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Golf All-in-One For Dummies®

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Table of Contents

Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
What You’re Not to Read
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Book I: Getting Started with Golf
Book II: Focusing on Fairway Fitness
Book III: Playing Golf: The Swing and the Short Game
Book IV: Rules and Etiquette
Book V: Hitting the Course
Book VI: Easy Fixes for Common Faults
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Book I: Getting Started with Golf
Chapter 1: Choosing Your Golf Gear
Getting a Handle on Cost
Going the budget route
Moving on up: Upscale equipment
Knowing Which Clubs to Pack
Find an interim set of clubs
Consider getting fitted for clubs
Build your own set of clubs
Giving Loft a Look
Sorting Through the Short-Game Sticks
Pumping irons
Weighing wedges
Calling all putters
Matching Your Clubs to Your Game
Caring for Your Clubs
Handle with care
Cover it up
Give your putter a home of its own
Keep them clean and dry
Get a grip
Checking out Golf Balls
All golf balls are created equal
Who do I take to the ball? Choosing the best beginner’s golf ball
Debating the Technological Advances of Golf Gear
Testing out high-tech clubs and balls
Looking to the future
Dressing the Part: Golf Clothes
Accessorizing Like a Pro
Buying Golf Gear Online
Chapter 2: Looking into Golf Lessons
Doing a Pre-Lesson Evaluation
Deciding Where to Go for Lessons
Golf schools
Country clubs
Driving ranges
Group clinics
A playing lesson
Maximizing Your Lessons
Be honest
Listen carefully
Keep an open mind
Ask questions
Keep your cool
Turning to Other Sources
Golf books
Golf magazines
Instructional gadgets
DVDs: A visual approach
Online golf wisdom (now available in the palm of your hand)
Knowing What to Watch for on TV
Catching what most viewers miss
Taking notes from the stars
Chapter 3: Exploring the World of Golf Courses
Breaking Down a Typical Course
Knowing the distance
Choosing your starting tee
Course Insight: Planning a Smart Game
Looking Into Your Course Options
Driving ranges
Public courses
Country clubs
Resort courses
Let’s Make a Deal: Lowering Membership and Green Fees
Saving at public courses and resorts
Making the club scene more affordable
Fitting In on the Course
Perusing Some Great Courses
Gary’s ten favorite courses
Ten great short-game golf courses
Surveying online course guides
Book II: Focusing on Fairway Fitness
Chapter 1: Figuring Out Your Fitness Level
Understanding the Five Elements for Success
Figuring Out the Keys to Golf Fitness
Structure governs function
Physical training improves structure
Exercise programs must be golf-specific and, ideally, customized
Tests and Simple Exercises to Improve Your Golf Fitness
Test 1: Club behind the spine
Test 2: Standing balance sway
Test 3: Seated trunk rotation
Test 4: Seated hip rotation
Chapter 2: Stretching: Flexibility and the Golfer
Knowing the Benefits of Stretching
You have better posture and alignment
You feel looser and improve range of motion
You help nip injuries in the bud
You keep stress at bay
You keep the aches and pains away
Stretching Correctly to Prevent Injury
Warm up
Go slowly
Don’t bounce
Progress through the stretch
Remember to breathe
Recognize your limits
Rounding out your stretching regimen
Testing Your Flexibility
Preparing to test yourself
Neck
Shoulders
Chest
Trunk
Quadriceps
Hamstrings
Groin
Buttocks
Calves
Flexibility Self-Evaluation Worksheet
Stretching Moves for Success
Working on the upper body
Limbering up your lower back
Loosening up your lower body
Chapter 3: Core Strength for a Better Golf Game
Knowing the Benefits of Core Training
Locating Your Core
Testing Your Core Strength
Getting ready to test your core
Taking the test: From the top
Covering Core-Training FAQs
Dipping into Beginner Core Exercises
Lying pelvic tilts
Hip lifts with knees together
Crunches
Side crunch
Side planks
Bicycles
Push-ups on knees
Back extensions
Plank
Core Exercises for More Power
Downward belly burners
Superman
Russian twists
Seated torso rotations
Bow-and-arrow twister
Medicine ball twists
Taking the Senior Core Challenge
Going about core exercises safely
Core routine to help maintain balance
Seated core routine for strong abs
Chapter 4: Weight Training for Golfers
Minimizing Post-Workout Soreness
Warming up before you lift
Starting with lighter weights
Breathing properly
Using proper form
Cooling down
Resting your muscles
Considering Weight Training Injuries
Building a Routine that Works
Working all your major muscle groups
Doing exercises in the right order
Following instructions
Focusing on Your Upper Back
One-arm dumbbell row
Dumbbell pullover
Dumbbell shrug
Getting a Lower-Back Workout
Working Out Your Chest
Dumbbell chest press
Incline chest fly
Getting a Great Shoulder Workout
Dumbbell shoulder press
Lateral raise
Front raise
Back delt fly
External rotation
Targeting Your Arms
Concentration curl
Triceps kickback
Bench dip
Wrist curl and reverse wrist curl
Working Out the Lower Body
Squat
Lunge
Standing calf raise
Chapter 5: Calming Your Mind and Body for Better Golf
Using Yoga for Mental Balance
