Straight Down the Middle: Shivas Irons, Bagger Vance, and How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Golf Swing

Straight Down the Middle: Shivas Irons, Bagger Vance, and How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Golf Swing to give it its full title is a very amusing book by  journalist and keen amateur golfer Josh Karp. The book is an account of Josh Karp’s quest to achieve inner peace to improve his golf, all through the art of Zen Buddhism.

Assisted by a quirky roster of excellent practitioners of esoteric, Eastern-fueled, non-traditional golf instruction that include Feldenkrais, The Emotional Freedom Technique, Aikido, meditation, Buddhism and other practices. Karp embarks on a unique journey that takes him across United States  and Scotland fairways that’s as funny as it is illuminating.

The book is written in a very inviting unstuffy way that had me wanting to keep reading on, every time I had to put it down.   Along the path Karp meets with various golf masters offering alternative practices and methods to conventional golf pro teachers tapping into the links between golf and spirituality.

The book is very enjoyable and had me laughing out loud as well as practising the theories and not undertaking any further golf lessons to correct my own swing from ‘conventional’ PGA pros at my local golf clubs.

Straight Down the Middle: Shivas Irons, Bagger Vance, and How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Golf Swing is both funny and enlightening, and well worth reading for any amateur golfer who like me is frustrated by a game that he plays for relaxtion.

For more information on the autor visit www.joshkarpbooks.com.

Title: Straight Down the Middle: Shivas Irons, Bagger Vance, and How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Golf Swing
Author: Josh Karp
ISBN: 978-0-8118-6539-9
Price: $23.95
Publisher: Chronicle Books

The Golf Book

Chicken Soup for the Soul has teamed up with Golf Digest magazine to present The Golf Book – a collection of 101 real life, inspirational stories written by US PGA tour pros, US celebrities, sports writers and amateurs.

They share everything from the moment they fell in love with the game, tales of adventure playing golf all over the world and even some very touching moments about pure friendship.

Trust instinct to the end even though it render no reason, my father used to say. I’ve heeded this advice my entire life, not only to know which kind of shot to hit in a golf tournament, but also when to walk away from certain people in business, writes PGA champion Gary Player in his story, Trusting Instincts.

The book’s editor, Max Adler of Golf Digest magazine, recounts his experience caddying at the Old Course at St Andrews while studying abroad in Scotland, and the reverence he felt for the course.

“In two years living in St Andrews, I estimate I went around the Old Course about 120 times, equal parts playing and caddying,” writes Adler.  “And every single time I got to the 16th tee, without fail, the mood of the round changed. The 16th tee is the point where the quality and history of each shot left to be played is overwhelming. If your heart doesn’t skip as you walk over the legend-worn stones of the ancient Swilcan Bridge, you’re not a golfer, perhaps not even human.”

In Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Golf Book, you’ll also read about:

• How New York Times sports columnist Dave Anderson realized being a spectator at a pro golf tournament was better than any other sports event

• How SportCenter’s John Buccigross played a round of golf with one of his sports heroes, Hockey Hall of Famer Raymond Bourque

• How Kenny G learned never to give up during a game of golf because anything can happen

• How popular singer-songwriter Josh Kelley’s love of golf helped to cultivate his music career

The Golf Book is an amusing, light-hearted read.  Perfect for a relaxing day at the beach, dreaming of a day at the golf course.

Free Competition

Please Note: This competition is now closed

Enter our Free Competition to be one of 5 lucky winners who will each receive a copy of The Golf Book

To enter the competition all you need to do is correctly answer the following question:

Which young Irish golfer came fourth in the recent US PGA Championship?

Send your entries to freecompetition@buzzinmedia.co.uk with The Golf Book Comp in the subject line with your answer and your full address and contact telephone number.

This Buzzin Golf Free Competition ends on 21st September, 2009. The editor will randomly choose 5 winners.

The editor’s choice is final.

The New Rules of Golf Instruction

Charlie King, is a GOLF Magazine Top 100 instructor who runs a golf academy in Georgia, United States.

He recently released a free e-book called The New Rules of Golf Instruction which discusses how traditional golf instruction has failed, and is something of a call to action for golfers everywhere to get golf instructors to use a modern set of ideas and standards.

You can also contact Charlie King by email.

The Art Of Golf

The Art Of Golf – Golf’s original instruction manual has been re-published after more than a century.

The Art Of Golf is golf’s original instruction manual.  But hitherto this book was out of print in the UK since the late nineteenth century.

Cambridge publisher The Oleander Press has published the classic guide to after more than a century.

The Art of Golf is a rare and classic treasure of sporting literature and a must for every golfer’s bookshelf.

The Art of Golf is one diehard links-addict’s attempt to accumulate all man’s golfing knowledge to that point; to bring  mindset and method together in one volume and after 121 years lost in the rough, this edition finds the green once more.

