Butch Harmons Playing Lessons (Hardcover)

by Butch Harmon (Author), John Andrisiani (Contributor) "Shinnecock Hills, located near the eastern tip of Long Island and about 90 miles from New York City, is one of the most historic venues..." (more)
Key Phrases: tournament tees, middle tees, tee shot, Butch's Lessons, Pebble Beach, Tiger Woods (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
When Tiger Woods has a glitch in his game, he heads directly to Butch Harmon. In his previous book, The Four Cornerstones of Golf, Harmon stressed the fundamentals. In Playing Lessons he takes a page from the classic A Round of Golf With Tommy Armour and accompanies you, in the form of three players of varying skill, on the course. And it is not just any course, but an amalgamated field of dreams comprising 18 of the most spectacular and interesting holes in golf from Shinnecock Hills to Winged Foot to Augusta to Merion. Stroke by stroke, Harmon walks and talks you through the processes. His insights offer proven techniques for lowering scores as he helps you shoot and think your way between the tee and the cup.

From Booklist
Golf instructional: The phrase conjures up another short-shelf-life photo album featuring a perfect-swinging pro pounding laser beams out of sight. Perish the thought with this well-designed, rewarding guide by the teacher of Tiger Woods. Addressing three player types (A, a single-digit handicapper; B, who longs to score in the 70s; and C, a short-driving slicer who dreams of breaking 90 [like this reviewer]), Harmon walks them over an imaginary round that consist of 18 "real-life" holes, including the most televised par 3s in America--hole 7 at Pebble Beach and hole 12 at Augusta. So off the first tee, this lesson has two mass-interest qualities: play on classy, history-soaked holes and advice from an expert beneficial to every level of regular weekend duffer. Harmon's stroke narrative makes sure A, B, and C make mistakes on every hole (no problem for C), and after they can their putts, he points out their errors, almost always mental. Attractively illustrated, this is an appealing three-in-one lesson. Gilbert Taylor

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st Fireside ed edition (May 4, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684833107
• ISBN-13: 978-0684833101
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,414,229 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book anyone who is serious about golf can read., February 16, 1999

By A Customer

I am an avid golfer and have read many books and magazines on the game of golf. None of the others compare to Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons. This book makes you excited about playing golf. Butch Harmon divides it into three levels of advice. One for the A player, one for the B player, and one for the C player. His drills and explanations make this book easy to relate to your game. The pictures in the book to complement his explanations are easy to recognize and utilize. Anyone serious about the game of golf should read this book.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best course management book out there, January 8, 2001

By	Drew Ross (Sharpsburg, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons (Paperback)

When I first started golfing I didn't realize how important course management was. I was really just interested in hitting the ball far and straight. And to be honest, that is what a beginner should concentrate on. But after hitting that first plateau, this book was really a breakthrough. Not only does it teach you how to manage a course to lower your score, it adds a very intriguing dynamic to the game itself. It is much like watching a football game without knowing the rules and strategies - laborious and dull. But once you know the rules and the intricate strategies developed to acheive your best score, you are infinitely more pleased with what you see.

Though I love that we get a guided tour of America's most storied golf holes, the fact that Harmon read my mind half of the time is what impressed me most. He lays out three separate strategies for three different levels of players. It is astonishing how he contrasts the different thought patterns of the lower v. higher handicappers. There are times where he makes high handicappers feel like idiots, but if you want to get better, hearing the truth about your game is the best way. I recommend this book very highly for all those tired of "reading" golf books with nothing but pictures and tips in them. While Butch does give a few tips, it is his golf mentality that is so fresh. And while the book is graphically impeccable, it isn't overcrowded with a bunch of confusing graphics and diagrams. Not your run-of-the-mill golf instruction book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Reading" a round of golf, May 23, 2004

By	T. Enst - See all my reviews

This review is from: Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons (Paperback)

In this volume, you are taken through 18 holes selected form courses across the US. Some are wildly famous, like the 12th at Augusta National, others are more likely to be known by long-time golf fans. The field is made up of 3 "types" of golfers, all ametures: a low, mid, and high handicapper. The rounds are played out, seeming from the imagination of the author, who has no doubt seen people play these or similar holes in precicely the fashion he describes. He offers advice, which the players choose to heed or ignore, either to their benifit or disaster.

The book, once read, shows itself to being a collection of common and a few not so common faults that different levels of golfers are prone to make. They are made easier to read and study through the format of a round at a variety of courses in several situations (windy, wet, calm, etc.).

Where the color photos of the courses and illustrations of how the ball progressed across the holes makes the book visually appealing, and where it does offer a great deal in terms of instruction and practical playing advice, it would have helped to have illustrations or photos of what people did wrong with their swings, etc., at times. Remebering how to do it the right way and not thinking about what went wrong is probably the right attitude to have entry level players follow, but if this book was meant for more advanced players as well, it leaves a bit to be desired.

Another unfortunate impression the book leaves is the idea that there is only one way for each person to play a particular hole, and that way is the one the author suggests. This book being his world, I suppose this is to be expected. However, a few more options per hole would have made for more interesting reading.