How I Play Golf [Hardcover]

Tiger Woods (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 9, 2001

For the first time, champion Tiger Woods reveals the five secrets to his amazing success--a combination of physical, metaphysical and psychological practices he uses daily to keep his game in top shape. Photos.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

No athlete has changed his sport the way Tiger Woods has transformed the world of golf. The Tiger phenomenon has created a new legion of golfers, seduced by Woods's almost effortless mastery of this most difficult game. In How I Play Golf Woods reveals the many facets of his game and offers a plethora of tips and advice aimed at all levels of play. Unlike most golf guides, and perhaps somewhat surprising from a player best known for his long game, How I Play Golf begins with the short game--putting, chipping, and pitching--before moving onto swing mechanics and hitting off the tee. Produced in conjunction with the editors of Golf Digest, the book is lavishly photographed and illustrated and offers a gold mine of useful ideas and mental images Tiger has collected over the years. Throughout, Tiger recounts memorable shots from his relatively brief career; for example, his only "perfect" shot (a 3-wood on No. 14 at St. Andrews) and his first putt at the 1995 Masters (a 20-footer for birdie on No. 1 that missed and rolled off the green). How I Play Golf is not only a first-rate instructional guide, it also communicates a passion and respect for the game that beginners, hackers, and low handicappers should find inspiring. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards

From Publishers Weekly

Very few sports figures have accomplished as much as Woods has already achieved at age 25. He has been named "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated twice; he has won more than 30 professional tournaments and he's the youngest player to win the Grand Slam four of the major pro championships. Despite his many commercials and product endorsements, Woods is one of the rare athletes who isn't overplayed in the media. Unlike many other sports stars, Woods plays and wins quietly. That may explain why this instructional book will reach far beyond the links. Woods talks about his experiences and his attitudes toward golf and life. The conversational tone is quite engaging: "The difference between golf and most other sports is that anyone of average intelligence and coordination can learn to play it well. It requires a commitment to being the best that you can be. That has always been my approach to the game.... Pop gave me many great lessons, not only about golf, but also about life. His greatest advice to me was always be myself." On watching the ball, Woods says, "If you're like me, you can't wait to see if the ball is tracking toward the hole right after the golf ball leaves the putterface.... The tendency to peek too soon causes your head to move and leads to off-sloppy contact.... I found an effective way to fight the problem: I practice putting with my left eye closed, so I can't see the target line at all with my peripheral vision. That makes it easier to keep my eyes looking straight down." Accompanied by wonderful photos, the book reads as if Woods is right there with the golfer, providing instructions. (Oct.) Forecast: With scheduled appearances on Oprah and Dateline along with extensive print and television advertising, this book will immediately shoot out of the bookstores. Strong sales should continue for a long time.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (October 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446529311
• ISBN-13: 978-0446529310
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.9 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (128 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 86 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Tiger Watching: Lessons in Patience and Perseverance! October 31, 2001

By Donald Mitchell HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

If you are like me, your golf swing will never be confused with Mr. Tiger Woods’s magnificent arcs. On the other hand, I enjoy watching him on television (even a lot of nongolfers do, too), and How I Play Golf is a very valuable, detailed look a how he eats, exercises, practices, prepares mentally, thinks through shots, sets up, and executes. I found this book to be the most revealing look at one golfer’s game that it has ever been my pleasure to look at and read about. Even if I can never learn anything from his game, I will certainly watch his game with a more educated eye in the future!

One of my major complaints about the photographs in most golf books is that the images do not illuminate what the text describes. These photographs are both well coordinated with the text, and easy to evaluate from an amateur perspective. I especially enjoyed seeing the details of the different grips Mr. Woods uses. I got several ideas for experiments to try in order to cure faults in my swing with those grip examples.

Another complaint about books by famous golfers is that they encourage too many people to emulate them. Mr. Woods makes it clear that this is how he plays golf, and why. In several places, he points out that his solutions will not be right for you. On the other hand, he plays with a lot of amateurs in pro-ams and studies with top teaching professionals. From those perspectives, he has a lot to say for the amateur, weekend golfer.

A great strength of this book is that it shows you and describes each element of the game from many different perspectives. You often see very large color photographs, from different angles. In other places, the degree of grip pressure is explored in considerable detail, with useful calibrations to experience. The text also describes why one approach works in a given situation and another one does not. For example, there are almost as many illustrations of common faults as of proper practice and performance. Seeing the “wrong” and the “right” side-by-side makes the message much clearer. In a few places, Mr. Woods also explains how his special physical skills permit him to do things that won’t work for very many other people. For example, he can feel the degree of “squareness” of the club head as it approaches the hitting zone and can make fine adjustments with his hands just before contact. He uses a grip that takes advantage of that talent. On the other hand, he cautions the reader to model the full swing on a golfer who has a similar physique and stature to oneself.

