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

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 448 pages
• Published by: Broadway Books
• Edition: 1st Edition May 11, 1999
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0767903447
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0767903448
• Book Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Weighs: 2.7 pounds

Product Review
As the reigning rabbi on the mysteries of golf from 100 yards in, Pelz has earned the right to anoint his expansive instruction on the short game a "Bible." A scientist by training, he's analyzed the macros and dissected the micros to come up with a gospel for pros (Lee Janzen, Vijay Singh, and Anika Sorenstam, to name a few disciples) and weekend hackers alike. Pelz fills his scripture with photos, illustrations, charts, and plenty of sage advice on pitching, chipping, sandplay, putting, equipment, execution, mechanics, technique, practice, attitude, lots of questions, and plenty of answers. Much of the Short Game Bible is pretty sophisticated stuff aimed toward better players--or, at least, players who take their golf seriously. But its basics are appropriate to any skill level of the game: Accurately assess your own weaknesses, and then go about improving them systematically with the author's carefully researched and tested plan. It seems so obvious, but the truth is, most golfers either beat balls on the range in search of distance or slave over eight-foot putts on the practice green; they fail to pay enough attention to the shots in between. Pelz does the math for you here; his figures add up, so that yours can go down--the golfing equivalent of forgiving sins and absolving trespasses. --Jeff Silverman

From Library Journal
Ah, the short game, many a golfer's worst nightmare. It is certainly one of the most difficult aspects of golf, prompting author Pelz to state simply, "He who rules the short game collects the gold." Pelz, a former NASA physicist and the founder of the Pelz Golf Institute, has devoted the last two decades to the physics of golf. He is a consultant to the Professional Golfers Association and contributes regularly to golf periodicals. Pelz and coauthor Frank, editor of Golf Magazine, have collaborated on a useful publication that will assist players of all ages and abilities. According to Pelz, eighty percent of a golfer's handicap is determined by what happens within 100 yards of the green. Complete with numerous photos, drawings, and graphs, plus a list of resources that includes web sites and FAX and phone numbers, this is recommended for all public libraries.ALarry R. Little, Penticton P.L., BC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Reader Reviews
I took the Dave Pelz 3 day short-game course a few years ago, and got great benefit from it. As helpful as that was, I found this book to be a big additional assist. It explained the Pelz principles better than the school did, and it also looks like he has learned quite a few things since I took the school. There's a lot to learn about the short game, and it is helpful to have this as a reference. If you don't know if you want to get his videos or attend one of his courses, this is also a good introduction. I found out about Dave Pelz by accident. I was playing golf one day at La Quinta with a woman who hit one amazing pitch shot after another close to the pin. The rest of her game was below average, so I asked her where she had picked up the pitching game. She told me that she had just finished Dave Pelz's short game school at PGA West and said it had helped her a lot. Remembering that caused me to take the course. Dave Pelz is the ultimate golf engineer. He measures everything, and that has led to new learning. For example, he has found that 60-65% of all shots occur within 100 yards of the hole. More importantly, "about 80% of the shots golfers lose topar occur within 100 yards." In further measurements, he noticed that the largest errors in missing the target occur with wedges (for amateurs and pros). These misses are usually in distance, rather than left and right variance. From these observations, Pelz developed a four wedge system with 3 lengths of backswing that will give you much more distance precision with wedges within 100 yards. The reason this important relates to putting. Almost all 2 foot putts are made, but pros only make half of the ten foot putts (amateurs do worse). Beyond ten feet, the odds drop way off. This means that if you can get your wedge shot to within ten feet you have a good chance of finishing the hole in one less stroke. I still haven't converted to four wedges, but reading the book convinced me that I should. I didn't realize how much scoring I was missing with only 3. I can get the ball to 15 feet most of the time, and then 2 putt. Maybe I'll get that extra wedge today and get a lot closer. There's a lot of other good information on sand shots, chipping, trouble shots of all kinds (including how to hit the ball out from under water and stay reasonably dry). You'll need more than this book to really improve though. If you like the book, you should begin doing the drills in the back. I would suggest you also try the videos. If that is all helping, consider the golf school. You will get a lot of individualized diagnosis of your weaknesses and instruction on how to improve. I still refer to the notes I got, and find them helpful. One strength of the book is that it has a measurement exercise in it that you can use to diagnose the weaknesses in your short game, so that you can concentrate on those parts of the book that will help you the most with your practice. If you are like most golfers, you love to belt the ball. That's great, but I'm sure you've heard the old saying "Drive for show, and putt for dough." This book will add the perspective of the short game as essential to that dough as well. You'll have to give up two long clubs (he makes recommendations) to put those two extra wedges in your bag. Use this book to overcome your stalled thinking about how to improve your golf game. Despite better equipment and balls and a lot of instruction, the score of the average golfer hasn't improved in the last thirty years. With the Pelz approach that can change. As much as I liked this book, I liked his new book, Dave Pelz's Putting Bible, even more. I strongly recommend that you read that one as well. You can implement it without attending the Pelz course. These two books are the first two in a planned series of four. I'm looking forward to the rest of them. Donald Mitchel