Customer Reviews

Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible: Master the Finesse Swing and Lower Your Score

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Absolutly a must read for all gold fanatics.
This is an amazing joy to read and great concepts.

One of the best books I have seen on the short game in golf. Dave Pelz's analytical style makes a lot of sense and helps the golfer understand the 'why' therby being able to accept the 'what'. Learning from this book will certainly improve any golfer's game.

Starts off some analytical data with why the short game helps your score more than the full shots. Then goes into the fundementals like ball position and each type of short game shorts: distance wedges (30-100yd), pitch (<30y), chip (green side), sand.

One thing this book can't help you is HOW to make that swing. You have to have a reasonably solid/consistent swing to take advantage of the concepts in the book. It talks about making a synchronized swing but that means different things to different people, so the best way to hone your execution is to go see a pro. The sequenced photos are great but we don't always swing the way we think we do.

The best idea of the book though, which help my short and full shot game, has to do with the stabiliby of the clubhead (pulling a cart vs. pushing). It explains why the Pros are more consistent even on their misses. Given the same club head speed, a stable club head will be more accurate (i.e. longer) on average. I'm an enginerd so I dig all these analytical stuff.

Anyway, a solid book with great ideas.

This book is excellent for the more scientific-minded golfer. Dave Pelz is a true scientist and breaks down golf from an entirely different angle. His practice sessions are a little unreasonable for most people, though. Not too many people would have the time or resources to figure our exactly how far each short game shot travels, but the book is worth the price simply for the reviews of the fundamentals of the short game swing. Just by reading the book and changing the way I practiced, I have taken about 5 strokes off of my handicap!

As a 10.2 index, this program has turned around my outlook on the short game and golf in general. I am SOOOO much more consistent from within 100 yards, and even though my longer game suffered last year (due to some injury and lessons, reforming my swing a bit), the short game kept my handicap from ballooning.

All other things being equal, Pelz's simple approach to the short game will make you a better golfer. He backs up his recommendations for setup, and how to control your distances with stacks of statistical data, instead of feelings or conjecture.

Update (1/20/04): Due to a great short game in 2003, my handicap has dropped to a 7.1. Certainly no thanks to my driver, that's for sure. I bagged the driver for the month of August and actually dropped to a 6.0, because giving it another go and rising the extra shot. But the short game kept it down. Thanks Dave!

This book is simply the best scoring book that has ever been written. There are so many books on how to swing a golf club. This book explains in mathematical terms how to turn 4 into 3. That is the game of golf!
Until reading this book and taking his scoring test, i had no idea what parts of my short game hurt me most. However pitching chipping and wedging the ball to somewhere between 2 and 10 feet really ensures makeable par savers. Every scratch or better handicapper that i've played with did exactly what pelz talks about. That is, sand shots to 3' with regularity. If you think you can't get any better at golf, this is the book for you. Face the facts, measure your short game and begin to practice your weaknesses.
There are also some chapters that are a little dense. Pelz was a scientist. So i recommend reading the book like text book. Skip around to the revelant chapters and go from there. Leave it on the shelf as a complete reference.
I added the fourth wedge and have found moderate improvements. However, I use my 3iron so rarely that the benefits justify the added club. Plus around 100 yards, being able to swing exact distances is an added bonus. This book is my all time favorite golf book.

Scenario: ball on the fringe, flat chip, fast green, 15 feet. The [duffer] I was.... I would use my "L" wedge, place the ball in the back of my stance, and flub the ball only half way to the hole. My "up and down" succes rate was a mind-boggling 30% (which resulted in many Tarzan-like cusses to the jungle). I still wonder which lousy golf magazine I read this devilish tip. However, thanks to the reading of the Dave Pelz Bible, I discovered my chipping technique was bad all along. By chipping with my 7 iron, instead of my "L" wedge, and by simply stroking the ball with the same motion as my putter, my success rate has climbed to nearly 100%. By eliminating the risk of having to hit a "perfect" chip with a lofty club ("L" wedge), not only do I get up and down, I sometimes get UP AND IN TOO!! . It's amazing how such a simple technique can help improve my scores. I went from a whopping 18 handicap to a single digit handicapper overnight (much to the chagrin of my fellow golfers who continue to worship their "L" wedges). Thanks to DAVE PELZ's Bible I'm born again and cleansed of my old bad habits. Don't worry, I won't come knocking at your door! May the golfing gods be with you.

Scenario: ball on the fringe, flat chip, fast green, 15 feet. The moron I was.... I would use my "L" wedge, place the ball in the back of my stance, and flub the ball only half way to the hole. My "up and down" succes rate was a mind-boggling 30% (which resulted in many Tarzan-like cusses to the jungle). I still wonder which lousy golf magazine I read this devilish tip. However, thanks to the reading of the Dave Pelz Bible, I discovered my chipping technique was bad all along. By chipping with my 7 iron, instead of my "L" wedge, and by simply stroking the ball with the same motion as my putter, my success rate has climbed to nearly 100%. By eliminating the risk of having to hit a "perfect" chip with a lofty club ("L" wedge), not only do I get up and down, I sometimes get UP AND IN TOO!!! . It's amazing how such a simple technique can help improve my scores. I went from a whopping 18 handicap to a single digit handicapper overnight (much to the chagrin of my fellow golfers who continue to worship their "L" wedges). Thanks to DAVE PELZ's Bible I'm born again and cleansed of my old bad habits. Don't worry, I won't come knocking at your door! May the golfing gods be with you.

This book is very well written, illustrated and logical. Dave Pelz can put into words, his method or system for allowing you to consistently control your short game shots.

You must read and try the method to understand Pelz's system. Easy to read...the next day I practiced the concepts, measured the results and applied the lessons learned from the system. Over the next month...with some short game practice, my overall handicap dropped 4 strokes. The guessing game of which short game stick and how much swing to put on the ball were over...my confidence greatly improved because of the system. Try it yourself. Very recommended.

Dave Pelz will tell you right away that he was a NASA guy...he had the engineering degree to study golf's most scientific components. I liked what I read and have been attempting to replicate the lessons on the links. I know with his technical descriptors, the book's lessons can be difficult to replicate, but I've been increasing my carbohydrate intake and in conjunction with the hops and barleys, I, like our teacher, am having difficulty seeing my foot-joys when I line up a putt. Now I know why the long-handled putter has become so popular. One very important thing that Dave reinforced, but has been a longstanding inspirational phrase from my pal Dr. Love, "let gravity be your friend". If you take nothing else from Dave's book, remember to hit the up-hill putts harder. And of course...never up, never in. And don't forget...DO NOT hit the big ball first.

mj