A 'top 5' reading list - any suggestions?

Hey all,

My summer days leave me with 8 hours per night where I can't play golf, and I have to find something to do because I don't sleep well

Accordingly, I'd like to build a 'reading' list (/watching list) of seminal works and anything else anyone else thinks is worth learning about.

Any books/DVDs/videos/articles you would nominate?

If I can start..? Is Hogan's 5 Lessons a no-brainer? How about Tiger's "How I Play Golf"?

Start with Tommy Armour's "How to play your best golf...

Then the Leslie King web series or The Swing Factory revisit of the his ideas

Then Dr Arthur Jackson "Eye on the Ball..." and /or "The Inner Game of Golf"

And to finish "The Which Guide to Divorce"

I seriously think you should find something different to do in those 8 hours

Books, old but you may still find them, all paperbacks:

Jack Nicklaus - Play Better Golf, The swing from A-Z

Arnold Palmer - The Arnold Palmer Method

Ben Hogan - Power Golf
Ben Hogan - Five Lessons


DVD:

Any of the Symbervison series, very good for swing sequence.

Ebooks: Golf Swing Eureka! How I Knocked 30 Shots Off My Average Round of Golf

Golf Swing Eureka, not sure about the $37 price tag, got my copy free, but is a very good read, covers the 5 eye openners you didn't know between average players and professionals.

Forgot to add, hardback books:

Jack Nicklaus - Golf my way

Gary Player - Golf begins at 50

hi dog
i have 4 books
1. hogan's 5 lessons
2. dave pelz short game bible
3. nick bradley 7 laws of golf
4. leadbetter 100% golf

hi
my five most read books are=

hogans 5 fundementals of golf.
dave pelz short game bible & putting bible.
lee trevino golf my way.
tom watson getting up and down
colin montgomerie the thinking mans guide to golf.
bill

Harvey Penick - Little Red Book

Simon & Schuster: Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings From a Lifetime of Gold (Trade Paperback)

For what it's worth. The greatest game ever played. Vardon,Ouimet and the birth of modern golf, Mark Frost . A good walk spoiled, John Feinstein. Harry Vardon, Audrey Howell. The heart of a goof, P.G.Wodehouse. The best of Henry Longhurst

OK wont mention the H word, goes without saying.

Leslie Kings "Swing Factory"

Nick Bradley's "The 7 Laws of the golf swing"

Bit more technical but has it all in there "Search for the Perfect Golf Swing" by Alastair Cochran & John Stobbs.

"Golf - The Mind Factor " by Darren Clarke and Dr Karl Morris"

"The 4 Magic Moves to Winning Golf" by Joe Dante

The Pelz Bibles.

To help with your sleep try reading "Hansard" that should bring on the ZZZZZ d's within a few minutes.

1) Short game bible - Dave Pelz

2) Zen Golf - Dr Joseph Parent

3) How to break 90 - TJ Tomasi

4) Extraordinary Putting - Fred Shoemaker

5) Any of the Rotella books - Bob Rotella

Any book that contains information on the swing by Earnest Jones, and those authors who still carry (copy) on his teachings. I have read about, and seen alot of newer swing instructions. If Jones's swing instruction is still not the easiest for the amateur to learn, then it is still in the top 5. I have just not read, or heard about the other 4 yet. On some what of a humorous note for me, there are many posters on the many golf forums available that knowingly, or unknowingly, actually quote some of Jones's teachings. His swing instruction were, and still are that good.

Books authored by Bobby Jones will help anyone's golf knowlege. Tiger Woods even credits Bobby Jones's books with helping him along his path to greatness.

Penick's, Hogan's, and Armour's books all have decent information in them. There was also a book out around 9 or 10 years ago by Jack Nicklaus titled "A Key to Releasing". When I read it, I wished it had been around when I started golfing. It would have saved me alot of time. I believe one of the prominant golf magazines ran the article first, then Nicklaus had the book written. GJS

1) "How I play golf" by Tiger Woods. Not necessarily for instructional value, but definately for motivational value. A great read.

