winther's review; Mr. Winther has a book for sale here at Amazon titled The Scientific Truth of the Golf Swing. I have read this book and in spite of its title there is very little science to be found in any of its pages. The book is nothing more than Mr. Winther's notes from several golf books he's read and web sites he's visited. Then there are his numerous mistakes such as not being able to correctly illustrate an open and closed stance and claiming the club bends toe up in the downswing. What I found most interesting about Mr. Winther's review is not only is it hypocritical but it came just two days after the release of Mr. Gummer's book and is not a review of his book but rather a bashing of Homer Kelley and his book The Golfing Machine.

My suggestion when considering these book reviews is to consider the motive, agenda and personal bias behind the person doing the reviewing.

A "page turner" which I couldn't put down. My close friend who is great teacher has worked with Ben Doyle for years told me to the order the book which I'm glad I did. Amazing story. The story of Bobby Clampett filled in a lot of blanks about him, everyone who followed golf in the late 70's and early 80's will recall this major talent. His fall was blamed on the Golfing Machine and now I realize this wasn't the case at all. Loved the book, but if you are looking for book on golf instruction DON'T buy it, if you're looking for background and the evolution of the Homer Kelley's Golf Machine this a must read.

I really enjoyed this book. I have read Bobby Clampett's "Impact Zone", and this history of Homer Kelley's quest really brought some background details, and connected some of the dots of Bobby Clampett's experiences. If you have read and enjoyed the "Impact Zone", I would suspect you would enjoy this as well. However, if you are looking for a detailed description into the actual "Golfing Machine" text, you won't find it here. This is, as stated, a biography of Homer Kelley, as well as providing details on the people who helped make his work on the Golfing Machine successful. Very well done, in my opinion.

A well written history of an interesting character. Don't look for instruction here. Buy Mr. Kelley's book.

This proved to be a different book than I was expecting as it was recommended to me as an instructional guide. It is not. However, I found this biographical effort very interesting, entertaining, and a fast read.

I have been dabbling around the edges of TGM for some 25 years now, but I always fealt both intimidated and confused by the Book. this book helps first to understand who Homer Kelly was, why he did what he did and some basic structure to get a newbie started into the world of TGM.

This is not a book about golf but a book about the life of Homer Kelly. I felt robbed thinking I was going to find any insights on his golf swing technique or findings but this is a waste of time. I'm glad I alo bought the Golfing Machine book otherwise I would have to kick somebody in the head. Anyhow, don't waste your precious $$ in this book as it is worthless.

I knew nothing about Homer Kelley and his Golfing Machine until I came across this book while browsing golf books. I thought the topic was interesting so I bought the book, and I found it to be a highly entertaining history of Homer Kelley and his Golfing Machine.

I did NOT buy this book to learn the details of Homer Kelley's Golfing Machine. If you want to learn the details, there are many resources on the web to get you started, for example The Golfing Machine site. [...]

I received this book as a gift and read it in deference to the giver, and although I had never heard of Homer Kelley the description sounded interesting. I love golf and science, so what the heck?
This could have been good had it been investigative journalism, rather than fawning biography. Checking with a range of qualified scientists to see whether the 'scientific facts' discovered by Homer were actually facts would have been helpful. Too bad, the author concluded a priori that Kelley had discovered immutable scientific truths about golf.
Well... then why did Kelley cite the Venturi effect, when a golf ball does not fly through a tube? Perhaps he meant the Bernoulli effect, but if he understood that concept he would not have felt so triumphant over Paul Runyon regarding the effect of a crosswind. Yes Homer, a crosswind does reduce lift and increase drag, so the ball will fall short. And no, it isn't just because you aim to the side of the target and thus into a quartering wind. But to understand why, you really need to understand fluid dynamics.
Anyway, it is clear that Homer Kelley was one of many, many self-taught people who pick up a few basic science books years after they finished school and think they have earned a PhD because they understand what a vector is. I have to read a lot of patents in my work and believe me, there are a lot of delusional people who have discovered "THE TRUTH".
Anyway, the book is fairly well written and it wasn't a bad slog, but I don't think the fact that a few marginal golf pros and instructors have bought into Kelley's 40 year old theory is sufficient justification for such an homage.
This book is probably best for true believers in The Golfing Machine, those who don't know science but are impressed with Homer Kelley's technobabble.

This book is the STORY about how Homer Kelley wrote his book. May be a good STORY but it is not Homer Kelley's Golfing machine. If you want a book that can improve your golf swing, this is not the book. 'The Golfing Machine' is the book you want NOT this one.