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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011
The fun and easy way to get a grip on golf Golf For Dummies, 4th Edition, gives you all the latest information on the game, including updated expert advice on everything from improving fundamentals to mastering the game's mental aspects. With advice from professional Gary McCord, this expert guide gives you easy to follow instructions for hitting the ball farther and straighter, and hints on how to shave strokes off your game. * Updated instructions on grips, stances, and swings * The most current stars and best courses * New tips from top players on how to improve your game * Details on the latest golf equipment and technology Playing golf is fun-playing better is even more fun. With a little help from Golf For Dummies, 4th Edition, you'll have the time of your life whenever you hit the links.
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Golf For Dummies®, 4th Edition
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Table of Contents
Golf For Dummies®
by Gary McCord
Golf For Dummies® , 4th Edition
Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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 as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at ://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing 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, Making Everything Easier, 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. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author 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 317-572-4002.
For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011920889
ISBN: 978-0-470-88279-5
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Author
“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 movie 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 humor, 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 color commentary for CBS golf events. Fans and critics praise him for his knowledgeable perspective, refreshing humor, and sometimes irreverent wit toward a game known for taking itself too seriously.
Broadcasting changed his perspective on golf. Realizing 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.
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 endeavor.
Author’s Acknowledgments
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 Kevin Cook for the time and effort he put into this 4th edition.
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: Acquisitions Editor Stacy Kennedy; Senior Project Editor Chrissy Guthrie; Copy Editor Megan Knoll; photographers Erick Rasco and Matt Bowen; models Clayton Allen, Robin Anderson, Robert Gaier, and Swati Gunale; Technical Editor Emily Hallberg; and all the folks in Composition Services who processed the art and laid out the book like champions.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Senior Project Editor: Christina Guthrie
(Previous Edition: Elizabeth Kuball)
Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy
Copy Editor: Megan Knoll
Assistant Editor: David Lutton
Technical Editor: Emily A. Hallberg, PGA
Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck
Editorial Assistants: Rachelle Amick, Jennette ElNaggar
Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South
Cover Photos: © iStockphoto.com/Cary Westfall
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Composition Services
Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond
Layout and Graphics: Joyce Haughey, Vida Noffsinger, Brent Savage, Tobin Wilkerson
Proofreaders: Cynthia Fields, John Greenough
Indexer: BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services
Photographers: Erick W. Rasco, Matt Bowen, Paul Lester, Scott Baxter Photography, Daniel Mainzer Photography
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Introduction
I can’t believe this book is the 4th edition of Golf For Dummies! If it’s 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 favorite. To bring you this edition, I’ve gone back through everything I wrote in the first three, 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!
Because golf, like life itself, can be hard but is ultimately enjoyable. Please remember that as you begin your adventure in the most maddening and wondrous game of all: 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 out Golf For Dummies, 4th Edition, to see whether I’ve used any of their funniest lines.
What you have here is no ordinary golf-instruction book. Most of the golf books you find in your local bookstore (or, increasingly, online) are written by professional players or teachers. As such, they focus solely on the golf swing. Golf ForDummies, 4th Edition, covers a lot more than the swing. This book ought to be the only one you need as you develop a golf dependency. (Feel free to consult a physician when you feel the first symptoms coming on — grinding your teeth, talking to yourself after missing a shot, punching the air after making one. These are the warning signs. But remember: This book is cheaper than a visit to the doctor.)
When I started out on the PGA Tour in 1974, I was full of fight and enthusiasm but lacked a basic knowledge of golf-swing mechanics. A warm panic would start to rise in me about ten minutes before I was due to tee off. My old friends Doubt and Dread would join me at the first tee. My brain would be racing, trying to figure out what swing thought (that one aspect of the swing that you meditate on to keep focused) to use that day. Most of the time, I’d be left with a thought like, “Keep the left elbow toward magnetic north on the downswing.” Usually, that action resulted in a silly-looking slice into uncharted territory.
I swung the club that way for most of my career. So I know what it’s like to play without knowledge or a solid foundation. Believe me, I’m a lot happier — and having a lot more fun — now that I know what I’m doing.
The reason I’m qualified to help you is that I have made a serious effort to become a student of the game. When I started working on golf telecasts for CBS, I didn’t know much about the inner workings of the swing. But my new job forced me to learn. My odyssey led me to seek advice from some of the world’s greatest teachers.
One of them was Mac O’Grady, a golfer I grew up with in Southern California. O’Grady had researched his method with passion since 1983. The result was a swing model that worked. I was lucky to study under O’Grady, and I can’t thank him enough. But I don’t cover Mac’s model in this book; it’s for advanced golfers. No one has ever called me advanced, so I’m gonna stick to basics.
Golf For Dummies, 4th Edition, puts you on track to becoming not just someone who can hit a golf ball but rather a real golfer. You’ll soon discover the big difference between the two.
Conventions Used in This Book
To make the text even more accessible, I’ve used some handy conventions throughout the book:
New words or terms are formatted in italics and accompanied by a definition.
Bold text denotes the specific steps of processes that I’ve spelled out. It also highlights keywords in bulleted lists.
