THE GOLF SWING

You’re not getting the most out of your golf swing if you’re not using your hands properly, writes 30-year golf veteran Lythgoe in his debut instructional manual.

“By far the most important factor in the achievement of an effective golf swing is the correct use of the hands.” That’s Lythgoe’s book in a nutshell—but this nutshell spirals deeper than a chambered nautilus. His instructional manual isn’t exactly a head trip, but it does require strict attention, deliberation and precision, and practice, practice, practice. The hands conduct, and the body moves in concert, Lythgoe asserts. He spends the first 90 pages of the book simply discussing club grip and how to address the ball, and he helpfully deploys a number of visual aids, such as using colored dots to illustrate how a club should be gripped or using a clock, with its fixed length and pivot, to illustrate the notion of club movement. Lythgoe’s obvious fascination and eagerness provide much of the guide’s beauty—he’s not obsessive or zealous, but keen to enjoy the game. To that end, he works hard to make his presentations ringingly clear, accompanying his text with numerous photographs and occasionally introducing historical asides. When the author discusses hands, he covers everything from the waggle—those tiny adjustments that help fine-tune the “sweet spot”—through hand pivot and rotation, foot position, shoulder alignment, establishing target lines and the legendary golfer Paul Runyan’s chipping technique. The lessons here are complicated—there are no gimmes—but they’re also winningly common-sensical.

A vital book that fills a gap in the golf instruction literature.