Rating: 
Summary: Essential Reading - Clear - Ranks with Hogan's Five Lessons
Review: "How I Play Golf" by Tiger Woods is clearly written and easy to understand. It's fun to read. You only have to watch Tiger Woods play to realize that he knows the secrets of how to play great golf. Tiger reveals his secrets in this book. It's a MUST READ! I recommend that anyone interested to learn to play golf well should get a copy of Tiger Woods' "How I Play Golf", and a copy of Ben Hogan's "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf". Take these two books apart from cover to cover, get lessons, have you're swing video-taped and analyzed, and then practice playing golf with insight and correct understanding of the game.
Rating: 
Summary: Next time, Tiger, write it yourself
Review: Tiger Woods is among the premier ball strikers in the game today, and this book - which is credited as authored by him "With the Editors of Golf Digest" - is profusely illustrated with the reasons why. It's all here in full color - page after page of glorious photos of that even-more-glorious swing, from every conceivable angle. The photos pinpoint each swing movement Tiger talks about in the text, which is conversationally written and easy to understand. Reading and studying this book will expand your knowledge of the golf swing and force you to think about your swing in new ways, both of which are positive things. The only cautionary note I would sound, in terms of how to use this book, is this: Don't dip into it before a competitive round of golf. Your mind will be crammed with so many thoughts about swing mechanics that you'll find it tough to concentrate on the task at hand, which in competitive play is picking the most appropriate target and hitting the ball accurately toward it. "How I Play Golf" is much better suited as a practice range companion - and after all, who wouldn't love to spend a few hours on the range with Tiger? So why not five stars? In two words, "Tiger Tales." "Tiger Tales" is a recurring feature in the book, and it is here that the reason for the "With the Editors of Golf Digest" authorship credit becomes most obvious. The "Tiger Tales" purport to share Tiger's own story of how he learned this or that shot or technique. The stories, written in the first person, are usually set in tournament play. To be blunt, they are related in a kind of smarmy, narcissistic, promotional style that just doesn't sound like Tiger. Instead, "Tiger Tales" mostly sound like somebody took a "for instance" example that Tiger related and sexed it up with a little too much drama and way too much ego. These "Tales" would be much more appropriate as third-person journalistic reportage in a golf magazine than as the written-as-told-by-Tiger pieces they are presented to be in this book. By his own admission Tiger is a pretty introverted guy, and I just can't imagine him expressing these stories in this way. This may not seem like a big deal in terms of the overall quality of the book, but I much prefer the total lack of ego Ben Hogan showed in "Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf." (See my review of this classic guide to the golf swing here on amazon.) The Hogan book is a much better volume for those seeking the sense that they are being taught by a master, rather than victimized by a master's promotional machine. The inability of Golf Digest's editors to allow the "real" Tiger to come through was, for me, a big disappointment. Nonetheless, this book is a tour de force of instructional excellence provided you take what you need and leave the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Not as helpful as I had hoped
Review: I first heard about this book in a golf magazine. It had excerpts of the book which seemed to imply that the book would be very helpful in explaining how to approach the game of golf. Basically I thought it would be Tiger's how-to manual for golf. A how-to manual is what it's supposed to be, but at some times it fails in that regard. There are many instances when the explanation is not clear enough. For instance, Tiger says to grip your putter not too hard, but not too soft. Thanks, but that's not specific enough for me. This failing does not ruin the book completely. There are great pictures, and you do get to look into how Tiger Woods approaches the game of golf. Just don't expect Tiger to teach you in great detail how you should play. I should note that my review was in no way biased by the fact that I am an awful golfer.
Rating:
Summary: A good reference you will find yourself going back to
Review: I am a low handicapper and can say that this book, while there weren't any epiphanies for me, confirmed for me a lot of the fundamentals and nuances to the game. I argue with my dad a lot about fundamentals and technique and I often turn back to this book to make my arguments. It is structured well, starting out with easy concepts (putting, chipping) and moving to the more difficult aspects of the full swing. The book also does not neglect the mental/conditioning aspects of the game, and specifically mentions fitness & stretching, one thing that very few weekend golfers do and it plagues their games and consistency. Pros:
- Large color photos: too many golf books I've read try to explain the concepts almost solely in words and if you are not going to take lessons, seeing exactly what you should be doing in living color is the next best thing.
- Well structured: Starts w/ the easy stuff like putting/chipping to give golfer a sense of accomplishment, then moves to meat of book w/ basic full swing and a few variants.
- Time series: not many books I've seen have full-color, multiple angle time series and this book has several. Nothing beats videotaping yourself and comparing your swing to a pro at every point in your swing.
- Didn't forget the basics: he could've filled the book with trick shots and sophisticated moves, but there are a ton of good, basic lessons and thoughts for every phase of the full swing (and other parts of game). He includes the basic lessons on shot shaping and course management as well.
- Explains the "feel" well: a lot of golf is getting the feel of the right physics, and tiger explains some of the key 'feel' points like the initial weight shift on the downswing well. Cons:
- Time series: it's good that they're there, there just aren't enough of them and the intervals between shots within each times series could've been shorter.
- A little promotional: I guess you have to expect this and his editor/publisher probably insisted on it. While I don't think Tiger needs any more money from book sales in addition to the millions he's already earned, I do find myself recommending this book to my high handicapper friends a lot and reference it myself a good deal.
Rating:
Summary: More picture book than golf
Review: If you want a story about Tiger's game, this is it. It's a little overdone on the publicity side,suggesting some editor jazzed it up a bit. As a golf instruction manual,somewhat disappointing considering how great he is.
Rating:
Summary: enjoyable AND useful
Review: This book will be a fun read. Not only that but if you are even a little serious about you're golf game you'll take away plenty to think about - all in the right perspective!
Rating:
Summary: Just what I expected :-)
Review: This is probably the best golf instruction book I have ever read. The contents are neatly organised and every aspect is clearly illustrated by the use of appropriate photos.
Rating:
Summary: Great book.
Review: For any Tiger fan, this book is worth buying. I bought it for my husband and my daughter, and often find it out to be perused again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just Another Pretty Face
Review: This book is very pleasing to the eye, with dramatic photos and gorgeous colors. I was not sure that it would be able to help my golf game, as I wondered if Tiger's tips would be far above the head of someone at such a beginner level. However, the stop-action series of photos of Tiger's swing were enough for me to fork over the money. What I have found is information helpful for golfers at every level. It is well-written and very understandable. If you only buy one golf book, this should be it, as it covers just about every aspect of the game from putting to driving to the mental game. Most golfers dream of golfing next to someone as talented as Tiger. This book is the next best thing.
Rating:
Summary: A book I Keep coming back Too
Review: I bought Tiger's book several months ago as a I started learning to play golf in earnest. My experience has been similar to those others who have reviewed this book - excellent! However, one point I wanted to add was that I find that the book as a wealth of specific points (such as tee and ball address positions depending on club selection etc), that at first seem too detailed, though ultimately are sought for as your level of play increases. Even the ordering of the book's chapters at first seem odd (the swing is somewhere in the middle), but it's fair to say make much more sense once you've been using it for some few months. This alone indicates it's excellent value for money as a resource of pictures, advice and lessons learned you can keep coming back too as your game progresses and you're ready to move onto the next level. And when Tiger hands over some golfing advice - you pay attention
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