Golf For Dummies, 2nd UK Edition E-Book

Gary McCord

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Seitenzahl: 564

Beschreibung

The fun and easy way to get into the swing of things and take strokes off your game - fast Whether you're a total beginner or you've clocked a few hours on the links, Golf For Dummies, 2nd Edition is the only guide you need. Packed with expert tips and techniques for everything from mastering your grip, stance and swing to shaping up with golf-specific exercises, this updated and expanded edition of the international bestseller features new, step-by-step photos, tips for women players, seniors and lefties, and loads of fun golf history facts. * Learn your ABCs - master the basics, from golf lingo and choosing your clubs, to who to play with and where * Watch your step - get the lowdown on golf rules, how to keep score, and take a crash-course on gamesmanship and the do's and taboos of golf-course etiquette * Get into the swing - delve into the art and science of the golf swing, including how to blast your way out of bunkers and how to develop an effective putting stroke * Tackle the tough shots - finesse difficult shots like a pro and deal with bad weather and bad luck with grace and skill * Fine-tune your play - zero in on common faults and bad habits and learn time-tested techniques for easily fixing them once and for all * To school or not to school - decide whether formal lessons are right for you and find out how to select a great teacher 'If you've ever wanted to know more about golf or improve your game then this is your guide' - The Fairway, from a review of the 1st edition 'Does exactly what it says on the tin!' - Today's Golfer, from a review of the 1st edition Open the book and find: * Tips on choosing golf balls and clubs * Exercises for getting and staying in golf shape * How to develop your own swing * Putting, chipping and pitching * Mastering grip, stance and swing * Simple fixes for common faults * Golf rules and etiquette * Advice on taking advantage of high-tech equipment * Where to play in the UK and Europe Learn to: * Master your grip, stance and swing * Improve your game with tips from the pros * Overcome the game's mental challenges with tricks and exercises

Leseprobe

Golf For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/golfuk to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

What You’re Not to Read

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organised

Part I: Welcome to a Great Game

Part II: You Ain’t Got a Thing If You Ain’t Got That Swing

Part III: Common Faults and Easy Fixes

Part IV: Taking Your Game Public

Part V: How to Be a Smart Golf Consumer

Part VI: The Part of Tens

Part VII: Appendixes

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Welcome to a Great Game

Chapter 1: Why Play Golf?

How It All Began: Discovering Golf’s Origins

Examining Why Golf Is Unique

Breaking Down a Typical Course

Playing a Smart Game

Becoming a ‘Real’ Golfer

Living the Golf Life

Chapter 2: Choosing Your Weapons Wisely

How Much Will This Cost Me?

The upscale approach

Golf on a budget

Golf Balls: The Dimple Derby

Knowing What Clubs to Put in Your Bag

Find an interim set of clubs

Try this on for size

Made to measure: DIY clubs

Choosing Your Clubs When You Know Your Game

Deciding When to Use Each Club

Debating Tradition versus Technology: High-Tech Tweaks

Trying more advanced clubs and balls

Looking to the future

Clothes: How to Dress Like a Pro

Accessories: The Goods to Get

Chapter 3: Taking Golf Lessons (and Other Sources of Help)

Pre Pro: Keeping Tabs on Your Game before Lessons

Deciding Where to Go for Lessons

Golf schools

Driving ranges

Local clubs

A playing lesson

Getting the Most from Your Lessons

Be honest

Listen up

Drop your doubts

Ask questions

Stay calm

Finding Other Ways to Get Help

Golf books that are as good as this one (well, almost)

Golf magazines

Golf online

Golf on the box

DVDs: Channel the pixels

Apps ahoy: Golf wisdom in the palm of your hand

Instructional gadgets

Chapter 4: Getting in Golf Shape

Why So Many New Golfers Give Up

Five Essential Elements for Success

The Keys to Golf Fitness

Structure governs function

Physical training improves structure

Exercise programmes must be golf-specific and, ideally, customised

Tests and Exercises to Improve Your Golf Fitness

Test 1: Club behind the spine

Test 2: Standing balance sway

Test 3: Seated trunk rotation

Test 4: Seated hip rotation

Core Exercises for More Power and Less Pain

Downward belly burners

Superman

Russian twists

Seated torso rotations

Bow-and-arrow twister

Medicine ball twists

Chapter 5: Where to Play and How to Fit In

Exploring Your Golf-Course Options

Driving ranges

Public courses

Private clubs

Resort courses

Getting a Deal on Memberships or Green Fees

Making the club scene more affordable

Saving at resorts and public courses

Fitting In on the Course

When You’re the Worst in Your Group

Pick it up!

