Smart Golf by Hale Irwin, Jim Hartley, Robin McMillan (1999, Hardcover)

In Smart Golf, Irwin shares the secrets he used to forge a reputation as the thinking man's golfer--smart game management and smart course management. Focusing less on mechanics and more on practical and tactical strategies, Irwin shows you how to steer your game and handle the course to arrive at a better score. Smart Golf is a practical, easy-to-follow guide for golfers frustrated with complex swing diagrams and cryptic putting physics. Although the fundamentals of golf are addressed, Smart Golf is not overburdened with mechanics. Instead, it focuses on practical and tactical strategies to help golfers--at any level--get the most out of their game.

"Every golfer, regardless of age, skill, or physique, has a brain--so every golfer should know how to use it. I've learned the hard way that playing smart and getting the most out of my game was the only way to succeed. Put another way, there are a lot of ways to play golf. You just have to find the one that's right for you.

"To that end, Smart Golf differs from other golf books. It won't just show you an ideal swing and then tell you that's how you should be swinging. Instead, it will focus on getting the most out of the game you already have. And as everything we discuss will be firmly rooted in logic, a smarter game will be something you can hold on to, unlike so many swing changes that golfers make."
-- Hale Irwin, from the Introduction to Smart Golf