By George Peper
“The Secret of Golf” is a compilation of some 47 “Secrets” to playing this crazy game. Each contributed something new to the golf body of knowledge. Consequently, don’t expect anything from either Bobby Jones or Jack Nicklaus as these two well to doers were taught at an early age by very accomplished instructors and later contributed nothing truly original. Edited by George Peper, who for many years ran Golf Magazine, he is as well equipped and qualified as any to produce this. It includes eight insights from professional golfers, most from instructors, and even a few inventors and golfing savants. Quite frankly, I really enjoyed the book, though as a compilation, there is nothing new to it either. Mainly it is the joy to gauge one novel technique against another under a similar format. Viewing ideas older than a century to the latest ones is fascinating. Which one or ones will you choose? Or will you glean a little from each? For the instructor, this is a “one-stop shop” to begin your research. Now with all this information, every reader should be a scratch player, right? Well, as I have proven time and again, it is one thing to grasp a method, quite another to apply it. The Secret of Golf comes in either hard or soft cover ($29.95, $18.95) and is available from Workman Publishing.