Find your own ball

Never moan, never analyse

When You’re Not the Worst

Avoiding Playing with a Jerk (and Coping if It Happens Anyway)

Who not to play with

How to endure

Part II: You Ain’t Got a Thing If You Ain’t Got That Swing

Chapter 6: Getting into the Swing of Things

Understanding Swing Basics

Examining Different Strokes

Flight School: Getting the Ball in the Air

Hitting the ball

Getting the ball airborne

Generating power

Building Your Swing

Getting a grip

Completing the grip

Aiming

Nailing down the stance

Considering knee flex

Deciding on ball position

Maximising the bottom of the swing

Keeping your eyes on the ball

Observing the one-hand-away rule

Unleashing Your Swing

Making miniswings: Hands and arms

Testing your rhythm

Unwinding

Getting yourself together

Selecting swing triggers: What’s a waggle?

Visualising shots

Watching a near-perfect swing: Hey, that’s me!

Chapter 7: Improve Your Move: Refining Your Swing

What Type of Golfer Are You?

Establishing Your Swing Plane

Mastering checkpoints

Taking it from the top

Boldly Going Where Others Have Gone Before: Mirroring Great Swings

Chapter 8: Chipping and Pitching: Short-Game Secrets

Golf’s Ups and Downs: Exploring the Short Game

Making Your Pitch

Chips Ahoy! Setting Up a Solid Chip

Pick your spot

Choose the right club

Lies and secrets: Consider your ball placement

Chip away!

Chapter 9: Putting: The Game within the Game

Putting Yourself About

Preparing for Putting’s Mind Games

The Most Important Club in the Bag: Examining Putters

Your stroke shape tells which putter you need

Picking a putter: From MOI to you

It’s a lo-o-ng story: Long putters and belly putters

Building Your Putting Stroke

The putting grip

Putting posture: Stand and deliver

Matching your putt to your full swing

Getting up to speed

Reading the break

Reading the grain

Long Putts: Lags

Short Putts: Knee-Knockers

Shh! Nobody Mentions the Yips

Side-saddling Up: Face-on Putting

The Art of Aiming

The eyes like lines

The need for speed

Points of the roll

Chapter 10: Bunker Play: It’s Easy (Really!)

Don’t Call ’Em Traps! Avoiding Trouble in Bunkers

The Trouble with Sand

Gotta Bounce: Exploring How a Club’s Bounce Affects Sand Shots

Throwing Sand: Hitting Effective Bunker Shots

Buried Alive! Extracting a Plugged Ball

Part III: Common Faults and Easy Fixes

Chapter 11: Did I Do That? Solving Common Problems

For Better Golf, Use Your Head

Considering Common Swing Faults

Slicing and hooking

Hitting from the top

The reverse pivot

Swaying off the ball

The belly-button twist

A swing that’s too short

A swing that’s too long

Tackling Trouble off the Tee

Popping up your tee shots

Suffering from a power outage

Direction, Please: Hitting the Ball toward the Target

Pushing

Pulling

Spraying the ball

Do Yourself a Solid: Getting Proper Ball Contact

Topping the ball

Avoiding the worm burner

Duffing and thinning chip shots

Worrying about backspin

Avoiding Shanks and Point-Blank Misses

Shanking

Missing too many short putts

Chapter 12: Beating Bad Breaks and Bad Weather

Understanding the Mental Game

Fear can be your friend

Proving yourself to yourself

Positivity

Getting Out of a Rough Spot

Tackling Tree Trouble

Making Special Shots

Altitude adjustment

Uneven lies

Digging out of divots

Hang Onto Your Hat: Handling High Winds

Swingin’ in the Rain

Packing the right equipment: Smooth sailing or choppy seas

Wet course conditions

A Game for All Seasons: Weathering the Elements

Swinging into spring

Heading into hot summer swings

Having a ball in the autumn

Winterising your game

Part IV: Taking Your Game Public

Chapter 13: Step Right Up and Play!

Loosening Up

Warming Up Your Swing

First-Tee Tactics

Tactic 1: Don’t be a sucker

Tactic 2: Think before you drive

Tactic 3: It’s easy as one, two, three

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses

Beating the first-tee jitters

Deciding Which Format You Should Play

Keeping Score

Practice Makes Better

Chapter 14: Rules, Etiquette and Keeping Score

Beware of Dog – and Watery Filth! Perusing Golf’s Original Rules

Understanding the Rules Today

Marking a scorecard

Tee time: Teeing up

Finding a lost ball

Taking a drop

Avoiding advice

Etiquette: Knowing the Right Way to Play

Getting a Handle on the Handicap System

Getting a handicap

Calculating your handicap

Understanding what your handicap means

Put It on the Card: Keeping Score

Match play

Stroke play

Dealing with Penalty Shots

Out-of-bounds

Unplayable lies

Water hazards

Lateral water hazards

The dreaded whiff

Chapter 15: Gamesmanship and Sportsmanship

Wanna Bet?: Gambling on Your Golf Match

Knowing common bets and how to win them

Negotiating strokes at the first tee

Conceding putts: ‘That one’s good’

Choosing Up Sides

Showing Off Your Match-Play Smarts

Being a Grinder

Minding Your Manners When Golf is All Business

Surviving a Pro-Am

Get a caddie

Be ready to hit

Forget your mobile

Get a yardage book

Don’t insist on holing out a doomed ball

Don’t sweat your score or whether your pro sweats the score

Watch your step

Don’t coach the pro

Chapter 16: Stepping Up Your Game

Moving from Golf Novice to Golf Greatness (okay, Goodness)

Surveying Strategic Stroke-Savers

Minimising trouble

Knowing when to be a hero

Taking one more club

Seeking professional help

Channelling the Champs

Part V: How to Be a Smart Golf Consumer

Chapter 17: Watching Golf in Person and on the Telly

Seeking Out Live Golf

Local amateur golf events

National amateur golf tournaments

Professional tours

The European Tour

Getting the Most out of Your Tour Spectating

Knowing How to Interact with Players

Avoiding Fan Flubs

Televising the Game

Behind the screens

Deal or no deal?

Knowing What to Watch for on TV

Catching What Most Viewers Miss

Chapter 18: Getting Your Golf Online

Checking Out Cool Golf Sites

Europeantour.com

Ladieseuropeantour.com

Golf.com

GolfObserver.com

ESPN.com

Golfchannel.com

PGA.com and other major destinations

Golfdigest.com

Todaysgolfer.co.uk

Twitter.com

Hookedongolf.com

Perusing Online Course Guides

Golf.about.com: The course-guide helper

Worldgolf.com

Golf.com’s Courses and Travel Page

Travelandleisure.com

Direct-teetimes.co.uk

Thesocialgolfer.com

Golfclubatlas.com

Virtual Pro Shops: Buying Golf Gear Online

eBay.co.uk

Onlinegolf.co.uk

Direct-golf.co.uk

Breaking Down Golf Blogs: Welcome to the Golfosphere

Thegolfblog.com

GeoffShackelford.com

A walk in the park

Chapter 19: Screen Gems: Surveying the Best of Virtual Golf

The Leader: Tiger Woods PGA Tour

Golf Simulators: Virtually Perfect?

Golden Tee Golf: Stand and Deliver

Part VI: The Part of Tens

Chapter 20: Golf’s Ten Commandments

Take Some Golf Lessons

Use a Club That Can Get You to the Hole

If You Can Putt the Ball, Do It

Keep Your Head Fairly Steady

Be Kind to the Course

Bet Only What You Can Afford to Lose

Keep the Ball Low in the Wind

Don’t Give Lessons to Your Spouse

Always Tee It Up at the Tee Boxes

Keep Your Wits about You

Chapter 21: Ten Excellent Courses for Beginners

Vaul Golf Club, Isle of Tiree, Argyll and Bute

Sherfield Oaks Golf Club, Sherfield on Loddon, Hampshire

Hilden Park Leisure Centre, Tonbridge, Kent

Richmond Park Golf Course, Richmond, London

Surrey Downs Golf Club, Kingswood, Surrey

Little Hay Golf Club, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

Highbullen Hotel, Golf and Country Club, Umberleigh, Devon

Tapton Park Golf Course, Chesterfield, Derbyshire

Hereford Municipal Golf Course, Hereford, Herefordshire

Magdalene Fields Golf Club, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland

Chapter 22: Ten Great European Courses

Barsebäck Resort, Malmö, Sweden

Le Touquet Golf Club, Pas-de-Calais, France

Poniente Golf Course, Mallorca, Spain

Boavista Golf Resort, Lagos, Portugal

San Roque Club, Cadiz, Spain

Aphrodite Hills Resort, Paphos, Cyprus

Penha Longa Resort, Lisbon, Portugal

Le Fonti Golf Club, Bologna, Italy

Crete Golf Club, Crete, Greece

The National Golf Club, Antalya, Turkey

Chapter 23: Gary’s Top Ten Male Players

Severiano Ballesteros

Walter Hagen

Fairway Louie

Phil Mickelson

Jack Nicklaus

Arnold Palmer

Sam Snead

Titanic Thompson

Lee Trevino

Tiger Woods

Chapter 24: Gary’s Top Ten Female Players

JoAnne Carner

Laura Davies

Juli Inkster

Nancy Lopez

Lorena Ochoa

Se Ri Pak

Annika Sörenstam

Kathy Whitworth

Mickey Wright

Babe Zaharias

Chapter 25: Ten Immortal Golf Moments

Young Tom Morris: It’s in the Hole!

Bobby Jones Wins Golf’s Grand Slam

Sarazen’s Shot Heard ’Round the World

Ben Hogan’s Courageous Comeback

Arnie’s Charge at Cherry Hills

Watson and Nicklaus Duel in the Sun

The ‘Olden Bear’ Prowls Augusta

Tiger Pounces at Pebble Beach

Annika Sörenstam’s Magic Number

Phil Mickelson’s Breakthrough

Part VII: Appendixes

Appendix A: Golf-speak

Appendix B: Golf Organisations

South-East

South-West

East

Midlands

North

Scotland

Wales

Cheat Sheet

Golf For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

by Gary McCord

Adapted by Tony Smart

Golf For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, LtdThe AtriumSouthern GateChichesterWest SussexPO19 8SQEngland

Email (for orders and customer service enquires): [email protected]

Visit our home page on www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex, England

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, West Sussex

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, England, or emailed to [email protected], or faxed to (44) 1243 770620.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher, the author, AND ANYONE ELSE INVOLVED IN PREPARING THIS WORK make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats. For more information about Wiley products, visit us at www.wiley.com.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-119-94238-2 (pbk), ISBN 978-1-119-94378-5 (ebk), ISBN 978-1-119-94379-2 (ebk), ISBN 978-1-119-94380-8 (ebk)

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bell and Bain Ltd, Glasgow

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Authors

‘Life is full of ups and downs, and it wouldn’t be fun any other way.’ Living by this optimistic philosophy, Gary McCord persisted through years of mediocrity before finding success. An outstanding player, television announcer, instructor, author, speaker, and even actor, he has become a golf celebrity.

McCord is well known for enduring 23 years and 422 tournaments on the PGA Tour without nabbing a single victory. A man of good humour, he sported a ‘NO WINS’ license plate for years to poke fun at his less-than-glamorous work as a professional golfer.

‘Trapped in the headlights of bankruptcy,’ as he liked to put it, McCord pursued other avenues in golf and found himself launching a broadcasting career. He scored big when a CBS Sports executive tossed him a headset and asked him to do golf commentary – giving him only 15 minutes to prepare. McCord jumped in with no fear and impressed CBS with his performance.

Twenty-five years later, he’s still providing colour commentary for CBS golf events. Fans and critics praise him for his knowledgeable perspective, refreshing humour, and sometimes irreverent wit toward a game known for taking itself too seriously.