More often defining the flights of fancy of the player himself rather than those of his ball, it nevertheless frequently offers pithy, erudite advice along with tips, tricks and tactics, delivered with a dry, sardonic  humour to golfers ancient and modern, young and old, on how to improve their game.

The book is a fascinating exploration and homage to this enthralling and most frustrating of human pursuits; The Art of Golf provides an enlightening glimpse into the game of golf’s past.

The author, Sir Walter Grindlay Simpson (1843 – 1898), was educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. A good friend of Robert Louis Stevenson, their canoeing trip through Belgium and France is recounted in Stevenson’s first published book An Inland Voyage.

Simpson, Captain of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers in 1886 and 1887, wrote frequently on his passion for magazines and periodicals but his two main published works are collected here – The Art of Golf and the essay “Out of Form” written for the Badminton Library’s Golf (1890).

This new edition of The Art of Golf celebrates the 121st anniversary of the original edition and features the complete texts and all the original images, photographs and drawings, digitally enhanced where possible.

Oleander Press’ Jon Gifford said: ‘Re-publishing The Art of Golf has been a fascinating experience and one that we’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve known of the book for years but didn’t realise just how much players today could learn from the writings of a devotee over 100 years ago.’

The Art of Golf is published by The Oleander Press, priced £14.95 and would make a perfect Christmas gift for any golfer.  As a Buzzin Golf reader you can claim a discount when buying direct from the publishers website – www.OleanderPress.com.  The discount code is Golf08.

FREE COMPETITION

Win a copy of The Art Of Golf by simply entering our Free competition.

Please Note: This competition has now closed

To enter the competition all you need to do is correctly answer the following question:

Who wrote The Art Of Golf?

Send your entries to freecompetition@buzzinmedia.co.uk with Buzzin Art Of Golf Competition in the subject line with your answer and your full address and contact telephone number.

The Buzzin Golf Free Competition ends on 31 December, 2008. The editor will randomly choose 5 winners. Each will receive a copy of The Art Of Golf.

The editor’s choice is final.

The Right Sticks by Tom Wishon is a great read

With only a few weeks until Christmas, every keen golfer will be anticipating the odd stocking-filler come Christmas Day morning.

Unfortunately some golf presents will be worthless – I’ve never received a novelty Callaway or Titleist ball or a pair of shocking pink Stromberg trousers.  But I find suggesting a few golf books means the thought, as well as the gift itself, counts.

The Right Sticks by Tom Wishon is a great read.

The full title of the book gives you more of an idea what this book is about: The Right Sticks – Equipment Myths That Could Wreck Your Golf Game.

Wishon seeks to dispel many of the myths that surround today’s golf clubs and how they impact on your game of golf.

The book isn’t aimed at any one in particular, but Wishon’s candid analysis will allow the reader to make an informative choice by seeing through much of the hype.

Amateur golfers are told so called “facts” about golf equipment and Wishon discusses some of the most common ones, including:

The bigger the clubhead, the better

The longer the length of the club, the further you can hit the ball

Women’s clubs are designed for women

Golf clubs sold to amateurs are exactly the same as those sold to professional golfers

Custom-fitted golf clubs are only for really good golfers

All the above, according to Tom Wishon, are myths not facts, and in The Right Sticks he offers good reason for you to believe him.

The Right Sticks is Tom Wishon’s eighth book and follows recent titles: The Search For The Perfect Golf Club (2006) and The Search For The Perfect Driver (2007).

Tom Wishon has every reason to write this book as he has been a leading golf club designer for the past 33 years and has over 50 different design “firsts” to his name.

In April 2007 Golf Digest Tom Wishon was referred to as “an innovator – one of three on the edge of golf technology.”

Dom Joly Golf DVD - Dom Joly

THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO ENTERED THIS COMPETITION.

WE WILL CONTACT THE WINNERS SHORTLY.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Unfortunately we have had to temporarily suspend this competition due to the DVD release date change which has caused the PR company to withdraw the offer of sending 10 copies of the DVD for competition winners.

We are currently negotiating an alternative prize.

All those that have already entered the competition, please accept our deepest apologies.  Your name will go forward and 10 competition winners will be chosen on 30 November, as before.

Each competition winner will now receive two from the following DVD titles: Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights Complete Series One, Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights Complete SeriesTwo, Spitting Image Complete 2nd Series, Meet The Spartans, 8 Out Of 10 Cats – Claws Out.

DVD’s will be sent without any preferred choices.

Once again, please accept our apologies for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

Dom Joly's Golfing Greats, Gaffes & Goofs DVD

Dom Joly’s Golfing Greats, Gaffes & Goofs DVD is to released on 1st December

The DVD is a collection of great golf, including some fantastic hole-in-one shots, some funny mishaps, including Richard Finch falling into the water at this year’s Irish Open; and some humorous clips including animals on golf courses.  Animals include a vicious duck attacking a golfer attempting to help her stranded ducklings out of a bunker, a stubborn swan, a thieving seagull and a cheeky monkey!

