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As a scientist I get that part. While my younger counterparts are working on killing the ball, I am learning how to get out of trouble when it finds me, how to not find trouble, and how to undo the nasty tricks the golf course architect plays on your mind. I am new to golf and the world of doing golf perfect although I live on the 15th fairway of a private golf course and have seen some hilarious golf. But I love the game however I have read so many books and seen so many videos that tell me if I do not do the swing this way I should leave this sport to those that can. My sense of being one with the club, with it being an extension of my hands, arms, and shoulders has allowed me to find my own natural rhythm and timing.As a senior golfer the other secret I have learned which allows me to actually have gotten to a 26 USGA handicap in 2 years is the mental and strategic part of the game. All the thou shalts are intimidating and each time on the course or range I would try my hardest to do as Ben Hogan did.get real. Some things are not when they involve the laws of physics.
Once I got over the perfect swing and realized I probably will not be able to pull off the perfect take-away, the straight left arm, forward hip movement to gracefully bring club to ball and hit it 300 yards.I actually started to relax on the course and find my own swing which now goes further without that dreaded slice. My slice ends up in about the same place as theirs.The book does stress what you can work with that accomodates your age and physical ability.
Since then I have read and reread it many times. I play from the red Ts so my far and staight are not on par with the guys on the back Ts.
In my 6th decade and picking up a game that requires flexiblity and stamina I must be crazy. Given my age at coming to this game I simply cannot do some of the things that are needed to hit the ball really far and really straight.
I have learned to unwind them and that goes a long way towards compensating for starting late in life. Then I found this little book and read it in one sitting.
So this book told me it was ok to not have the perfect swing, that some things in golf are negotiable.
This alternative book will be a good future reference and a guide to which books I go for from now on.The Negotiable Golf Swing did not give me a course for experimentation. My opinion about this book is similar to that of Teachers. On reflection teachers have provided tweaks to counter faults and in some cases I have discovered these to be described as faults in books and magazines.Quick fixes over time prove insufficient when no foundation has been achieved.I will assume this book would be more suited to an intermediate level golfer where a good knowledge of the swing has already been attained.
After reading the book I don't believe it was the right book for me. Reader book mismatch.I will assume my abilities require something more for the beginner or struggling intermediate golfer. My rating is based on what I thought the book would offer. The title itself suggests flexibility to do things differently from a standard or model approach. I find that there is an over simplification in the approach. I need lessons because I cannot play good consistent golf.
I think mainly because it did not inspire or provide the level of detail I could use. The suggested areas of the swing where the reader can experiment with would then make more sense. I will be targeting materials that provide detailed information which I judge to be more practical for myself to use and learn.The latest book I have read "Swing Like A Pro" seems more relevant to my ability because it breaks down the swing into detail levels highlighting aspects of the swing I did not know or understand. While my improvement has been modest, it has been encouraging, fellow golfers have complimented which is very positive to me as I do get to play with some single figure handicap players.This book has changed my action from a restricted arm across body action to a pivot with weight shift, more importantly it explained things that made me realize I was misunderstanding, thinking that I was pivoting and weight shifting. Teachers have asked me to take a few swings and then immediately suggest some tweaking actions. Good or bad information this book has given me a working resource which I can apply. The review ratings on amazon were also a factor that influenced my purchase.
Having played for years with failure to improve handicap I now will become critical of simplified resources. Hence at subsequent lessons the teacher comments that I have changed or introduced something different from the last lesson. It's been a few months since I read it, I have not found cause to refer back to it as I do with other books.I will continue to purchase golf books I think it takes a lot of experimenting ( trial and error ) to learn about something as complicated as the golf swing. None have sufficiently quizzed my understanding, they have assumed that I have just presented a consistent account of my golfing ability.
Here again most books get this wrong. legs provide the power. Instruction is usually presented as absolute law while a significant portion is actually only personal preference of that particular guru. head stays static.
Joe Laurentino is the first golf pro who confronts the fact that there are so very many contradictions between top-rated instructors. Typically, teachers hold that initial ball direction is determined by the path of the club head (an absurdity that any high-school physics student should easily recognize). Joe's book is the only one that distinguishes between "Musts" and what is within your own option.Also--the best part of the book--Joe clarifies how the path and orientation of the club face affects the ball flight. (Turn the hips.
head moves with body turn.). In correcting and simplifying this subject, Joe provides the reader with a way to diagnose and self-correct, on the spot.The book is well written, makes a complex subject easy to understand, and the accompanying illustrations are a critical aid. restrict the hips. legs are only a support for upper body.
I'm not quite where I want to be yet, but now the ball really flies for me and I have more confidence now that I'm visibly improving week by week. Instead, I can now concentrate on the clubface path and angle, using a more natural cause-and-effect approach while practicing on the driving range. As a new golfer, I was really struggling to hit iron shots. Reading this book made me stop fretting about all the things I was doing right or wrong that have little or no bearing on solving my problems.
The book help me understand the technical side of golf. I like the ideas in this book.
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