Broadcasting changed his perspective on golf. Realising that a better understanding of the golf swing would help his TV work, McCord studied the swing for two years. He emerged with knowledge, confidence and an improved golf game. McCord’s own golf really came together as he began his career on the Champions Tour after his 50th birthday. In 1999, his first full season on that tour, he won two events – the Toshiba Senior Classic and the Ingersoll-Rand Senior Tour Championship – to finish 17th on the official money list with nearly $1 million in prize money. Since then, he has often finished in the top 30 on the money list while playing a limited schedule of 10 to 15 events per year.

When he isn’t broadcasting or playing golf, McCord keeps busy with myriad other projects. He portrayed himself in and served as technical director for the golf movie Tin Cup, starring Kevin Costner, Rene Russo and Don Johnson. He’s also a writer. In addition to writing Golf For Dummies, he’s the author of a collection of essays about his life on tour, Just a Range Ball in a Box of Titleists. His bestselling Golf For Dummies was released in DVD form in 2004.

McCord and his friend and CBS Sports colleague David Feherty became known to millions of golf fans and gamers as the voices of EA Sports’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour video games. McCord also instructs and consults with more than 20 PGA Tour players.

Gary brings a sense of fun to everything he does and never takes himself too seriously. He and his wife, Diane, share the ‘ups and downs’ of a busy life together at their homes in Scottsdale and Denver.

Tony Smart is a golf writer, photographer and consultant. His writing has been recently been featured in publications such as Golf World and Golf Monthly.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to spike marks, the wind just came up from the other direction, bad bounces, wrong yardage, rising barometric pressure, solar storms, dirt got in my eyes, yin and yang, the big bang theory, Brownian motion, dark energy, escape velocity, entropy, Newton’s laws of motion, and a bad caddie. All the things we golfers can blame our erratic play on instead of ourselves, providing peace of mind in the unstable environment of this maniacal endeavour.

GM

Author’s Acknowledgements

To the game itself, golf. It’s a clever game worthy of perspective. I’m not astute enough to unravel it all, but if you can get a good author, bingo, the game is easy. Thanks to Kevin Cook, to my wife Diane, my mom Ruth, my sister Karen and her late husband Chris, my daughter Krista and her husband Mike, and my four granddaughters Breanne, Kayla, Jenae and Terra: See what you can do with spell check!

And many thanks to the great golf team Wiley put together, and all the folks in Composition Services who processed the art and laid out the book like champions.

GM

Publisher’s Acknowledgements

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Commissioning, Editorial, and Vertical Websites

Project Editor: Rachael Chilvers

Commissioning Editor: Mike Baker

Assistant Editor: Ben Kemble

Proofreader: Kelly Cattermole

Production Manager: Daniel Mersey

Publisher: David Palmer

Cover Photo: © iStock / sculpies

Cartoons: Rich Tennant, www.the5thwave.com

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees

Layout and Graphics: Joyce Haughey Laura Westhuis

Proofreader: Rebecca Denoncour

Indexer: Ty Koontz

Photographers: Erick W. Rasco, Matt Bowen, Paul Lester, Scott Baxter Photography, Daniel Mainzer Photography

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher

Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director

Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel

Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Introduction

Welcome to Golf For Dummies, 2nd Edition. If this is the first golf book you’ve ever held in your hands, don’t worry. I’ve read more of them than I can count, and this one’s a particular favourite. To bring you this edition, I’ve gone back through everything I wrote in the previous edition, updating some material, writing a bunch more to keep up with this fast-changing game and making everything even clearer and easier to follow.

Not to mention funnier!

Golf, like life itself, can be hard but is ultimately enjoyable. As you begin your adventure in the most maddening and wondrous game of all, please remember: golf is fun. And the fun starts here.

About This Book

I’ve written this book for the rankest beginner, although I like to think that I have something to offer golfers at every level, even the pros. (Of course, my buddies on the professional tours will probably read this book just to see whether I can write a coherent sentence.) The guys I grew up with at San Luis Rey golf course in Southern California will check it out to see whether I’ve used any of their funniest lines.

As you may already have spotted, I’m based in the US, so those thoughtful people have teamed me up with Tony on this book, to provide the expert insights into British golf. Most of the time, you’re reading my take on the world of golf, but from time to time you’ll spot some particularly British advice from him.