What do you think?
Golf My Way: The Instructional Classic, Revised and Updated
Hailed as a classic and read everywhere golf is played, Golf My Way has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide since it was first published in 1974.
Finally, Jack Nicklaus, golf’s leading master, definitively covers the whole of his game through a lifetime of greatness. Golf My Way presents an all-inclusive, A-to-Z explanation of how this greatest of champions thinks about and plays the game.
This book
-New introduction, endpiece, and illustrations
-Brand-new chapters discussing the changes in Nicklaus’s outlook and techniques
-Reflections on the differences in tournament golf today compared with when Nicklaus joined the PGA tour in 1962
-Advice on the mental elements of improved playing that are not directly related to ball-striking or shot-making
Finally, Jack Nicklaus, golf’s leading master, definitively covers the whole of his game through a lifetime of greatness. Golf My Way presents an all-inclusive, A-to-Z explanation of how this greatest of champions thinks about and plays the game.
This book
-New introduction, endpiece, and illustrations
-Brand-new chapters discussing the changes in Nicklaus’s outlook and techniques
-Reflections on the differences in tournament golf today compared with when Nicklaus joined the PGA tour in 1962
-Advice on the mental elements of improved playing that are not directly related to ball-striking or shot-making
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 1974
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 14, 2019
The Golden Bear can always help you. No matter your hcp, or even if you are a pro, these pages will make you a better golfer. Obsessive, thorough, slightly addictive. Massive technicalities. But the most important insight is that you have to develop your own swing beyond the commonalities required by biomechanics and physics. And it achieves a life of its own. Your swing becomes your Doppelgänger. Maybe that is the reason why golf books bring so much emphasis on psychology. Read this and stay under par. Or just enjoy the voluntarism, enthusiasm, and beautiful technique of the most remarkable perfectionist in golf world history.
April 1, 2013
Golf My Way is a classic of golf instruction, but truth be told, it’s pretty dumb to think any book can teach you how to play golf like Jack Nicklaus in his prime. So much of what makes any truly elite, once-in-a-generation athlete worth emulating has so little to do with anything you can put into words. It’s all about pathology, really — pathological competitiveness, pathological attention to detail, pathological confidence — and you either have it or you don’t.
That said, there are two lessons in Golf My Way that anybody can apply to regular life. The first is one anyone, regardless of skill level, can actually use on the golf course too: that is, stop playing golf — or anything else you love to do — just before you feel like you’ve had your fill. Nicklaus writes that, even as a very young boy, he loved golf with such passion he never wanted to leave the course. There was always another bucket of balls to pound on the range or fifty more putts to sink on the practice green. He eventually learned there was value in quitting for the day even if he had the energy and interest to keep playing. He came back fresher, hungrier the next day. Like Hemingway, who stopped writing each day in mid-sentence, Nicklaus wanted to always look forward to his life’s work.
The second lesson is a little more figurative because, unless you not only play golf but are a truly excellent golfer, you really must ignore its literal application. Nicklaus writes that it’s almost impossible to play a perfectly straight shot in golf. The result will be crooked; the trick is to know what kind of crooked the shot will be and then to account for it. That’s why he has a particular target on each shot and he tries to shape the flight of the ball every time he hits it. He aims for the center of every green and tries to move the ball one way or the other, depending on the location of the pin. If it’s on the right side of the green, he aims at the middle and tries to cut the ball toward the pin. If it’s on the left, he aims at the middle and hits a draw. Nicklaus figures that’s safest and it gives him the best chance at being on the green, even if he doesn’t pull off the shot exactly as he intended. Again, don’t try this at home in the most literal sense: there are successful professional golfers who are incapable of navigating this approach on a golf course. While it allows for imperfection, it also requires exquisite control of the intricate system that is a golf swing.
However. There is the metaphor.
Our paths are crooked. Yes, we need to aim at something. But even the best of us are capable of flaring off into any number traps and thickets and other assorted hazards. Imperfection is a constant. Expect it. Embrace it. Plan for it.
That said, there are two lessons in Golf My Way that anybody can apply to regular life. The first is one anyone, regardless of skill level, can actually use on the golf course too: that is, stop playing golf — or anything else you love to do — just before you feel like you’ve had your fill. Nicklaus writes that, even as a very young boy, he loved golf with such passion he never wanted to leave the course. There was always another bucket of balls to pound on the range or fifty more putts to sink on the practice green. He eventually learned there was value in quitting for the day even if he had the energy and interest to keep playing. He came back fresher, hungrier the next day. Like Hemingway, who stopped writing each day in mid-sentence, Nicklaus wanted to always look forward to his life’s work.