Deep relaxation: The corpse posture
Afternoon delight
Magic triangles
Breathing Your Way to a Better Mental State
Reaping the benefits of high-quality breaths
Relaxing with a couple of deep breaths
Breathing through your nose
Appreciating the complete yogic breath
Alternate nostril breathing
Book III: Playing Golf: The Swing and the Short Game
Chapter 1: Understanding Swing Basics
Making Sense of the Golf Swing
Looking at Different Strokes
Getting the Ball in the Air
Hitting the ball
Getting the ball airborne
Generating power
Building Your Swing
Getting a grip
Completing the grip
Aiming
Nailing down the stance
Considering knee flex
Deciding on ball position
Maximizing the bottom of the swing
Keeping your eyes on the ball
Observing the one-hand-away rule
Unleashing Your Swing
Making miniswings
Testing your rhythm
Unwinding
Getting yourself together
Selecting swing triggers: What’s a waggle?
Visualizing shots
Watching a near-perfect swing
Chapter 2: Refining Your Swing
Recognizing the Type of Golfer You Are
Establishing Your Swing Plane
Mastering checkpoints
Taking it from the top
Mirroring Great Swings and Mindsets
Chapter 3: Defining the Art of the Short Game
Exploring the Short Game
Respecting the short game
Statistically speaking
Singling out short-game shots
Giving yourself the best shot
Practicing for Short-Game Success
Recognizing the importance of practice
Developing a short-game practice plan
Keeping practice fun
Facing the Peril and the Opportunity
Reevaluating the easy
Dissecting the difficult
Tackling Variables: Terrain and Conditions
Accounting for the obvious
Sensing the subtleties
Thinking through (But Not Overthinking) Your Play
Understanding your options
Managing your goals and expectations
Playing in the subconscious
Focusing on the Target Line
Visualizing the target line
Standing close to the target line
Getting a Handle on Grip and Stance
Grasping the importance of feel
Allowing your front hand to lead
Centering on ball position
Coping With Common Misfires
Playing without purpose
Being underprepared
Using the wrong club
Aiming to displease: Shooting for the hole regardless of the conditions
Ignoring textbook technique
Getting too far from your work
Experiencing death by deceleration
Chapter 4: Chipping Away at the Short Game
Discovering the Chip
Looking at the characteristics of chip shots
Choosing the chip over the putt
Choosing Your Chipping Tool
Contemplating the Chip
Chipping goals and expectations
Mapping out a chip-shot strategy
Hitting a Solid Chip Shot
Taking aim
Lies and secrets: Consider your ball placement
Setting up your stance
Making your move
Too Close for Comfort: Paul Runyan’s Greenside Chip Trick
Chapter 5: Making the Pitch
Picking out the Pitch Shot
Pinning down the traits of a pitch shot
Knowing when to use a pitch shot
Choosing the Pitching Club
Thinking through the Pitch
Setting goals and expectations
Planning your pitch-shot strategy
Hitting a Solid Pitch Shot
Determining your flight plan and velocity
Setting up your stance
Taking a swing
Making adjustments
Relax — and practice!
Pitching a Fit: Complications
Pitching over water hazards and bunkers
Pitching high and low
Pitching from a bare, tight lie
Pitching from deep grass
Pitching from uneven lies
Chapter 6: Putting: The Final Frontier
Appreciating the Putt
Doing the math
Preparing for putting’s mind games
Getting in your opponent’s head
Setting Putting Goals and Expectations
Holing putts in two: A good goal
Meeting your expectations
Letting go of the misses
Picking Your Perfect Putter
Your stroke shape dictates your putter
Thinking about fit
Meeting MOI
Building Your Putting Stroke
Getting a putting grip
Putting posture: Stand and deliver
Perfecting Your Putt
Matching your putt to your full swing
Getting up to speed
Targeting a line
Swinging the flatstick
Addressing the Art of Aiming
The eyes like lines
The need for speed
Points of the roll
Reading the Break of the Greens
Examining all angles
Closing your eyes
Spilling a bucket of water
Looking into the hole
Watching other players’ putts
Sidesaddling Up: Face-on Putting
Chapter 7: Bunkers: Playing in Golf’s Sandbox
Tackling the Bunker
Getting your mind out of the bunker
Building a better bunker shot
Setting your bunker goals
Exploring the Sand Wedge’s Bounce Effect
Hitting Effective Bunker Shots
Assessing the sand variables
Choosing your club
Raising clubface awareness
Taking your stance
Picking a target and taking aim
Taking a sand-sweeping swing
Coping with Troubled Lies
Negotiating uphill and downhill lies
Extracting the fried egg: Buried lies
Facing steep situations
Chapter 8: Short-Game Strategies
Waging a Ground Campaign
Knowing when to go low
Choking down for a knockout knock-down
Staying Low: Pitching and Running
Taking aim
Selecting your club
Getting into your stance
Taking your swing
Discovering the Famed Texas Wedge
Holding the Green
Pulling the Pin . . . or Leaving It In?
From off the green
From on the green
Pulling Out Your Putting Strategies
Settling on a style
Make it or break it
Lag it or flag it
Watching your speed
Conquering speedy breaks
Defeating the yips
Flipping the Flop
Choosing to hit a flop shot
Playing a flop shot
Seeing the flop shot’s dark side
Considering your other options
Going With an Unconventional Strategy
Chipping with a 3-wood
Putting from bunkers
Putting without a putter
Playing from a cart path
Bellying the wedge
Splishing after you splash
Hitting lefty (or righty)
Rehearsing the unconventional
Book IV: Rules and Etiquette
Chapter 1: Understanding Penalties, Handicaps, and Scorekeeping
Dealing with Penalty Shots
Taking a drop
Out of bounds
Unplayable lies
Water hazards
Lateral water hazards
Strike one! The dreaded whiff
Making Sense of Golf’s Handicap System
Getting a handicap
Calculating your handicap
Understanding what your handicap means
Keeping Score Without Fear
Marking a scorecard
Match play
Stroke play
Chapter 2: Comprehending Course Etiquette
Using Your Manners: Knowing the Right Way to Play
Minding your mouth and your movements with your foursome
Showing courtesy to other players
Respecting the pros and course staff
Playing It Safe
Timing Is Everything
Caring for the Course
Playing Well with Others
When you’re the worst in your group
When you’re not the worst
When you’re stuck with a jerk
Knowing How to Play Different Courses
Mastering municipal course basics
Playing at a high-end course
Teeing it up at a private club
Doing it right at driving ranges
Staying on course at putting greens
Visiting other practice facilities
Taking Part in Tournaments
Going with Tradition: Utilizing Caddies
More than a strong back: Respecting the caddie’s role
Following the trends
Tipping Gracefully
Chapter 3: Gamesmanship, Sportsmanship, and Special Golf Outings
You Bet: Gambling on Your Golf Match
Knowing common bets and how to win them
Negotiating strokes at the first tee
Conceding putts: “That one’s good”
Showing Off Your Match-Play Smarts
Minding Your Manners When Golf is All Business
Playing golf with your clients
Playing golf with your boss
Playing golf with your coworkers
Surviving a Pro-Am
Chapter 4: Fan Etiquette
Searching for Live Golf
High school golf
College tournaments
USGA events
Professional tours
The PGA Tour
Behaving Appropriately at Golf Tournaments
Making the Most of Tour Spectating
Deciding what day (or days) to attend the event
Knowing how to interact with players
Actively seeking autographs
Avoiding fan faux pas
Book V: Hitting the Course
Chapter 1: Step Right Up: Prepare to Play!
Limbering Up Before You Play
Loosening the legs
Working the upper arms and shoulders
Stretching out your back and torso
Readying your wrists and forearms
Preparing before a Round
Warming up your swing
Warming up under the gun
Trying Out First-Tee Tactics
Tactic 1: Don’t be a sucker
Tactic 2: Think before you drive
Tactic 3: It’s easy as one, two, three
Beating the first-tee jitters
Deciding which Format You Should Play
Chapter 2: Keeping Your Head in the Game
Regrouping When the Wheels Come Off Your Game
Regaining your tempo
Overcoming analysis paralysis
Getting out of the blame game
Coping With the Pressure
Accepting the fear
Ignoring the result
Pacing your swing with a phrase
Visualizing the Shot
Staying Positive
Don’t be too hard on yourself
Keep your confidence
Chapter 3: Finding Creative Ways to Practice Golf
Understanding the Importance of Practice
Fitting your life into your busy practice schedule
Practicing like you play
Shoring Up Your Short Game
Having a game plan for your short-game practice
Spending time on the green
Riding the Range
Standing up for balance
Becoming a one-armed bandit
Tuning your swing with music
Surf and Turf: Practicing in the Sand and on the Green
Bunker board
Chalk talk
Trench warfare
Dowel drill
Home Improvement: Working on Your Game off the Course
Stretching your putting skill
Weighing in on weights
Mirror, mirror: Checking your alignment
The Games People Play: Keeping Practice Interesting
Pitching for Dollars
Horse-ing around
Bingo Bango Bongo (Jingles)
Snake
Eight in a Row
First to Make Five
Chapter 4: Stepping Up Your Game
Shifting from Novice to Greatness
Surveying Strategic Stroke-Savers
Minimizing trouble
Knowing when to be a hero
Taking one more club
Seeking help from the pros
Channeling the Golf Champions
Book VI: Easy Fixes for Common Faults
Chapter 1: Solving Common Problems
Using Your Head for Better Golf
Swinging Into Action: Swing Faults
Slicing and hooking
Hitting from the top
The reverse pivot
Swaying off the ball
The belly-button twist
A swing that’s too short
A swing that’s too long
Tackling Tee Trouble
Popping up your tee shots
Suffering from a power outage
Getting Solid Ball Contact
Topping the ball
Avoiding the worm burner
Duffing and thinning chip shots
Worrying about backspin
Missing the Target
Pushing
Pulling
Spraying the ball
Avoiding Shanks and Point-Blank Misses
Shanking
Missing too many short putts
Chapter 2: Recovering from Bad Breaks and Bad Weather
Overcoming the Scenery
Getting out of a rough spot
Tackling tree trouble
Making Special Shots
Altitude adjustment
Uneven lies
Digging out of divots
Hang Onto Your Hat: Handling High Winds
Swingin’ in the Rain
Packing the right equipment
Wet course conditions
Weathering the Seasonal Elements
Swinging into spring
Heading into hot summer swings
Having a ball in the fall
Winterizing your game
Appendix: Golf Talk
Cheat Sheet

