Smart Golf: Wisdom and Strategies from the "Thinking Man's Golfer" - Hardcover

Irwin, Hale; McMillan, Robin; Hartley, Jim

9780062716101: Smart Golf: Wisdom and Strategies from the "Thinking Man's Golfer"

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062716107 ISBN 13: 9780062716101

Publisher: William Morrow, 1999

He was never considered to be the best driver, chipper, or putter on the PGA Tour, but Hale Irwin did manage to do one thing consistently--win. His 20 PGA Tour victories, including three U.S. Open victories, place him fifth on the all-time list. Today, he is the most formidable player on the Senior PGA Tour.

In Smart Golf, Irwin shares the secrets he used to forge a reputation as the thinking man's golfer--smart game management and smart course management. Focusing less on mechanics and more on practical and tactical strategies, Irwin shows you how to steer your game and handle the course to arrive at a better score. Smart Golf is a practical, easy-to-follow guide for golfers frustrated with complex swing diagrams and cryptic putting physics. Although the fundamentals of golf are addressed, Smart Golf is not overburdened with mechanics. Instead, it focuses on practical and tactical strategies to help golfers--at any level--get the most out of their game.

"Every golfer, regardless of age, skill, or physique, has a brain--so every golfer should know how to use it. I've learned the hard way that playing smart and getting the most out of my game was the only way to succeed. Put another way, there are a lot of ways to play golf. You just have to find the one that's right for you.
"To that end, Smart Golf differs from other golf books. It won't just show you an ideal swing and then tell you that's how you should be swinging. Instead, it will focus on getting the most out of the game you already have. And as everything we discuss will be firmly rooted in logic, a smarter game will be something you can hold on to, unlike so many swing changes that golfers make."
-- Hale Irwin, from the Introduction to Smart Golf

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Review:

Three-time U.S. Open winner Hale Irwin's message is an obvious one, but even good golfers fight it every day--the lowest score on the course wins. Period. A Fred Couples swing and the power ofTiger Woods might elicit oohs of envy from your playing partners, but the ability to navigate the course in the fewest strokes requires more than looking good and hitting long. It's a talent that takes its inspiration and direction from a golfer's most powerful but overlooked muscle: the brain. And that's exactly the muscle Irwin wants to help you stretch; he'll let others tweak your mechanics.

Irwin, like any good teacher, mixes instruction with encouragement, drawing on personal experience and anecdotes to illustrate his points. The first half of his course covers "Smart Game Management," which includes setting reasonable goals, establishing an intelligent practice routine, choosing the right equipment and properly caring for it, and--the most radical concept of all--staying healthy. This latter lesson includes tips on mental fitness ("Temper and smart golf don't go together"), physical fitness ("Those that stay in shape have a better chance of succeeding"), and proper diet and nutrition. The second half of Smart Golf targets course management--setting up pre-round checklists and strategies, using the game's byzantine rules to your benefit, and saving valuable strokes with an intelligent short game. In the end, Irwin guides you through an imaginary round, thinking you through various tactics and shot options. Smart stuff indeed, regardless of your level of play. All Hale! --Jeff Silverman

About the Author:

Hale Irwin has been a major force on the PGA and Senior PGA Tour for 30 years. He owns three U.S. Open titles and is one of only 32 players in PGA history with 20 or more career victories. At age 45, he became the oldest player to win the U.S. Open. In 1995, he carried nearly three decades of success on the PGA Tour over to the Senior PGA Tour with instant results. Last year, he became the first player in half a century to capture three consecutive Senior Tour Championships, and only the fourth player in tour history to win the same event three straight times. Today, Irwin is regarded as the premier player on the Senior Tour.

Robin McMillian is Editor-in-Chief at Golf Magazine Properties. He has been a gold writer and editor for 16 years, and has written or edited seven golf books.

Jim Hartley is a lifelong amateur golfer who began incorporating many of the principles found in this book into his own game with instant results, more than 10 years ago.

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