The second lesson is a little more figurative because, unless you not only play golf but are a truly excellent golfer, you really must ignore its literal application. Nicklaus writes that it’s almost impossible to play a perfectly straight shot in golf. The result will be crooked; the trick is to know what kind of crooked the shot will be and then to account for it. That’s why he has a particular target on each shot and he tries to shape the flight of the ball every time he hits it. He aims for the center of every green and tries to move the ball one way or the other, depending on the location of the pin. If it’s on the right side of the green, he aims at the middle and tries to cut the ball toward the pin. If it’s on the left, he aims at the middle and hits a draw. Nicklaus figures that’s safest and it gives him the best chance at being on the green, even if he doesn’t pull off the shot exactly as he intended. Again, don’t try this at home in the most literal sense: there are successful professional golfers who are incapable of navigating this approach on a golf course. While it allows for imperfection, it also requires exquisite control of the intricate system that is a golf swing.
However. There is the metaphor.
Our paths are crooked. Yes, we need to aim at something. But even the best of us are capable of flaring off into any number traps and thickets and other assorted hazards. Imperfection is a constant. Expect it. Embrace it. Plan for it.
October 11, 2012
Golf My Way collects a career's worth of observations on Nicklaus' own golf swings, as well as those of other notables from his own time and prior to his dominance of the sport. The analysis is very well detailed and easily applicable to the reader's own.
It connects well with Ben Hogan's own book on the fundamentals of golf in the same folksy manner of presentation and simplicity. A definite classic in terms of laying down the fundamentals of golf, in order to create a foundation on which to build and improve.
It connects well with Ben Hogan's own book on the fundamentals of golf in the same folksy manner of presentation and simplicity. A definite classic in terms of laying down the fundamentals of golf, in order to create a foundation on which to build and improve.
November 13, 2014
Another book I read long ago as a kid fascinated with golf. Another book I carried with me for years until, like everything else, it vanished into the Gulf of Mexico in 2005's Hurricane Katrina. Another book I must get another copy for my shelf, and re-read to once again marvel at the genius of Jack Nicklaus.
June 1, 2026
Undoubtably one of the greatest golf instructional books with lots of highly technical and valuable swing advice. But 200+ pages on what are just two-second physical actions can certainly drag.
February 19, 2016
Very enjoyable eye opener.
Whoever shows some want towards unlocking the secrets behind whatever makes or helps make greatness will find a lot of gems in this exposition. Truly honest writing and a love for sharing in Mr. Nicklaus makes me believe that passing on knowledge without any form of payback involved is paramount in the way we should live our lives. Well done!
Whoever shows some want towards unlocking the secrets behind whatever makes or helps make greatness will find a lot of gems in this exposition. Truly honest writing and a love for sharing in Mr. Nicklaus makes me believe that passing on knowledge without any form of payback involved is paramount in the way we should live our lives. Well done!
July 19, 2011
My father in law bought me this book for Christmas one year. If you like golf, this book is for you... It is a truly timeless book in the sport of golf.
July 26, 2018
My go to golf instruction book for the last 40 years!! Equipment has evolved, but Jack's guidance on mechanics and course management remain valid.
October 29, 2018
“Golf Simplified by the Greatest of All Time”
Great source of Golf knowledge for every skilled level.
Great source of Golf knowledge for every skilled level.
May 30, 2023
Classic
For golfers of all ages. For some a dance down memory lane, for others the important transmission of a legacy and a lesson that golf has a history as rich and important as any country in the world. I was sent to bed for several nights by the book, full of visions of inspired descriptions of fundamental motions. I honestly believe “sleeping on it” has helped my game, especially as my 72 years attest: technique and confidence are the winning bedfellows!
For golfers of all ages. For some a dance down memory lane, for others the important transmission of a legacy and a lesson that golf has a history as rich and important as any country in the world. I was sent to bed for several nights by the book, full of visions of inspired descriptions of fundamental motions. I honestly believe “sleeping on it” has helped my game, especially as my 72 years attest: technique and confidence are the winning bedfellows!
June 19, 2019
On why golf is the greatest game of all:
“...can be played almost from the cradle to the grave...promotes and provides companionship and sociability as much as it does competitive endeavor and excitement...played in such richness and variety of topography and environment...as mentally stimulating as it can be physically healthful...so eternally imperfectible and, thus, so forever challenging”
“...can be played almost from the cradle to the grave...promotes and provides companionship and sociability as much as it does competitive endeavor and excitement...played in such richness and variety of topography and environment...as mentally stimulating as it can be physically healthful...so eternally imperfectible and, thus, so forever challenging”
January 5, 2022
This was a good read. Once again a little too technical for me, but probably very good for really good golfers.
April 8, 2024
Just finished. Loved it.
July 20, 2016
I read this endlessly when I was a young golfer. A brilliant book on how to swing and how to think. I even use the concept today, in that when I get in to a bit of bother, I ask myself: "What would Jack Nicklaus do now; if he had a swing like mine".
September 2, 2008
I really enjoyed Jack's story, and reading about how he developed his game. Great pointers throughout with particular stress on fundamentals.
Read
August 14, 2009a must read for everyone. especially people who hate Golf and the folks that play it!
January 26, 2011
instructional
Read
September 11, 2009J796.35Nic
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews