Have you ever heard that you should hold a golf club like a baby bird -- firm enough to keep the bird from flying away, but light enough to not hurt the bird? This came from The Little Red Book, by Harvey Penick. If you haven't read this book yet, put down that club right now and get yourself a copy.
This book will help you 10 times more than banging away at golf balls on the driving range, or at least give you some great things to think about while practicing.
Harvey Penick's golf teaching goes back to the 1930s. He's taught notable PGA tour pros Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw. His Little Red Book was simply his notebook of tips, anecdotes, and teachings that he never intended to publish.
What I like best about this book is: in a sport that is dominated by analysis and science (especially today), Harvey had a gift for teaching with simple picturesque descriptions. For example, he believed you should start the golf swing like you would swing a bucket of water. You certainly wouldn't just snatch a bucket of water back with your hands and arms. Instead you would give it a little forward press and sweep the club back.
I also like his stories and anecdotes. Reading this book as a golfer will make you feel like a part of a great history, as opposed to just trying to get better at a game. Good ol' Harvey; he was one of a kind.
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September 12th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
[...] You bet your bippy it does. I believe it was the legendary golf teacher Harvey Penick (who wrote The Little Red Book) who said, "The best way to build golf muscles is to swing a heavy stick." This is the heavy stick [...]
March 14th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
[...] book I really like and recommend to everybody is Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf. This book isn't as technical, but is more of diary of one of the world's best golf [...]