‘Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf’
My good friend Brandon Williams was kind enough to send me an autographed copy of Claude & Butch Harmon’s golf instruction book, ‘The Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf’. I was excited to add it to my growing golf library, but, to be honest, I was prepared to chalk it up as just another ‘how to’ book on golf.
I have to report that I was pleasantly surprised, almost shocked on how good this book is. As far as I know it hasn’t ever been that popular since it was published in 1996. Too often ‘how to play golf’ books go into way too much detail. To wit, Nick Faldo’s ‘Golf – The Winning Formula’ that was published in 1989. It’s not that it doesn’t have good information, it’s that it has way too much. Nick describes about every 1/10th of a second of the entire swing and after 30 or so pages you don’t know if you’re coming or going.
By contrast, Harmon gets to the basics of the swing quickly and simply. The book is a little over 200 pages, but I read most of it in a day – it goes fast. I didn’t read all the historical sections, but concentrated on the instructional bits.
Besides a very nice piece on the core components of the full swing, there are sections on chipping, pitching, bunker play and putting. They aren’t long, but they are to the point. You get simple instruction and practice routines that you can actually remember and use.
I also enjoyed the section on ‘specialty shots’ and Harmon’s Hints. If you’re more than a rank beginner, you want to learn how to play all the lies and conditions that aren’t flat and in the short grass. Here Harmon covers most of the situations you’ll run into with just 2 or 3 sentences each. If you find yourself in a tough situation and you’re trying to recall if you should play the ball back or forward and make a flatter or more upright swing, this guide will be very welcome. The most accurate detailed instruction is of little use if you can’t remember it on the course.
Lastly, I enjoyed the chapters where he discusses the work he did in the early nineties with Greg Norman, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods. Here Harmon discusses the changes he made and how they relate to the core principles of the first chapters. It’s refreshing for amateurs to see how small fundamental changes for even the best in the world can make all the difference in scoring. Trust me, your game can benefit from some of the same instruction.
I’m always surprised when I have a preconceived notion about something, only to discover that I was completely wrong. Harmon’s ‘Four Cornerstones of Winning Golf’ is just such a book. If you want a solid, simple accurate reference manual on how to play better golf, then this book is as good as any. This is a book that won’t just gather dust!
Related posts:
- Golf Instruction For The Rest Of Us
- ’7 Laws’ & Nick Bradley
- Privileges of Winning the US Open
- Left Arm in Golf Swing – Straight or Relaxed?
- Will The Haney Project Kill Golf Instruction?
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Simpler is almost always better. I stumbled upon Nick Faldo’s book at a friends place once and you’re right, it almost made me swear off golf books… and golf for that matter… forever. As you say not that the information wasn’t good but it was extremely detailed and could only confused a player of my level
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I’ll have to try the Four Cornerstones!