Golf All-in-One For Dummies®

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About the Authors

Gary McCord: McCord is a player, television announcer, instructor, author, and speaker. He’s well known for enduring 23 years and 422 tournaments on the PGA Tour without nabbing a single victory. For 25 years, McCord has provided color commentary for CBS golf events. When he isn’t broadcasting or playing golf, McCord keeps busy with myriad other projects. He portrayed himself in and served as technical director for the golf movie Tin Cup, starring Kevin Costner. In addition to writing Golf For Dummies (Wiley), he’s the author of a collection of essays about his life on tour, Just a Range Ball in a Box of Titleists. His bestselling Golf For Dummies was released in DVD form in 2004. Gary brings a sense of fun to everything he does and never takes himself too seriously. He and his wife, Diane, share the “ups and downs” of a busy life together at their homes in Scottsdale and Denver.

Shirley Archer: Archer is a former New York City attorney who traded the fast life for the fit life. A survivor of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome from stress and overworking, her recovery helped her become a champion of fitness for health and to live fully in body, mind, and spirit. A coauthor of Weight Training For Dummies (Wiley), she is a health educator and fitness specialist at the Health Improvement Program at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, the author of ten fitness and wellness books, an international trainer of fitness instructors, and a frequently quoted media spokesperson worldwide. Archer believes that healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and that you can live a longer, happier, and better life by choosing fitness every day.

LaReine Chabut: A fitness and lifestyle expert, model, and mom, Chabut is also the author of Exercise Balls For Dummies (Wiley), Core Strength For Dummies (Wiley), Stretching For Dummies (Wiley), and Lose That Baby Fat! (M.Evans). Chabut is a leading contributing fitness expert for Shape and Fit Pregnancy magazines and is most recognized as the lead instructor for America’s popular exercise video series, The Firm (with more than three million copies sold worldwide). She has appeared on Dr. Phil, Chelsea Lately on E!, CNN, ABC, FOX News, EXTRA, Access Hollywood, Good Day LA, and KABC. To read more about LaReine Chabut, log on to her website at www.lareine chabut.com.

Georg Feuerstein, PhD: A practitioner of Buddhist Yoga, Feuerstein has been studying and practicing Yoga since his early teens. He is internationally respected for his contribution to Yoga research and the history of consciousness and has been featured in many national magazines both in the United States and abroad. The coauthor of Yoga For Dummies (Wiley), Feuerstein has authored over 40 books, including The Yoga Tradition, The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga, and Yoga Morality. Since his retirement in 2004, he has designed and tutored several distance-learning courses on Yoga philosophy for Traditional Yoga Studies, a Canadian company founded and directed by his wife, Brenda (visit www.traditionalyogastudies.com).

Michael Kernicki: A PGA member for over 25 years, Kernicki has spent most of his career as a Head Golf Professional and General Manager at some of America’s finest golf clubs. He has served as a member of the PGA of America National Board of Directors and on the Rules of Golf Committee, where he has administered the rules at 13 PGA Championships, and he is a coauthor of Golf’s Short Game For Dummies (Wiley). Today, Kernicki is the Head Golf Professional at one of the nation’s most prominent country clubs, Indian Creek Country Club in Miami Beach, Florida. His primary objective is for his students to enjoy the game while they improve and make golf a game for a lifetime.

Liz Neporent: Before becoming a well-known corporate fitness consultant, designing and managing fitness centers worldwide, Neporent was a personal trainer, received a master’s degree in exercise physiology, and was certified by the American College of Sports Medicine, National Strength and Conditioning Association, American Council of Exercise, and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She was named Club Industry Magazine’s Woman Entrepreneur of the Year and was appointed to the board of directors and faculty of the American Council on Exercise. She is coauthor and author of several books, including Weight Training For Dummies (Wiley), Fitness For Dummies (Wiley), and Fitness Walking For Dummies (Wiley), and writes frequently for the New York Times, Family Circle, Shape, and others.

Larry Payne, PhD: Payne is an internationally prominent Yoga teacher, author, workshop leader, and pioneer in the field of Yoga therapy since 1980. He is co-founder of the Yoga curriculum at the UCLA School of Medicine. Payne was named “One of America’s most respected Yoga teachers” by the Los Angeles Times, and was selected as a leading Yoga expert by Dr. Mehmet Oz, Reader’s Digest, Web-MD, Rodale Press, and the Yoga Journal. In Los Angeles, Payne is founding director of the Yoga Therapy Rx and Prime of Life Yoga certification programs at Loyola Marymount University. He is coauthor of five books, including Yoga For Dummies (Wiley), and is featured in the DVD series Yoga Therapy Rx and Prime of Life Yoga. His website is www.samata.com.

Suzanne Schlosberg: A contributing editor to Shape and Health magazine, Schlosberg is the coauthor of Weight Training For Dummies (Wiley) and Fitness For Dummies (Wiley) and the author of The Ultimate Workout Log. She is also an instructor in the UCLA Extension Certificate in Journalism program. Always happy when she has a barbell in hand, Schlosberg has lifted weights in Zimbabwe, Morocco, Iceland, and Micronesia, among other locales. She is the women’s record holder in the Great American Sack Race, a quadrennial event held in Yerington, Nevada, in which competitors must run 5 miles while carrying a 50-pound sack of chicken feed. Schlosberg also has bicycled across the United States twice and cycles about 200 miles a week near her home in Los Angeles.

