(Auram, 1999)
At school I was a tad small, 5' 4" at the age of 16, then I grew a foot, filled out and became a much more physical sportsman. I took up rugby at Uni, playing flanker/second row with a couple of outings for the Uni weekend side and continued to play uni football turning first into a solid centre back and then a powerful centre forward. However, in all my sporting endeavours the one thing I lacked was skill. Throw a cricket ball at me and if I caught it right it went a country mile, but any efforts at a late cut usually ended up nestled in the wicket keeper's gloves. I suppose this is why distance off the tee has never gripped me about golf, having skill, finesse and touch around the greens always has. My favourite player of all time is probably Seve. I believe this book will help me play like him, well a little bit.
Pelz takes a scientific approach to golf and the short game. If you don't like science this may well not be the book for you. I love statistics, analysis and data so he struck a chord with me early on with this publication. In a nutshell 25 years of research proves that the most successful players are the most accurate from 100 yards in. Nothing mid boggling there. What is intriguing is Pelz's approach to resolving this issue and providing specific coaching to players on this area of the game.
The Golden Eight reflects the eight feet between a two foot putt and a ten foot putt. As you progress further away from the hole between those all important eight feet your probability of holing the putt drops dramatically. Pelz's analysis shows that most players from 100 yards in don't miss left and right, they miss short and long.
Having been out and spent over two hours practicing this weekend I can confirm that Pelz is spot on (I mainly miss long). The solution? Learn exact distances for proportional swings (imagine your backswing on a clockface 10.30, 9.00, 7.30) for all of your wedges. The result Pelz's 3x4 system or in my case 3x3 (three distances for three wedges PW, GW, SW). He goes on to suggest that over time you can then choke down a specific amount on your grip and add another 3x4, giving you a total of 24 accurate distances for your four wedges within 100 yards.
The book also contains useful and helpful advice on developing your short game (finesse swing), playing from a variety of lies (including sand) and choosing your equipment. Personally, I think this book is utterly brilliant. I've changed my set up, grip and swing based on Pelz's recommendations and am already much straighter and making cleaner connections more often.
The issue I have is with distance control. Unfortunately, my golf fund has run dry and it will take me a fair while to save the money I need for a laser range finder. However, I can't recommend enough how this gadget will improve your practice (knowing exact distances for each club) and therefore improve your play (knowing exact distances on the course).
This is a very technical book that will leave some people cold but I am totally immersed and foresee me and the 'bible' becoming very close companions through this challenge.
My rating 93%
To buy the book click on the image below:
ISBN 13 978 1 85410 6483
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