Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf

by John Andrisiani, Claude Harmon, John Andrisani, et al.

Book Overview

The popular golf instructor shares the most important lessons he has learned about the game of golf, presenting a four-pronged approach to improving one's game that emphasizes the swing, the short game and putting, mental preparation and course management, and physical conditioning.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684807920
• ISBN13: 9780684807928
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 255 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Good. Needs Update.

Highly recommend. Excellent instruction. Needs to be updated as technology has changed regarding graphics, etc. Regardless, fundamentally sound and belongs on every golfer's book shelf.

Four Cornerstones

Product was in better shape than advertised and shipping was prompt. Book is very helpful.

Great instruction from one of the best

This book has some great tips and instruction from one of the top golf teaching professionals in the world. Butch teaches a very solid fundamentally strong swing and has great advice for how you can apply these techniques to improve your own swing. I think this is one of the better golf instruction books out there.

Easy to read, filled with information

There is a reason Ben Hogan makes so many appearances in this book. Besides the fact that the author and his father grew to know Hogan over the years, and that this friendship led to Claude Harmon Sr. winning the 1948 Masters, the author, Claude Harmon Jr., also seems to model his writing style in part on that of Hogan. In short, give just the info a person needs and don't bog things down. Also, when appropriate, add a tale or two from your own experience that helps illustrait the point you want to make.Beyond just the basics of a standard swing, which is only a small part of the overall game of golf, Harmon puts just as much emphasis on the areas of course management, physical training, and the short game (his four cornerstones). High handicappers typically ignore or run scared from the last three, simply because they see them as being the least glorious parts of the game. Harmon tries to correct this view, and offers a virtual encyclopedia of hints and proceedures to go about refocusing one's attention equally on all four of these vital areas.As an added bonus, he includes exercises for correcting serious faults. Some may be unhappy that he did not offer drills for every occasion on the calendar, but he makes his reasons clear: usually correcting the biggest fault will realign everything else. Probably something worth remembering, particularly if you don't go to a pro that often.For those looking for a book of instruction and only instruction, this volume may be a bit annoying because the author offers so many personal tales and points of view as to almost be a biography of his father and himself. Rather than ignoring these histories, it might be better to spend the time to at least skim what he is discussing in these sections, as they often shed light on not only his philosophy of golf and golf instruction, but also include hints to how a person can go about improving their own game by analysing their own attitude towards it.Probably not wonderful for the absolute beginner, this will definately be a book of value for someone with a few rounds under their belt who are seriously asking themselves where they want to take their game from here. More advanced players will benifit as well, but may gleen slightly more from his second book, BUTCH HARMON'S PLAYING LESSONS.

The Finest Golf Instruction Book in Print Today

As a golfer of over 35 years, a collector of golf books, and a serious student of the game, I believe "The Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf" is the most easily understood instructional books published on golf and a must for both the beginner or advanced golfer. Key to successful golf is an understanding of the fundamental concepts of the swing as well as the ability to form simple, repeatable thoughts as you play a shot. Butch Harmon provides the reader tightly focused instructional text along with with first rate photos and illustrations essential to understanding the basics of the game. Unlike many books that stress the "simplicity of the game", Harmon minces no words on the importance of physical conditioning to achieve a higher level of play. It is this candor and his solid recommendations on how to development better golfing fitness that sets this books above the rest. In short, "The Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf" belongs on the bookshelf of any golfer wanting to better understand the game and improve his or her ability