Michael Patrick Shiels: Golf’s Short Game For Dummies (Wiley) was Shiels’ fifth book. The Los Angeles Times called his Good Bounces & Bad Lies, written with Emmy Award-winning golf announcer Ben Wright, “perhaps the best sports book ever,” and a Washington Times review sardonically compared Shiels and Wright to Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. His travel articles have appeared in publications such as Golf Magazine, Travel + Leisure Golf, www.pgatour.com, and Sports Illustrated, and he’s written scripts for The Golf Channel and ESPN. Shiels has traveled the world — from Thailand to the Middle East to his beloved ancestral Republic of Ireland — in search of rich stories to tell. You can contact Shiels at Mshiels@aol.com.

John Steinbreder: A senior writer for Golfweek magazine, Steinbreder is the author of six books, including Golf Rules & Etiquette For Dummies (Wiley). A former reporter for Fortune magazine and writer/reporter for Sports Illustrated, he has been honored by the Golf Writers Association of America for his work and has had his writing published in a number of top periodicals, including The New York Times Magazine, Forbes FYI, Time, The Wall Street Journal, and Sky. Steinbreder also served for a time as a special contributor to ESPN Television and is a contributing editor to Met Golfer, Sporting Classics, and Chief Executive magazines. An avid golfer who carries a 5 handicap (most of the time), he lives in Easton, Connecticut, with his daughter, Exa.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

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Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites

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Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

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Introduction

Welcome to Golf All-in-One For Dummies, your guide to everything you need to know to be a great golfer. If you’re simply thinking about embarking on your journey into the world of golf, you’ve come to the right place. If you’re one of the millions and millions of people who play golf but can’t quite master the game, you’ve also come to the right place. (You folks know who you are — the type who throws clubs and/or tantrums after a bad moment or day on the course.)

Although we’ve written this book for beginners, we’ve made sure that the chapters within offer something for golfers at every level. From expert tips on technique and form to anecdotes from veterans such as Gary McCord, this book has something for everyone.

About This Book

Golf All-in-One For Dummies isn’t your average book about golf. We go beyond the mechanics of the swing to present the big picture of golf. Read the chapters on fitness to get yourself in shape and not only improve your swing and your score but also keep your body from falling prey to pain and injury. Check out the chapters on gear, lessons, and course choices to save yourself from wasting time and money on clubs, instruction, and green fees you don’t need. And because a good portion of the game of golf is played in your head, we offer solid guidance about keeping your nerves calm and your mental game strong.

Of course, the way you swing a club is important, so we dissect and highlight the grips, stances, and strokes you need to get started. But we also go farther and cover the finer points of the short game — strokes and strategies that help keep your scores down and your opponents impressed. Plagued by slices, shanks, and hooks? No worries. This book also offers fixes and solutions to those and many of the other common problems faced by frustrated golfers.

The exercises, tips, drills, games, and other tidbits of advice in Golf All-in-One For Dummies get you started on the path to great golf and also bring you back for quick refreshers along the way on your journey to golf greatness.

Conventions Used in This Book

To make the text even more accessible, we’ve used some handy conventions throughout the book:

check.png New words or terms are formatted in italics and accompanied by a definition.

check.png Bold text denotes the specific steps of processes that we’ve spelled out. It also highlights keywords in bulleted lists.

check.png We’ve used monofont for web addresses. When this book was printed, some web addresses may have needed to break across two lines of text. If that happened, rest assured that we didn’t put in any extra characters (like a hyphen) to indicate the break. When using one of these web addresses, type exactly what you see on the page, pretending that the line break doesn’t exist.

What You’re Not to Read

We’ve put this book together with your convenience in mind, including highlighting the stuff you don’t have to read to understand golf. These sidebars, which are shaded boxes of text, are added attractions. We’ve tried to make them fun and informative, but they aren’t crucial to the rest of the book. Feel free to skip them.

Foolish Assumptions

In writing this book, we have made some assumptions about you, the reader:

check.png You’re interested in golf.

check.png You’re not already a great golfer.

check.png You’ve played golf before, but you’re looking for ways to improve your game.

check.png You prefer straight talk over jargon.

If any or all of these statements describe you, keep reading!

