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One of golf's more genial personalities, Roger Maltbie is also one of the game's straighter shooters, and his aim in Range Rats is to go straight to the heart of most of our handicaps: the way we practice. The overwhelming majority of golfers haven't a clue how to do it correctly; instead of practicing with purpose, we tend to beat balls until our palms start to flake, blissfully ignorant of why our game's not improving.
Maltbie passes on a secret it took him almost a decade on the PGA tour to learn: there are two distinct ways to practice. One's for establishing rhythm and aim--his warm-up tip for taking alternate shots with driver and wedge to establish a consistent, controlled swing tempo alone should knock a couple of errant strokes off your scores--the other's about correcting swing mechanics and specific shots, and never the twain shall meet. Maltbie's bigger secret is the tool touring pros have been using for finding the specific flaws they need to work: a chart. It's magnificently simple. Are your drives going right? Are you pulling your long irons? Are your wedges constantly coming up short? Learning how to chart your game (more than 20 charts are included) will help you keep track of the mistakes so you can address each one directly.
Unlike many instructionals, which are as dry as a Southern California bunker in August, the well-illustrated Range Rats moves breezily along on Maltbie's wit, observations, anecdotes, and--most fun of all--his insightfully clever lists. One points out some of the dumbest things amateurs do on the range. If you find you commit cardinal sins such as a) grabbing the driver for the first swing of the day, b) trying to copy everyone else's swing, c) never picking a target to hit at, and d) ignoring your wedge, either give up the game, or listen to Roger. --Jeff Silverman
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