Web site URLs are in monofont. When this book was printed, some Web addresses may have needed to break across two lines of text. If that happened, rest assured that I haven’t put in any extra characters (like hyphens) to indicate the break. When using one of these Web addresses, just type exactly what you see in this book, pretending that the line break doesn’t exist.
What You’re Not to Read
The publishers and I have put this book together with your convenience in mind. Nice, huh? For that reason, I’m pointing out the text you don’t have to read:
When you see the Technical Stuff icon (shown later in this Introduction), you can skip that text if you want. It’s not essential to understanding the rest of the book.
The same goes for sidebars, which are scattered through the book, printed on gray backgrounds. Sidebars are extra added attractions. I’ve tried to make them fun and informative, but they aren’t crucial to the rest of the book. Feel free to skip over them; you won’t hurt my feelings.
Foolish Assumptions
Because you picked up this book, I assume that you’re interested in golf. I also assume that you’re not already a great golfer, or else you’d be out there making millions on the PGA Tour. Beyond that, I’m going to figure that you’re a little like I was when I became a professional golfer.
Having said that, I’m assuming that you’ve probably dabbled with golf and want to get better. In my experience, most people give golf a try before they seek instruction. It must be an ego thing, kind of like those people who don’t like to ask for directions when they get lost because they feel that it’s an admission of failure. If that’s you, think of me as your personal GPS: your Golfer Positioning System.
How This Book Is Organized
Golf For Dummies, 4th Edition, leads you through the process of becoming a golfer. Beginners need many questions answered as they take on the game. I’ve organized this book so that you take those steps one at a time and can flip to them anytime for quick reference. May this journey be a pleasant one!
Part I: Welcome to a Mad Great Game
Where do I play, and what’s the course record? Wait a minute! First you need to know what this game is about. You need clubs. You need to know how to swing those clubs. You may want to take a lesson to see whether you like the game and then find golf clubs that fit you. In this part, I show you how to choose your clubs and give you some tips on the questions to ask before you make your purchase. Then I give you some ideas about what kind of golf courses to play. Picking up golf is a never-ending process of discovery, and it starts right here.
Part II: Getting Into the Swing
This part gets right to the point: I give you a close look at the workings of the golf swing and help with your mental preparation. You also get a good look at the short game, where most scoring takes place. I show you how to blast your way out of bunkers and how to develop a sound putting stroke.
Part III: Common Faults and Easy Fixes
In this part, I tackle the tough shots and help you deal with bad luck and bad weather. You’ll develop many faults during your golfing life, and this part tells you how to fix most of them. You took a great first step by buying this book.
Part IV: Taking Your Game Public
In this part, you get the final touches of your education as a golfer. You discover how the rules were established, how to conduct yourself on the golf course, and the fine art of betting. You even get the do’s and don’ts of golf-course etiquette. This part lets you walk onto any golf course and look like you know what you’re doing. Because you will know what you’re doing.
Part V: How to Be a Smart Golf Consumer
A sad fact of life is that you can’t always be out on the course. In this part, I show you how to max out a day as a spectator and how to tap into the best of golf on TV, online, and in video games.
Part VI: The Part of Tens
This part contains the best-of, the most memorable, and some stuff that won’t mean much to anybody except me. I just thought you’d enjoy knowing about it.
Part VII: Appendixes
Golfers have a language all their own. Appendix A lists the terms you want to add to your vocabulary. Appendix B lists some of the more popular golf organizations and resources, along with a select list of schools around the country.
Icons Used in This Book
As I guide you through this maze of golf wit and wisdom, I use several handy road signs. Look for these friendly icons; they point you toward valuable advice and hazards to watch out for.
This icon marks golf hazards to avoid or at least be aware of. Be careful!
This icon flags quick, easy ways to improve your game.
When you see this icon, be on the lookout for recommendations I swear by (follow them or I will never speak to you again) and important personal stories from my years of playing and covering golf.
This information may make your head spin; take two aspirin and get plenty of rest.
This icon flags information that’s important enough to repeat.
Where to Go from Here
Feel free to flip through this book, picking your spots. It isn’t designed to be read like a novel from cover to cover. If you’re a complete novice, you may take a look at Appendix A first — get comfortable with the language. If you’re a little more advanced and need help with a specific aspect of your game or swing, you can find that information in Chapters 6 through 10. The rest of the book helps you make that vital jump from “golf novice” to “real golfer.”
As Frank Chirkinian, my former boss at CBS, said, “Golf is not a game; it’s a way of life. If it was a game, someone would have figured it out by now.”
Frank was right. But you can figure out how to get started in golf the right way and enjoy the game. That’s what this book is for.
Part I
Welcome to a Mad Great Game
In this part . . .
This part explores the basics of golf: Why would anyone play such a crazy game? How did golf begin? What makes the sport special? In this part of the book, I describe a typical golf course. I also show you how to buy clubs and accessories that can help make you look like a pro. I discuss how to get into physical shape for good golf, where to take lessons, and how best to survive the lesson tee. In this part, you get a whirlwind tour, from the driving range all the way up to a full 18-hole course — including the penthouse of golf, the private country club.
Get ready; it’s time to tee it up!
Chapter 1
Why Play Golf?
In This Chapter
Uncovering golf’s history
Answering the question “What makes golf special?”
Looking at a standard golf course
Understanding the benefits of smart play
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