2) "5 lessons of golf" by Ben Hogan. Combine this with "The Fundamentals of Hogan" by David Leadbetter. The Leadbetter book has great illustrations, but Leadbetter's words aren't really teaching Hogan's lessons. The Hogan book suffers from poor illustrations.

3) "Putting Bible / Short game Bible" by Dave Pelz. Cutting strokes off your game, page by page by page. Sadly not the most inspiring books because of their very technical and almost cynical approach to the game, but they definately work. Besides, they might make you sleep a lot more

4) "Every shot must have a purpose" by Pia Nilsson and others. Pia Nilsson is Annika Sörenstam's coach. This is where the concept of "VISION 54" comes from.

5) The "Leadbetter Interactive" DVD set and software kit. 4 DVDs and a pack of swing analysis software. If you own a videocamera and some videograbber soft-/hardware for your PC, this is an absolutely essential tool. Leadbetter will show you what to look for in your swing and what drills to use to fix a lot of possible issues. Of course you could just go to V1 Golf and buy the software in a version that has drills by some australian bloke (who is mighty brilliant by the way) instead of leadbetter, but you will miss out on the 4 instructional DVDs, which are included in the Leadbetter kit at $10 extra charge. Definately worth it!

__________________
//Mox
2008 bag:
Mizuno MX-500 460cc 10.5* Fujikura Tour Platform 26.3 stiff. (about to be replaced by MP-600 10,5* UST Proforce V2 stiff)
Mizuno F-50 3w 15* Fujikura Tour Platform 26.3 stiff.
Wilson Deep Red 5w 18* Graphalloy Fatshaft stiff
Cleveland HALO 3i hybrid 22* graphite regular
Mizuno MP-60e forged 5i-PW True Temper Dynamic gold R300 steel
Mizuno MP Black OX raw haze 50/6 GW, 54/9 SW, 58/10 LW
Heavy Putter B3-M
Titleist NXT Extreme

All great replies - Amazon will be feeling the wrath of my credit card in the coming week!

Robin, this made me laugh so much, I spat my cup of tea at my monitor - nice one! ;o)

If you are prepared to wait a few extra days then the "buy used and new" tab on amazon will save you a lot of money. I got 2 brand new books that are $30 each here in the shops for less than $10 each inc p&p. Just be sure to check where the warehouses are, I ordered one other but didn't realize it was coming from Washington State (which is a long long way away from me, it hasn't arrived yet).

If you use this, make sure you get yours from UK distributors as if you order from the US it could take a long time and you may have to pay extra taxes etc.

__________________
Personal bests:
18 holes - 92 (+21 02/08/06), 92 (+20 24/06/07)
9 holes - 43 (+7 02/08/06), 41 (+7 24/06/07)
Putts (18) - 30 (04/09/07)
Putts (9) - 12 (02/08/06)
Fairways - 11/14 ((02/08/06, 24/06/07, 01/08/08), 10/13 (09/06/07)
GIR - 5/18 (01/08/08)
Pars in one round - 7 (24/06/07)

Lifetime birdie count - 7 Latest - 03/09/07 - 15th hole Champlain 126 yard par 3
Lifetime eagle count - 1 Latest - 15/06/08 - 4th hole Canadian G&CC 9 hole 481 yard par 5

Golf - how good do you want to be? - Bill Kroen

Golfing out of your mind/The Golf of your dreams - Bob Rotella

My Short Game Bible - Dave Pelz

5 Lessons - Ben Hogan

The Plane Truth - Jim Hardy

It looks like either no one has tried the "Simple Swing"/"purepoint" ebooks and DVDs or, if they have, don't think much of them. I'm just curious as to who may have tried one of these "alternative" systems. When I started, I had some so-called "Natural Golf" books and videos that I used. It all seemed to make sense, but I was never able to get anywhere with it--and I spent a lot of time practicing. As a result, it took me a while to unlearn some of the NG ideas--maybe I'm still unlearning them. But maybe someone else has had a better experience with one of these systems.

__________________
Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller