Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf

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He saw the whole person and he could teach anybody, from any walk of life, from a raw beginner to the best player in the world. They really enjoy it and I know that some have been gifting it to other golfer friends, which means they really did like it ;) If you love golf, I definitely recommend it. In this classic book, which is named for the red notebook he always kept, Penick’s simple, direct, practical wisdom pares away the hypertechnical jargon that’s grown up around the golf swing, and lets all golfers, whatever their level, play their best. This is my favorite golf book of all time that I would only recommend to a dedicated group of golfers. The interlocking grip, with the forefinger of the top hand laced between the little finger and the ring finger of the bottom hand is for people with short fingers.

The most beloved golf book of all time, Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book has become required reading for all players and fans of the game, from beginners to seasoned pros. When the club face is pointed perfectly down the target line when you make contact with the ball, you have managed to find yourself with a square club face. The late Harvey Penick was one of the game's great teachers and his Little Red Book is one of the game's great inspirational motivators. Ben has his own course, designed by Ben and his partner, at the Barton Creek Country Club layout, a ten-minute drive away from us. If you aren't sure where to position the ball for any iron, take a couple of practice swings and note where the club-face brushes with the ground.

Now take one, or two or three practice strokes, concentrating on each one as if you are trying to make the putt, judging the distance.

One gets the sense that Penick is just simply a super nice guy and he truly wants to help people play good golf. The reason for not going forward is tenseness-keep the hands together, then the move forward is easy. What sets the great teachers apart from the others is not merely golf knowledge, but the essential art of communication. To this day it is on every best seller list, and is considered to be required reading amongst all levels of golfers. His tone was very serious and straightforward, but sometimes you could pickup some little slips of some humor.Don’t let this term confuse you – face angle means nothing more than the direction the face is pointing. I can see Jackson Bradley out teaching on the practice line, and there are moments when I might want to make a suggestion, but I don't do it.

The author of this book " Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf" lived from 1904 - 1995.

At the beginning of this book, the above professional golf champions introduce Harvey to the reader. This book makes you feel good about playing golf, that you're part of something steeped in ritual and mystery and tradition, and that the game was played perfectly well before perimeter-weighted, graphite-shafted irons came along. Most likely, you are going to expect the ball to curve at least slightly in one direction or another, since hitting straight golf shots is extremely difficult. Earlier my old friend Ben Crenshaw, the Masters champion who had grown up with Tommy Kite in the group of boys that I taught at the old Austin Country Club across town, dropped by our home for a visit and brought his wife and daughter to see Helen and me. For those of you who aren't familiar with Harvey Penick, he was a golf instructor from Texas who was the teacher behind many hall of fame careers.

He was content to let the book pass down to his children, but was ultimately convinced to publish it in the early 90s. Comprised of epigrams and anecdotes culled from the notes Penick took over a very long lifetime, it is filled with gentle prodding, practical swing advice, calming emotional counsel, a contagious love for the game and much good will and encouragement for golfers at every level. The motion you make lopping off dandelions with your weed cutter is the perfect action of swinging a golf club through the hitting area. The game of golf has changed since then, and he notes it near the end of the book when he covers trick shots. Once your ball finds the short grass from the tee box, you should be filled with confidence, but your best opportunity to inflate that self belief comes when you reach the green.Learning- Harvey Penick divulges that he learns teaching from teachers, lerns golf from golfers, and learns winning from coaches. Another tip Penick gives is to practice your putting on a level surface on the green, or slightly uphill. He coached the following members of the Golf Hall of Fame : Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw Micky Wright, Betsy Rawls, and Kathy Whitworth. Betsy Rawls, 8-Time LPGA Major Champion Penick says he decided to become a teacher after he saw Sam Snead at a Houston Open in the mid-1930s. Harvey had more golfing wit, wisdom, and experience in his little finger than I could hope to accumulate in several lifetimes.