This collection of golf clips is introduced and narrated by funny man Dom Joly.  It also includes new golf sketches with familiar Dom Joly humour, as he does his best to annoy everyone on the golf course.  In character, Joly shows his disgust for ladies being allowed to play golf, and old people ‘getting in the way’ and smelling of “wee”!

Best known for his tv comedy series Trigger Happy, this humorous DVD is released just in time for Christmas, and follows Dom Joly’s very amusing and successful, Letters To My Golf Club, which was released in 2007.

Dom Joly’s Golfing Greats, Gaffes & Goofs DVD is approximately 60 minutes long and a perfect Christmas stocking filler for any golfer with a good sense of humour.  RRP £19.99

Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect by Bob Rotella

I’m currently reading another book by well respected sports psychologist, Bob Rotella,  Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect.

In Chapter 9: Let The Short Game Flow, Rotella places similar importance on routines and clearing the mind of any distractions in the same way as for other parts of the game.  But helping me make my short game better is Rotella’s focus on three words – trust, feel and confidence.

Like many aspects of psychology, when I read it I can’t help thinking it is nothing more than common sense.  But to read it and then keep it in mind the next time I find myself around the green with a wedge & putter to make an impressive par, is when I really appreciate how simple Rotella keeps his writing.

Rotella suggests any golf pro should be thinking of getting the ball in the hole, not near the pin, from 180 yards.  For an amateur he suggests the yardage to be more like 60 – 90 depending on the handicap.

Most important he suggests is, when you find yourself around the edge of the green with a wedge in hand, you will need to losen your grip and feel the shot.  Take more practice shots and when it feels right, trust your judgment and be confident of your ability to succeed.

Rotella states that the majority of my shots as a high handicapper are going to be made on or around the green, so it makes perfect sense to me when he says I should spend 70% of my practising with my short irons, wedges & putter.

If the three driving ranges I frequent are anything to go by, I meet very few golfers on the chipping green, putting greens and practising over or out of the bunker.  Most are trying to hit the back fence with the oversized drivers!

The Rotary Swing by Chuck Quinton

Book Review – The Rotary Swing by Chuck Quinton

The Rotary Swing is a trademarked name for what Chuck Quinton explains to be a simple approach to the basic golf swing, something he suggests in many cases is over complicated by too much analysis and staged management.

After an introductory explanation of the swing, this book breaks down each of the main components of a successful golf swing, at all times emphasising that many golfers and coaches alike lose sight of how simple this process is.

Through ten chapters Chuck Quinton discusses the role of the body as the “engine” of the swing movement, the forward tilt, and the “passive arms”. He then moves onto the grip, set up and ball position before explaining the back swing and the down swing.

For anyone already familiar with the breakdown or mechanics of a golf swing you will see The Rotary Swing works through the same set of fundamentals as other teaching methods. I have been playing golf for about 18 months now and didn’t read anything here that I hadn’t already been taught or addressed.

That said, the book itself offers a clear and simple breakdown of how to swing a golf club correctly.

Quinton suggests that more seasoned amateurs can do more damage by deconstructing a natural swing and complicating the swing and their mind by focusing too hard on what is wrong with their golf swing.

From someone who can hit a bad fade when I’m not thinking straight or sometimes, thinking too much, I am not sure that any book can help eradicate poor technique if it is not clear to the golfer why he is hitting poor shots in the first place. Speaking from experience, I needed two coaches to explain the same problem in two different ways before I was able to fully understand the problem and manage to rectify the cause.

But I do appreciate part of Quinton’s point is true, my problem swing was exacerbated by my thinking too much and not simply getting back to basics.

So, if you are new to the game of golf and want a clear and simple instruction book then this is as good a place to start than any. If you are in a rut and you want to go back to basics, again this book will help clear your head. But I personally don’t think reading this book alone will alter any bad habits or improve your swing.

The Rotary Swing by Chuck Quinton is $14.95

For more information visit www.RotarySwing.com or www.OnePlaneGolfSwing.com

Being on the brink of breaking 100, I know my short game lets me down. Regularly three-putting, sometimes more, I am confident if I address this part of my game I will be scoring in the 90’s and therefore be looking to receive a handicap.

A friend suggested I read Bob Rotella’s book Putting Out Of Your Mind.  Rotella is a sports psychologist and has helped some of the top PGA golfersin the United States.  The book is only 165 pages and his writing style is easy to read.

The first thing I picked up from reading the book to consdier working back from the pin, instead of towards the pin.  I liked this approach.  It made sense to me, as there is nothing more deflating to get the ball onto the green of a par five in say three shots, only to three-putt!

Having studied the basics of psychology, the mind over matter principle is something I was aware of already, but Rotella’s book has certainly made me focus on a few routines when I putt now.

Since reading the book I have not yet played a round of golf, only practised on the putting green, which we all know is a completely different story!

Weather permitting, I will be putting my new found confidence to the test in the next few days, hopefully.  I will of course report back on my progress.  In the meantime, I would be interested to know if anyone found the book useful.