The Scrambler's Dozen: The 12 Shots Every Golfer Needs to Score Like the Pros [Hardcover]

Mike McGetrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 2000

In this invaluable book, Mike McGetrick, one of "Golf" Magazine's Top 100 Teaching Professionals in America and 1999 National PGA Teacher of the Year, shows how to make the best shot possible and shave strokes off your game. Sharing the same methods he uses when coaching some of the best players in the world, McGetrick outlines 12 basic shots you can incorporate into your game without overhauling your technique.

"Shotmaking is much more than simply curving the ball or hitting it low and high," explains Mike McGetrick, personal instructor to top golf professionals such as Juli Inkster, Brandt Jobe, and Meg Mallon. "It's understanding how the lie, the wind, the contour of the target and the hazards of the course will affect your decision making process." To reach full scoring potential on a course, you have to be a scrambler at heart, a master who can read a course's shifting challenges-from weather and terrain to pin positions-and adapt accordingly.

Following the clear advice in The Scrambler's Dozen, you will learn to be a great scrambler-to trust your decisions and your ability to execute shots to get the greatest rewards from the game. Like the pros, you too can learn when and how to chip or pitch or putt from off the green, and know how to practice so you're rarely in unfamiliar situations on the golf course. The Scramblers Dozen is the secret for squeezing every ounce out of your game and reaching your full scoring potential.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In a perfect golfing universe, every drive would sail straight and every approach would land gently on the green, at tap-in range for birdie. Of course, there's no such thing as a perfect golfing universe. The best a golfer can do is be well-prepared for the harsh realities. As Bobby Jones once noted, golf's secret is the ability to convert a potential three strokes into two. In The Scrambler's Dozen, Mike McGetrick, the 1999 National PGA Teacher of the Year, identifies 12 shots that every golfer, regardless of handicap, needs to be able to pull out of the bag to help accomplish that.

McGetrick's arsenal moves from tee to green and includes both difficult recovery shots--such as exploding from a bunker, flopping, flyers, and hanging lies--and shots designed to work a ball with purpose, not just prayer--the lag putt, the fade, the feathered iron, and the standard pitch and its variations. For each, he clearly explains why and when you need the shot, how to approach it mentally, and--via photos--the physical set-up and swing required to accomplish it. Then he offers game-filled practice drills designed to help make learning this stuff fun, and to keep you working enough to trust the shots when you need them. Once that's laid out, he carefully summarizes his instruction with bullet points that include simple--and important--swing thoughts.

"Scrambling isn't reserved only for your off-days," McGetrick stresses. "Good golfers scramble every round." The key is scrambling with confidence. McGetrick's book will certainly help you lower your score. --Jeff Silverman

Review

"I've been working with Mike for 14 years, and what makes our relationship so good and so lasting is his communication style. Mike has made golf more fun for me by teaching me how to turn practice into something that really helps on the course. He helped me gain confidence by practicing specific shots, especially around the greens. Now when I'm faced with a pressure shot on the course, I have something real to fall back on. That's something that every golfer can use." -- Meg Mallon, LPGA player and former U.S. Women's Open champion

"Mike's greatest strength is that he makes instruction very easy through his ability to explain. In golf, people are always trying things they aren't comfortable with and don't know how to do. Mike has a way of teaching you pressure situations so that they become routine. His goal is that you never find yourself in an unrehearsed situation on the golf course. That's important no matter who you are or what's on the line. The advice Mike gives recreational golfers is the same I use every day to make my living, and it's a major asset." -- Brandt Jobe, PGA Tour player and winner of 14 professional events worldwide, including the 1998 Japanese PGA Championship

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins; 1st edition (April 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062702467
• ISBN-13: 978-0062702463
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,293,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cuts to the chase, April 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Scrambler's Dozen: The 12 Shots Every Golfer Needs to Score Like the Pros (Hardcover)

If you're looking for the standard golf book, this isn't it. This book cuts to the chase about how to lower your score. You won't find terms such as supination, inclination, and on-plane, instead you'll get good solid information about how to play 12 shots that will help you to play better golf immediately. That's what I look for in a golf book and The Scrambler's Dozen delivers. Thanks to Mike McGetrick and Tom Ferrell for a job well done. I'd recommend this book for beginners and mid-to-high handicappers.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this as your second golf book, November 26, 2003

By 

Robin L. Stacpoole "robin_lbs" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scrambler's Dozen: The 12 Shots Every Golfer Needs to Score Like the Pros (Paperback)

I'm a high handicapper, however, this book is concise, clear and actionable. Mike describes 12 useable shots. The descriptions are technically clear and memorable. For example, the chapter on putting was simple and to the point, the 3 steps Mike recommends have helped me see green slope. The thoughts on hitting a low trajectory shot (a low shot requires a low finish) are simple to understand and stay in your memory regardless of if you are in a forest to the side of a fairway or on the practice range.

If you are not confident being able to get the ball into the air on the golf course you need a book on basics. Otherwise, this is a really good, valuable, actionable, short read. David Perz take note (please).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A roadmap to rapid improvement, May 23, 2003

By 

"[e-mail]" (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scrambler's Dozen: The 12 Shots Every Golfer Needs to Score Like the Pros (Hardcover)

I have read a number of books and magazine articles over the
years, but none have given me insight on what shots I need to
concentrate on most.

This book outlines the twelve most important shots and
describes in detail, how to go about accomplishing them.

This book is making me a better golfer in record time!
I highly recommend it!