Scrambler's Dozen: The 12 Shots Every Golfer Needs to Score like the Pros

Amazon.com
In a perfect golfing universe, every drive would sail straight and every approach would land gently on the green, at tap-in range for birdie. Of course, there's no such thing as a perfect golfing universe. The best a golfer can do is be well-prepared for the harsh realities. As Bobby Jones once noted, golf's secret is the ability to convert a potential three strokes into two. In The Scrambler's Dozen, Mike McGetrick, the 1999 National PGA Teacher of the Year, identifies 12 shots that every golfer, regardless of handicap, needs to be able to pull out of the bag to help accomplish that.

McGetrick's arsenal moves from tee to green and includes both difficult recovery shots--such as exploding from a bunker, flopping, flyers, and hanging lies--and shots designed to work a ball with purpose, not just prayer--the lag putt, the fade, the feathered iron, and the standard pitch and its variations. For each, he clearly explains why and when you need the shot, how to approach it mentally, and--via photos--the physical set-up and swing required to accomplish it. Then he offers game-filled practice drills designed to help make learning this stuff fun, and to keep you working enough to trust the shots when you need them. Once that's laid out, he carefully summarizes his instruction with bullet points that include simple--and important--swing thoughts.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this invaluable book, Mike McGetrick, one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teaching Professionals in America and 1999 National PGA Teacher of the Year, shows how to make the best shot possible and shave strokes off your game. Sharing the same methods he uses when coaching some of the best players in the world, McGetrick outlines 12 basic shots you can incorporate into your game without overhauling your technique.

"Shotmaking is much more than simply curving the ball or hitting it low and high," explains Mike McGetrick, personal instructor to top golf professionals such as Juli Inkster, Brandt Jobe, and Meg Mallon. "It's understanding how the lie, the wind, the contour of the target and the hazards of the course will affect your decision making process." To reach full scoring potential on a course, you have to be a scrambler at heart, a master who can read a course's shifting challenges-from weather and terrain to pin positions-and adapt accordingly.

Following the clear advice in The Scrambler's Dozen, you will learn to be a great scrambler-to trust your decisions and your ability to execute shots to get the greatest rewards from the game. Like the pros, you too can learn when and how to chip or pitch or putt from off the green, and know how to practice so you're rarely in unfamiliar situations on the golf course. The Scramblers Dozen is the secret for squeezing every ounce out of your game and reaching your full scoring potential.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

I've been working with Mike for 14 years, and what makes our relationship so good and so lasting is his communication style. Mike has made golf more fun for me by teaching me how to turn practice into something that really helps on the course. He helped me gain confidence by practicing specific shots, especially around the greens. Now when I'm faced with a pressure shot on the course, I have something real to fall back on. That's something that every golfer can use. — (Meg Mallon, LPGA player and former U.S. Women's Open champion)