Wired Golfers

The Best Golf Improvement Books

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The Best Golf Improvement Books on the market in the US

Sometimes, the best way to find out what you want about golfing is to read a book. Here is our guide to finding the best golf books available.

At a Glance: Best Golf Books

We highly recommend looking at the comparison table we have below where we highlighted the features of each product.

In the comparison table below, we’ve highlighted some of the most important features of each product. You’ll find more detailed information about each product later in the article.

PICTURE NAME RATING SHOPS
1
The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods by Hank D. Haney
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2
Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf
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3
The Practice Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers
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4
Golf is Not a Game of Perfect
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5
Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book
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Product Reviews: 5 Best Golf Books

We’ve given you a few pointers on how to find the right golf books for you, and here are our top picks.

The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods by Hank D. Haney
Product
Overall Score
Pros
  • Packed with stories you won’t find anywhere else.
  • Tells a story of Tiger’s career in great detail.
Cons
  • Not terribly practical for improving your game.
Pros
  • Packed with stories you won’t find anywhere else.
  • Tells a story of Tiger’s career in great detail.
Cons
  • Not terribly practical for improving your game.
Price
Quality
Breathability
Durability
Customer Reviews

It’s packed with personal stories about golf’s greatest player, and many of these are touching, emotional stories that will really get golfers who have watched Tiger through much of his career. This is the newest book on this list, so it’s not an out-and-out classic, and its place in the pantheon of golf books has yet to be established, but it’s a great read and one that any Tiger fan or golf fan will not want to miss.


Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf
Product
Overall Score
Pros
  • An easy, informative read.
  • One of the best golf books in print.
  • Practical advice for golfers of any level.
Cons
  • Not all the book’s advice will apply to everyone.
Pros
  • An easy, informative read.
  • One of the best golf books in print.
  • Practical advice for golfers of any level.
Cons
  • Not all the book’s advice will apply to everyone.
Price
Quality
Breathability
Durability
Customer Reviews

This is the definitive golf book and is absolutely packed to the brim with practical knowledge that beginners will find useful and longtime players will get a refresher from. The drawings are a great help in illustrating the techniques the author is covering. The only problem you may find with this book is that Ben Hogan plays differently from the average player, and this book may not improve your game as much as you would like, since some of it may not apply to you.  


The Practice Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers
Product
Overall Score
Pros
  • Lots of practical advice.
  • Helps you improve your game substantially.
Cons
  • May be too basic for more experienced players.
  • A dry read.
Pros
  • Lots of practical advice.
  • Helps you improve your game substantially.
Cons
  • May be too basic for more experienced players.
  • A dry read.
Price
Quality
Breathability
Durability
Customer Reviews

There is a ton of practical knowledge packed into this book, and it is considered one of the best handbooks for amateur and intermediate players. It offers so much insight into how to step up your game and move from one level to the next that you are sure to find plenty of helpful advice. The problem many readers found with this one, though, is that it reads kind of dry.


Golf is Not a Game of Perfect
Product
Overall Score
Pros
  • Lots of great stories make this an interesting read.
  • Focuses on an often overlooked aspect of the game.
Cons
  • May not be practical for some players.
Pros
  • Lots of great stories make this an interesting read.
  • Focuses on an often overlooked aspect of the game.
Cons
  • May not be practical for some players.
Price
Quality
Breathability
Durability
Customer Reviews

If you are looking for something far less dry, then you can try this book from a top golfing performance consultant. The book focuses on the mental state of the golfer, so you won’t find a lot of advice on how to improve your swing or pick the right equipment, but there is a lot of helpful material here.


Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book
Product
Overall Score
Pros
  • Best-selling guide book.
  • Written by a golf pro.
  • Filled with practical information.
Cons
  • Not as helpful as you might think.
Pros
  • Best-selling guide book.
  • Written by a golf pro.
  • Filled with practical information.
Cons
  • Not as helpful as you might think.
Price
Quality
Breathability
Durability
Customer Reviews

This classic is mostly anecdotes about the game, with all sorts of tips and advice peppered in. You’ll have to get through a lot of personal stories to find nuggets of information that will really help you with your game, so take that into consideration if you are looking for a book to help you with your golfing skills.


What to Consider Before You Buy

  • Know What You Want- When you are trying to find the best golf books, everything is kind of subjective. Are you looking for something to help you take your game up a notch? Do you just want some great stories of the game from industry greats? Perhaps you are just looking for insights into the industry and juicy tidbits on how some games were won. You need to find the book that gives that to you, so have a specific kind of book in mind when you go looking for the best golf books for you.
  • Readability– You might not get much out of a book that you don’t enjoy. You can use active recall methods like JoetheTutor.org covers, but it’s going to be easier if you simply love reading the book the way it is presented. Read some reviews and get an idea of how other people felt about the book.
  • Price– Yes, the price comes into play even when we are talking about books because hardcover editions and newer books tend to cost a lot more than the classics. If you are on a budget, try to find some of the older books that are overprinted to get the information you need and save some money.

Final Thoughts

Finding the right golf book can change your understanding of the game. It can give you insights into the life of a pro golfer and make you appreciate the game more. It can also provide you with practical information that you can use to improve your game overall.

Golf books can provide you with a  whole new outlook foryour long or short game and offer you the fundamentals that will help you level up on the course.

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