50 Years of Golfing Wisdom

50 Years of Golfing Wisdom
John Jacobs

John Jacobs is one of golf's all-time great teachers, a true legend of the game who has passed on his words of wisdom to thousands of amateurs as well as to some of the world's greatest players over the last 50 years. Now, for the first time ever, the pick of his collective wisdom has been brought together in one seminal volume.When the likes of Butch Harmon and David Leadbetter heap praise on your methods and credit you with having helped shape the way they learnt their craft and how they applied those teachings, you know that you must be one of the most important and influential figures in the world of golf.Not only a great teacher, John Jacobs was also good enough to play in the Ryder Cup and beat the best in the game. Those who witnessed his memorable victory over Grand Slam winner Gary Player in the final of the South African Matchplay Championship knew they were in the presence of someone special – a talent that was able to use all his experience as a top-level player and move seamlessly into the world of golf teaching.50 Years of Golfing Wisdom features all the lessons and advice that made Jacobs the original, and many say still the ultimate, golfing guru. Every department of the game receives the Jacobs treatment – from the fundamentals of grip and swing, to problem solving and curing your bad shots, to instruction on hitting every shot from the longest drive to the shortest putt, including everything in between.Simple, easy to understand, effective advice on how to maximize your potential and play your best golf – this may just be the only golf instruction book you'll ever need.

Copyright (#ulink_c8fd14d7-74a0-55cf-bde4-8a96bb651e1b)

HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

77–85 Fulham Palace Road

Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/)

First published in 2005 by Collins Willow

Copyright © John Jacobs and Steve Newell 2005

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

John Jacobs asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

Illustrations by Rob Davies

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Source ISBN 9780007193936

Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2014 ISBN: 9780008118259

Version: 2014-10-02

Contents

Cover (#u95ba6dd6-b143-5e0d-b4fa-753657d771ff)

Title Page (#u1e784799-e5e4-57ae-a456-23ab118dbc9f)

Copyright (#ulink_2d876c90-19ec-5209-a4b5-0b00a602e263)

Foreword (#ulink_1c5c3635-6cae-5b77-9fde-8bc9d2846c81)

A Lifetime’s Philosophy (#ulink_8a238ebb-e34b-563c-9008-df7e59cd912f)

Chapter 1: Understanding Golf’s Fundamentals (#ulink_d1f1a2a0-b4f1-5e88-8597-b1978fe15774)

Chapter 2: Building a Better Golf Swing (#ulink_92abd2a7-98e9-58e9-8546-11cf73d7304e)

Chapter 3: The Short Game (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 4: The Art of Putting (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 5: How to Cure Golf’s Most Common Faults (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 6: Trouble Shooting (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8: Golfing Greats (and what you can learn) (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9: Playing the Game (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10: I Had Some Fun Along the Way! (#litres_trial_promo)

Picture Section (#litres_trial_promo)

Notes (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Foreword (#ulink_3da643d6-f085-5a53-9270-3794907fd2f5)

Nothing meaningful in this life is ever achieved without hard work, but one always needs a little bit of luck. John Jacobs deserves his success in golf, because he invested plenty of the former and, as he freely admits, was blessed with a little of the latter, too. His talent took care of the rest. His journey is extraordinary.

John started his professional golfing life in his father’s shop at Lindrick Golf Club in Yorkshire. He would stoke the fires in the grate on Monday mornings to burn out the snapped hickory shafts of clubs broken over the course of a weekend’s play. He grew up to become one of golf’s most influential figures – tournament winner, undefeated Ryder Cup player, captain of the Ryder Cup team, founder of the PGA Tour, OBE, past President of the PGA of Europe, a member of golf’s exclusive Hall of Fame and also the Teaching Hall of Fame (itself a rare double honour), and winner of the prestigious Geoffrey Dyson Award for Sporting Teaching Excellence in 2002. Most recently Jacobs was awarded honorary membership of the R&A. The list could go on further, were there space.

Above all, though, John Jacobs is one of golf’s all-time great teachers – a true legend of the game who is in the unique position of having taught hundreds of thousands of amateurs around the world how to play better golf, in-between passing on his words of wisdom to the world’s greatest players of the last 50 years. No other coach has had more success in making the best even better. The same could be said for his influence on today’s leading coaches.

John himself is far too modest to even suggest that a list of tributes from great players through the years be included in this book, but as his collaborator on this project I am happy to relieve him of this burden, for I think it is entirely appropriate that within the remit of this foreword there is scope for personal contributions which put in perspective John’s impact on the game of golf.

‘It is an unrelenting insistence on understanding and applying the fundamental objectives of the swing, plus his remarkable ability to explain them clearly, that makes John Jacobs such a great golf teacher. Because his logic is unarguable and his reasoning so understandable, his success rate with all levels of golfers from beginner to tournament player has been and continues to be outstanding.’

Jack Nicklaus

‘John Jacobs has been a friend of mine for many years. He is an outstanding teacher and has also been an excellent golfer and a fierce competitor on the course. However, of greatest importance for me is that he is a true gentleman and an asset to the game.’

Gary Player

‘John Jacobs has contributed a great deal to the game and he is considered one of golf’s premier teachers. In building my own career, he was certainly one of the instructors I studied and he has an outstanding ability to analyse golfers’ problems through their ball flight. He is one of the game’s real grandmasters.’

David Leadbetter

‘John is the nicest person I have met in my 25-year amateur and professional career. He really is a true friend. As a golf teacher he is without doubt The Master. Simplicity is the word I would use to describe his teaching. His theories on the golf swing and the lessons he gives are so crystal clear and understandable that he makes the game of golf seem easy. His advice helps bring better golf within everyone’s grasp.’

Jose Maria Olazabal

‘I was just 14 when I first saw John Jacobs on the practice ground at Dalmahoy. It was not his swing that caught my eye, or the way he addressed the ball, but rather the fact that he never had time to practise himself because so many of his colleagues kept asking for advice. As always it was given freely. John remains the supreme enthusiast gaining his pleasure from helping fellow pros and amateurs – thousands over the years – play the game better and enjoy it more. I seek out John two or three times a year to have a look at my swing and he has never let me down. Come to think of it, I’d question whether he has ever let anyone down.’