Natural Golf Swing by George Knudson, Lorne Rubenstein Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Natural Golf Swing
Book Review: This is the Secret to Golf
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a 3 handicap and this book is the real deal.As a long time student of Tai Chi, I have leanred that any true strong movement comes from your center (or Dan tien). Althletes that make their strong fluid movements look effortless have mastered this concept. Golf is the exact same way. If your arms are tired, back strained or hands hurt after playing, you are doing something very wrong.
This book is the best I have found that explaines how simple a real golf swing is. Use your center, shift your weight and let you arms, hands and club go along for the ride. This will produce the most solid consistent swing. It is truly that simple. The problem is we try and add to much.
People who diagree dont understand physics.
This book is an excelent introduction into the realities of the golf swing.
That said it is a little "fluffy" and long winded but I challange someone to find a better, more simple way of explaining the secrect to great golf.
Book Review: Unique look at golf
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very different golf instructional book. Knudsen does talk about mechanics to some degree but the whole premise of the book is about rythum and balance, which is something that's lost when we get too mechanical. I recommend it for everyone, especially advanced golfers. It takes the next step from mechanics to a smooth, flowing swing. A must for all golf libraries.Book Review: Very enlightening
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was highly recommended by a friend. I bought it and have read it several times. I now buy it as a gift for other golfers who ask me how I improved. The principles are simple to understand and while they don't take the place of a pro, they set a good foundation to build on. The key principle is balance...so simple. The rest is simple physics. If you want to improve buy this book and read it several times and continue to reread it every few months. Your pro can fine tune from there. At age 57 I set 3 personal course records this year, achieved a new low handicap index of 2.8 and it is still dropping. I would not have done any of that without learning from this book.Book Review: a delightful way to approach the game
Summary: 5 Stars
A brief background: I'm a 13 handicap and I've been playing for 10 years. I've broken 80 three times this season, yet all this time I had a swing that would be there one day and gone the next.
Moreover, I relied on strength to "hit" the ball. Even though golf instructors incessantly tell students to swing the club rather than hit the ball, it is easier said than done. And no instruction book explains it better than this one. Ben Hogan's 5 fundamentals does talk about letting the arms go along for a ride, but it doesn't talk about weight shift and balance as the keys to a natural swing.
To begin with, the reader might think there is nothing natural about the golf grip...that is true but ONLY if we are relying on our instinct to hit the ball like we've learned in baseball or any other hitting sport. That's precisely what George Knudson advises against.
Whatever George Knudson teaches is indeed natural IF you decide to swing the club rather than hit the ball. Quite simply, if the clubhead were tied to a rope and you had to swing the rope without any wobbling, the clubhead can theoretically travel on an undisturbed arc and gain immense speed as it flies, taking along the golf ball or whatever else is placed in its way.
The author advises against thinking about golf as a hand-eye coordination game. I completely agree. If both Ben Hogan and George Knudson (both considered great ball strikers) believe that an amateur with average hand-eye coordination can break 80 consistently, then who am I to argue. I have average hand eye coordination and I never excelled at sports. However, understanding the purpose of the game (swing, NOT hit) has changed my outlook.
The first time I really got the concept and stepped on the range to apply it, I hit the absolute purest shots with minimal conscious effort. The feeling was so profound that I was upset about wasting 10 years on learning swing mechanics and getting into perfect positions rather than swinging the club. Get this book, practice the drills, and enjoy the improvement. You won't become a tour caliber player right away but you will swing smooth and easy, be less tired and achy after a practice session or a round, and have an oily/syrupy swing with minimal swing thoughts. And best of all, it will feel natural!
I also wish to comment on some reviews that downplay the importance of the personal stories that the author tells...what I took away from those stories was the fact that even as a multiple winner on the tour, Knudson was concerned that he wasn't swinging the club and wanted to find a better and more consistent way to do it. All his stories simply reinforce the point that golf isn't complicated. Rather than going into the theoretical derivation of angular momentum, centrifugal force, and potential and kinetic energy, he simply shows the reader how to benefit from physical laws governing motion. And as stated before, the result of following his advice is the most effortless swing you'll ever have.
Book Review: great book, really great
Summary: 5 Stars
I read a lot of the reviews here before buying the book, and it was good to see what people thought of it from different angles. Personally I think it's a great book! As soon as I started reading it I knew it was right for me. George Knudson tells of his youth and his early problems, and it was exactly what I am experiencing and exactly what I need to fix. I think it depends on the person... if you've got a swing that isn't relaxed, that feels like you're putting far too much into it, get this book! I had a decent driving distance already, but I was putting far too much into it and it was inconsistent. The stuff in this book helps. I also read that people complain that he repeats things, but I find this as an advantage. I have read other books that say things once, and unless I write them down I forget them about a day later. I think the repetition (as slight as it is) really drills in the information.