The book contains a lot of sound advice of the sort that you would eventually pick up by reading about 50 issues of Golf Digest. Those who want to see basics outlined all in one place will like this book. It has a lot of the richness of a Dave Pelz book, but is simplified to make the material easier to absorb and remember.

I also liked the way that key points are repeated throughout the book, in order to help drive them home.

Having watched a lot of Mr. Woods’s tournament rounds, I was pleased to see that he used many references to shots that I remember to make certain points. I was particularly impressed by his assessment that he seldom hits a “perfect shot” in remembering only one in the 12 tournaments he won in 2000.

Perhaps the most interesting advice in the book is to swing at only 80 percent of the effort you can make.

I have always found that it makes sense to build my game from the putting green back towards the tee. I was delighted to see that this book takes the same approach. Naturally, you will be tempted to skip ahead to the “blast away with the driver” sections, but do read all of the book. There’s lots of good information here. I have played with a number of pros who love to hit their drivers from the fairway. Imagine my fascination when I saw that the book has a section on how to do that.

If you are like me, you will come away with increased respect for the dedication that it has taken to develop this amazing level of skill and coolness. As Mr. Woods says, there are no short cuts. In fact, he has added a lot of discipline since first winning on the tour at 21.

No matter what happens to you on the course, or in life . . . keep your chin up and relax!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A good reference you will find yourself going back to June 10, 2003

By max fischer

Format:Hardcover

I am a low handicapper and can say that this book, while there weren't any epiphanies for me, confirmed for me a lot of the fundamentals and nuances to the game. I argue with my dad a lot about fundamentals and technique and I often turn back to this book to make my arguments. It is structured well, starting out with easy concepts (putting, chipping) and moving to the more difficult aspects of the full swing. The book also does not neglect the mental/conditioning aspects of the game, and specifically mentions fitness & stretching, one thing that very few weekend golfers do and it plagues their games and consistency.

Pros:
- Large color photos: too many golf books I've read try to explain the concepts almost solely in words and if you are not going to take lessons, seeing exactly what you should be doing in living color is the next best thing.
- Well structured: Starts w/ the easy stuff like putting/chipping to give golfer a sense of accomplishment, then moves to meat of book w/ basic full swing and a few variants.
- Time series: not many books I've seen have full-color, multiple angle time series and this book has several. Nothing beats videotaping yourself and comparing your swing to a pro at every point in your swing.
- Didn't forget the basics: he could've filled the book with trick shots and sophisticated moves, but there are a ton of good, basic lessons and thoughts for every phase of the full swing (and other parts of game). He includes the basic lessons on shot shaping and course management as well.
- Explains the "feel" well: a lot of golf is getting the feel of the right physics, and tiger explains some of the key `feel' points like the initial weight shift on the downswing well.

Cons:
- Time series: it's good that they're there, there just aren't enough of them and the intervals between shots within each times series could've been shorter.
- A little promotional: I guess you have to expect this and his editor/publisher probably insisted on it.

While I don't think Tiger needs any more money from book sales in addition to the millions he's already earned, I do find myself recommending this book to my high handicapper friends a lot and reference it myself a good deal.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best instructional golf book by far December 27, 2001

By M. Lynch

Format:Hardcover

"How I Play Golf" is easily the best instructional golf book I've ever come across. As I read the book, I was amazed at both the amount of information and the level of detail. Yes, Tiger obviously covers the fundamentals (vital information!) but he also discusses numerous more advanced topics (like hitting stingers and chipping with a 3-wood). Golfers of all skill levels can benefit enormously from this book. However, if you're just starting out, buy this book. It could save you years of frustration on the course.

For what it's worth, the (mild) review/criticisms of this book are weak. I don't see why Tiger was supposed to exclude (or re-write and re-photograph) great pieces previously included in issues of Golf Digest (which probably represents less than 1% of the book). To say this book is a rehash of old Golf Digest articles is flat-out wrong (I also subscribe to Golf Digest).

I have both "How I Play Golf" and a couple of David Leadbetter's instructional books - including "The Fundamentals of Hogan". In my opinion, Tiger's book is more far more understandable and useful (but that's just my opinion). Is this Tiger's version of "Five Lessons"? No. Why re-invent the wheel. Besides, that was 1957. Different time, different equipment, different players, different courses, different approaches, different books. Both good, but different.