How I Play Golf

Tiger Woods shares his secrets to success—and how to use them to improve your golf game.

There is simply no athlete quite like Tiger Woods. His domination of golf is unparalleled. His achievements at the beginning of his career are extraordinary. And his approach to the game, from the power of his drives to the discipline of his mind, stand a cut above that of his competitors. Now he has written his book about how he plays golf, offering us an intimate view of both his game—mental and physical—and his unique personality on and off the course.

In the first and only how-to authorized by Tiger Woods, he reveals how he learned the game backward—from the green to the tee. He methodically analyzes every aspect of the sport, from lining up a putt to following through on a tee shot, from choosing the right club to keeping focus after a bad shot. With hundreds of brilliant photos, Tiger uses a frame-by-frame approach to explain his golf fundamentals, examining his personal intricacies of grip, stance, ball position, balance, rhythm, and routine. As Tiger shows us how he does it, and how he has learned to make changes in his own game, he helps us improve ours with some of his favorite techniques and tips, including:

· Tiger's six keys to a great backswing

· The biggest, most common mistake in putting and how to avoid it

· How to psyche yourself up for a key shot, and how to "throttle back" when you need to

· How to practice your golf shots—and have fun doing it

· How to control spin, trajectory, and direction with your irons—using the shape of your divot as a guide

· The "knockdown" shot—learn how to keep a ball out of high winds and heading in the direction you want it to go

· Tiger's do's and don'ts of course management, including knowing when and when not to lay up

· Tiger's best exercises to upgrade your strength and flexibility

With wonderful asides about golf as a contest of character, and Tiger's recollections of how he learned the game from his dad and how he competes today against the best players in the world on courses from Augusta to St. Andrews, How I Play Golf is as personable and charming as it is instructive. Indeed, the book may be the ultimate golf lesson.