My Favorite Golf Books (Scratch Golfer Recommendations)

Published Mar 26, 2019 | By Zach | mental-game

Reading is not for everyone, and many golfers like to just get out there and do it.  But given the fact that you signed up for this email list and are still opening the emails, I'm guessing one of your favorite activities outside of golf is cracking open a nice book with some freshly brewed coffee.  For that reason, here are my top 3 golf books.  I have plenty more that I have enjoyed, but these three books have truly impacted my game.

1. Every Shot Must Have a Purpose

This is by far my favorite golf book.  If you are looking for a book that will give you a systematic way to practice and play golf, then this is for you.  The authors were Annika Sorenstam's mental coach when she became the first woman to break 60 in competition.  They focus on creating a "process based" system for thinking about golf rather than an outcome/results based approach.  Following the methods in this book, you will walk out on the course knowing that if you commit to a specific process and routine, the results will follow.

2. Golf is Not a Game of Perfect

If there is one book that I would suggest reading the night before a golf tournament to get your mind in the right spot, it is this one.  Bob Rotella is easily the most famous golf mental game coach and writer and has awesome stories from the ranks of professional golf that nearly put you in the mind of a professional.  Rotella does not present a system for golfing, but teaches you how to think through stories about professionals that he has worked with.  If you think professional golfers have it easy out there, you really need to pick this book up.  It is not only helpful to your game, but genuinely a fun read.

3. Ben Hogan's Five Lessons

If you haven't heard of this book, we need to have a talk.  This book has been circulated through the hands of golfers for years now, and is the basis for a lot of instruction we see all over the place.  Although my instructional series is largely based on the Golfing Machine, these 5 lessons mirror the methods I write about very closely and is in my opinion a must read for any golfer.  Hogan was a genius on the course, but also had a sharp mind that could understand and explain the swing clearly.

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Hey, I‘m Zach, the founder of The DIY Golfer! I created this site while playing D1 collegiate golf with a simple mission—I wanted to learn the golf swing and get better at golf myself.

Fast forward a few years, and my “journal“, The DIY Golfer, has been viewed by millions of golfers worldwide looking to do the same with their games. my mission is to make golfers more consistent in just a few hours a week through advanced practice strategies and timeless, first-principle golf instruction.

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