As Davis Love III walked the fairways of the Oakland Hills Country Club, in contention during the final round of the 1996 U.S. Open Championship, he had a powerful ally on his side. For the rest of the nation the day may have been Father's Day, but for Love every day on a golf course is father's day.

It was Davis Love, Jr., master professional and legendary teacher, who taught his son the game in all its beautiful complexity. As a child, Davis III was encouraged just to play, to enjoy the game as he grew and developed his athletic skills, to find the pleasure in the game that can lead to the desire for improvement. But when, early in his teens, Davis III declared himself ready to take golf seriously, to put in the time to learn and understand the physical and mental components of the game that turn a golfer into a champion, his father was delighted, determined, and ready.

With every shot he takes, Davis Love III provides a tribute to the strength and the value of his father's teachings. And in Every Shot I Take, he shares with us the lessons he learned about how to play golf with power, with skill, and with joy. Those lessons range widely, from the psychological ("Let your attitude determine your golf game; don't let your golf game determine your attitude") to the physical ("To hit the ball far, hit the ball straight; I try to hit the ball at 80 percent of my overall power, because at 80 percent I have a much better chance of hitting the ball with the center of the clubface") to the technical ("When you begin your downswing, and your left foot returns to the ground, put your cleats in the same holes they were in originally"). They include drills like the Hitchhike Drill, where you place your right hand behind your back and your left thumb on your right shoulder, then in a spinning motion move your thumb to your left shoulder -- that's the golf swing in miniature! There are the Ten Commandments of Putting, six steps to successful long bunker shots, and tips for playing in the wind and rain, on fast greens, or out of long rough. Yet all are ultimately about something more than golf.

Golf was, for Davis, Jr., a way of being a father, of teaching his sons how to learn, how to approach whatever they might choose to do with knowledge and with care, how to overcome obstacles through dedication and understanding. It was the vehicle through which he taught the most important lesson of all: "Follow your dream, and enjoy the trip."

Through this moving tribute to his father's love, Davis III passes along the benefits of those lessons in a gem of a book that will improve your golf game -- and enhance your life.

Double bill of programmes covering the 39th Ryder Cup held at the Medinah Country Club in Illinois. The 'Official Film' reviews the competition in which the USA, captained by Davis Love III, looked set to secure victory with a four-point lead on the final day but Europe, led by José María Olazábal, achieved an almighty comeback to claim the trophy. 'Captain's Diary' follows Olazábal throughout the tournament, providing his viewpoint as his team struggle against tough opponents to narrowly obtain the win.

After teaching hundreds of thousands of golfers in the Golf Digest Instructional Schools they helped to organize, Bob Toski and Davis Love, Jr. perfected a revolutionary way of bringing instinct back to the golf swing. In easy-to follow drills and exercises, How To Feel a Real Golf Swing shows golfers of all abilities how to isolate the different parts of the swing. Each step is designed so that the golfer internalizes the feeling of each part of the swing and can finally put it all together for better results.

How To Feel a Real Golf Swing is the perfect way for golfers to learn on their own time and at their own pace to develop a solid and dependable golf swing: the basis of any good golf game.


From the Hardcover edition.