Play Better Golf By Playing Smarter Golf

You can play better golf by playing smarter golf. You can lower your scores immediately without changing your swing simply by changing your approach to the game. That’s what GolfBlogger’s first book, The Five Inch Course, is all about. It is available now in paperback and Kindle versions through Amazon.

The print version is under $10. The e-book is under $3.

The title is a reference to Bobby Jones’ quote that “competitive golf is played on a five and a half inch course: the space between your ears.”

The Five Inch Course is a collection of more than a hundred short essays designed to help players lower their scores by playing smarter golf. Reading The Five Inch Course won’t result in extra yards or a cure for your slice. Rather, the aim of the book is to help you play better with the swing you already have.

It’s a “mental game” book, but the one thing that distinguishes this work others of its ilk is that The Five Inch Course offers concrete strategies you can put into play immediately. There’s none of the Zen or mumbo jumbo that seems to dominate the “mental game.” Any player—from the occasional duffer to the scratch golfer—should be able to pick an idea or two and put them into play on their very next round.

I have been collecting these tips for years, and versions of many of them have appeared on this blog in the regular “Mental Mondays” column. They’re short, to the point and I think, easily digestible.

Here’s the blurb from the book jacket:

The Five Inch Course: Play better golf with the swing you already have.

In 1960, the average golf score was 100. Fifty years later, with all the innovations in clubs, balls and instruction, the average golf score is … still 100. In fact, only 20 percent of all golfers will ever (honestly) break that mark.

More bad news: Barring a major investment in time and money, you’re stuck with the swing you have. Tips from golf magazines, your buddies—even the occasional lesson from a pro—aren’t going to result in long term improvement. Studies have shown that most players never get better than they are five years into their golfing “career.”

However, this doesn’t mean that lower scores are out of reach. The Five Inch Course offers more than a hundred strategies for improving your golf score without improving your swing. By playing smarter, more strategic golf, even weekend hackers can dramatically improve their scores without improving their swings.

The Five Inch Course currently is available on Amazon in both print and Kindle editions.