4) Swinging into Golf (1941)

By Ernest Jones and Innis Brown

This classic instruction book’s singular theory – swinging the clubhead – was developed by Jones before the First World War. The original inspiration is nearly 100 years old and , yet when golfers like Vijay Singh and Ernie Els are playing well, they are doing what Jones commanded: swinging the clubhead. When Tiger swings the clubhead he plays well; when he tries to overpower the ball, he sprays it. Learning how to swing the clubhead is Jones’s mantra. He teaches that and only that. If you learn to swing the clubhead, he says, you do not need to worry about anything else, your shoulders, your hips, your turn, nothing else. Everything else will follow naturally from the swinging motion.

Jones wanted to be a professional golfer, but lost his leg during WWI. He played exceptionally well, scoring in the 70s on one leg, but not well enough to compete. He turned to teaching and reinforced his philosophy through three books.

Forewords by Bernard Darwin and Geoge H. Bostwick, Jr.

3) Breaking 90 with Johnny Miller (1990)

By Johnny Miller

Superb instruction and piquant commentary from one of the most articulate premier players. As beautiful as it is useful, the book is printed on fine stock and profusely illustrated with original golf watercolors by Matthew Cook. Includes humorous essays by the likes of George Plimpton, David Owen, Charles McGrath, Glen Waggoner and Ian Frazier.

2) The Methods of Golf’s Masters (1975)

By Dick Aultman and Ken Bowden

This is a puzzling book to categorize. While not exactly a book of instruction, you will learn more about the golf swing digesting Ken Bowden and Dick Aultman’s The Methods of Golf’s Masters than you will at the practice tee. It is a unique blend of astute analysis and historical exactitude, probing the origins and evolution of the modern swing, using 16-famous players, each emblematic of a particular nuance of style, for demonstrative purposes. The authors also have an exciting new premise: “A recurring theme in this book is the influence the master golfer’s personalities have had on their playing methods.” It is a curious viewpoint that can ultimately assist us in our own development. The authors’ theory is that the most influential factor determining both a golfer’s swing and his style of play is his temperament and that forcing technique outside of a natural comfort zone can only end in disaster. That personality should be so dominant a component is surprising, but the evidence they present is convincing.

Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind, Afterword by Peter Thomson.

1) The Venturi Analysis (1981)

By Ken Venturi

Employing stop-action photographs, Venturi pinpoints the key moves of 28 greats from Nelson to Crenshaw. This is one of the best instructional golf books in the Classics of Golf Library. This is great precursor to Brandel Chamblee’s Anatomy of Greatness that will be released in March 2016.

Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind, Afterword by Ed Sneed.