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

Product Information

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. Ben is one of the greatest players of all time, a natural. When he was a boy I wouldn't let him practice too much for fear that he might find out how to do something wrong. 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. It pleases me deeply when Ben drops by to sit on the couch or when he phones me from some tournament. I like to call it Guide their learning instead of teaching: Especially after the pupil becomes a good player. with Shrake, Bud (1993). And If You Play Golf, You're My Friend: Furthur Reflections of a Grown Caddie. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-87188-9. The victory secured Crenshaw’s place in the Hall of Fame, but its meaning transcends mere wins and losses. The whole golf world cried along with Crenshaw when he doubled-over on Augusta National’s 18th green, felled by the bittersweet emotions of having won for Harvey. The metaphysical overtones of the victory confirmed for many that Gentle Ben was more than just an everyday Tour player. With his palpable love for the game and warm embrace of its history, Crenshaw has always been a romantic figure—basically Shivas Irons with a better putting stroke. An old pro told me that originality does not consist of saying what has never been said before; it consists of saying what you have to say that you know to be the truth.

With his career now tailing off, Crenshaw headed to the 1995 Masters as an out-of-sorts 43-year-old. He was by now barely a feature in the Majors, and had only won four times on the PGA Tour that decade. But over the course of the next four days, he executed his game on Augusta’s greens to near perfection. Although he does not directly reveal the Ben Hogan Secret, this book will help you lay the groundwork for building a solid motion from the ground up. If you’re looking for the fundamentals of golf taught by one of the best ball strikers of all time, this one is for you. If you’re looking for anything short game-related, skip this one as Ben Hogan only focuses on the full swing.

Table of Contents

Jones and another fellow passed by on a par-three hole,” Harvey explained. “He stopped to watch us. I hit a spoon shot up within about two feet of the hole. And he says, ‘Fine shot.’”

For two weeks devote 90 percent of your practice time to chipping and putting, and only 10 percent to the full swing. If you do this, your 95 will turn into a 90." No pretty woman can miss a single shot without a man giving her some poor advice." ( #mansplaining ha ha). Heed my warning on this one. This is quite possibly the most detailed book on the golf swing ever written. Although extremely complicated, it also contains some of the most insightful observations about how the golf swing works. Again, only read this if you are mentally prepared to go down one serious rabbit hole. This golf book focuses solely on the short game and will help you with every shot imaginable near the green. Pelz will show you how to find your own personal weaknesses and how to instantly improve them so you can shoot lower scores.Be sure and try to get a hold of Ben,” Harvey told Shrake. “Ask him if he’ll write a little foreword, a couple of paragraphs. I think we might do it today. He might be in town.”

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. Another way is to put down your iron on the grass with a square face, and you will see where the manufacturing designed the club to be played. I always politely declined. For one thing, I never regarded myself as any kind of genius. I was a humble student and teacher of the game. What I was learning was not for the purpose of promoting myself in the public eye. I was never interested in money. What I was learning was to be shared only with my pupils, and ultimately the knowledge would belong to my son, Tinsley, and my daughter, Kathryn. The answer to the question was no. Harvey did not know Jones. But Jones knew Harvey once hit a fine shot at the ’28 U.S. Open. And Harvey did not want that in his book, because the book was about helping others, not about him, not about building his image among readers of the book, and not about Bobby Jones once seeing him hit a spoon shot to two feet. The term 'tee box' comes from the box of sand that used to stand at the driving-off places. Players would use the sand to build up little mounds, or tees, to hit the ball off."I read this book at the driving range and I like it enough that if the second book is still at BookOff the next time I visit, I'll probably get it (I obviously didn't learn my lesson about having too many books when I moved). If you’re looking for a feel-good story about the game, look no further than The Greatest Game Ever Played, by Mark Frost. The book was so successful it was also adapted into a Disney movie that featured Shia LaBeouf.