How This Book Is Organized

Golf All-in-One For Dummies is organized into six books that lead you through the process of becoming a golfer. Beginners need many questions answered as they navigate through the steps of preparing for and learning the game. These divisions help you take those steps one at a time and let you flip to them anytime for quick reference. Here are the books and what you can find in them.

Book I: Getting Started with Golf

You say you’re ready for tee time? Stop and think about that for a minute. First you need clubs and gear. Then you need to know how to swing those clubs. You may want to take a lesson to see whether you really like the game and then find golf clubs that fit you. In this book, we sort through the choices in clubs and give you helpful tips on the questions to ask before you make a purchase. We also give you the lowdown on the types of golf courses and ways to save money on green fees. If you’re embarking on your golf journey, this book is a good place to start.

Book II: Focusing on Fairway Fitness

This book explains how to tune your most important piece of golf equipment: your body. In this book, we cover the keys to getting into shape for golf, with chapters on stretching, core strength, and weight training. Whether you’re a fitness freak, a bit out of shape, or a lot out of shape, this book is an important stop along your journey. In it, you find exercises that improve your swing, help prevent injury, and may help you avoid the aches and pains that come when you’re hitting the course.

Golfers are crazy about golf, but a bad day on the course can also make a golfer crazy. This book also covers some exercises, visualization methods, and breathing tips to help with your mental game.

Book III: Playing Golf: The Swing and the Short Game

This book gets right to the point: We present you with a close look at the workings of the golf swing: the grip, the strokes, the stance, all of it. You also get a good look at the short game (everything within 70 yards of the hole), where most of your scoring takes place. We show you how to refine your pitch shot and your chip shot. We outline techniques for blasting your way out of bunkers, and we show you how to develop a sound putting stroke.

Book IV: Rules and Etiquette

In this book, we offer some great insider information about the rules of the game. You discover how to conduct yourself on the golf course, cope with penalty shots, and handle the fine art of betting. You even get the do’s and don’ts of golf-course etiquette, both for players and for fans. With the info in this book under your belt, you can walk onto any golf course and look like you know what you’re doing — because you do.

Book V: Hitting the Course

Okay, now you’re ready to hit the course. Get started on the right foot by following our routine for limbering up before that first swing. Check out tactics for teeing off like a pro, and do it all without losing your composure along the way. Think you don’t need to practice? Think again. This book outlines the importance of practicing; we even provide you with some great games that make practicing less of a chore.

Book VI: Easy Fixes for Common Faults

In this book, we tackle the tough shots — the terrible tees, slices, hooks, and more — and offer advice to help you deal with bad luck, bad moods, and bad weather. You’ll develop many faults during your golfing life, and this book tells you how to fix most of them. You also find a glossary of golf terms in this book to help you decipher any jargon you may not be familiar with yet.

Icons Used in This Book

The following icons appear throughout this book and point you toward valuable advice and hazards to watch out for.

tip.eps This icon flags quick, easy ways to improve your game.

hazard_golf.eps This icon marks moves or myths that can derail your golf game. Be careful!

warning_bomb.eps This icon alerts you to missteps that may cause you physical harm.

garysays.eps When you see this icon, be on the lookout for Gary McCord’s recommendations and personal stories from his years of playing and covering professional golf.

remember.eps This icon flags information that’s important enough to repeat.

Where to Go from Here

Feel free to flip through this book. It isn’t designed to be read like a novel from cover to cover. If you’re a complete novice, you may want to start at the very beginning. If you’re a little more advanced and need help with a specific aspect of your game or swing, you can find that information in Book III. Have some skills but need help navigating the social nuances of the game? Head to Book IV, which covers the rules of the game and the finer points of etiquette. The rest of the book helps you make that vital jump from golf novice to savvy golfer.

Book I

Getting Started with Golf

9781118115046-pp0101.eps

In this book . . .

Book I explores the basics of golf. We show you how to buy clubs and accessories that can help make you play and look like a pro. We take a look at the many options for learning the game of golf, from evaluating your beginner skills and making the most of your lessons to using books, magazines, and technology to improve your game. We describe a typical golf course and give you a whirlwind tour of playing space options, from the driving range all the way up to a full 18-hole course, including the penthouse of golf: the private country club.

Here are the contents of Book I at a glance.

Chapter 1: Choosing Your Golf Gear

Chapter 2: Looking into Golf Lessons

Chapter 3: Exploring the World of Golf Courses