Customer Reviews

Team Play Polo

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

 

 

I have been meaning to rebut the preceding review by 'A Customer' for years. William G. Langdon Jr. was severely, and I believe unjustly, criticized with a one star rating.

The book Team-Play-Polo Manual is indeed replete with grammatical mistakes and is difficult to read. It would appear that Mr. Langdon compiled notes over the years and transposed them into a manual, without taking the time for careful editing. However, there is a wealth of information in this book on the strategy and tactics of polo that one will not find anywhere else in written form. 'A Customer' claims that the 'tactics are true enough but tend to be basic and the average polo player should already chalk most of the info in this booklet up to common sense.' Having played polo in the USA, Europe and in South America, it has been my experience that most clubs and players have no idea of the tactics explained by Mr. Langdon. Most club chukkers are played as Mr. Langdon observes as bunched-up, 'straight polo', straight up the field . Mr. Langdon suggests a different geometry, playing in zones. If his tactics are so basic and common sense that the average player already knows them, why are these players not using them?

The book deserves a place on any polo enthusiast's bookshelf right along with Polo by Marco and Polo by Peter Grace. Whether you are new to the sport of polo, or if you are a polo instructor, this book is a small investment for the amount of knowledge you will gain. It is less that the cost of a one hour polo lesson and it will serve you well as a reference guide which you can use over and over again. The sketches of polo in action are wonderful, too

Take the chance, purchase this book and write your own review if you feel I am in error. Keep in mind that Team-Play-Polo Manual is priced reasonably while there are still copies available. Mr. Langdon's other book, Polo: A Way of Life, is similar to Team-Play-Polo Manual, is also a book worth reading, but is being sold used for $115. At under $40, Team-Play-Polo Manual sounds like a sound investment.

One more comment: If Mr. Langdon's knowledge is as commonplace as 'A Customer' claims, why are his books going for increasingly higher prices?

This booklet is written in partial sentences and edited poorly. The grammar is so poor that the text is hard to understand in many places. The team tactics are true enough but tend to be basic and the average polo player should already chalk most of the info in this booklet up to common sense.