IF IT is possible to focus too much on the modern golf swing then maybe Jeff Mann has done it.

Jeff is a retired doctor who has built an amazing resource at his website, Perfect Golf Swing.

As Jeff happily admits, his analysis of the golf swing is so detailed it is not for everyone.

But for those who are interested, it is fascinating stuff.

Even though Jeff set up the website entirely himself and it has a very simple, no frills design, it demonstrates the internet at its best.

The only problem is, if, like me, you start reading, viewing and absorbing and then look up and realise several hours have passed and you haven’t even reached the top of the backswing.

As for Jeff, he has obviously spent countless hundreds of hours putting it all together – and the project is still ongoing.

The beauty of Jeff’s work – apart from the fact that it is all entirely free to access - is that he has drawn all the material together from the best teachers and resources from throughout golf’s history.

And because it is online every minute, gory aspect of the modern golf swing can be analysed not just with words, pictures, illustration and graphs, but with relevant video clips and links as well.

The amazing thing is that Jeff only started playing golf when he retired from practicing medicine in 2001.

Jeff looked around and noted there was no free online review of the full golf swing available. Sure, there are a myriad of sites offering free golf tips, but nothing detailed like this.

Jeff decided to approach it as he would a scholarly analysis of any educational subject and that’s why he decided on the no frills style of Perfect Golf Swing.

As in a scholarly review, every point is referenced to the original source, whether that is from a David Leadbetter book, a Ben Hogan video clip or an animated robot swinging at one of the modern golf clinics. And all of it is based entirely on traditional golf instructional teaching.

As an older golfer himself  - and with the benefit of his medical knowledge of human physiology - Jeff knows that most senior golfers are not going to be physically able to exactly replicate the perfect swing of a golf robot or even a young Aaron Baddeley. Allowances can be made.

And as Jeff freely admits, the review will not offer a developing golfer any secret formula that will magically enable them to instantly perfect their golf swing.

What it does do for those interested is provide the basis for a thorough and in-depth understanding of golf swing mechanics.

Read and absorb it and suddenly all those seemingly disparate and (often in reality) confusing golf tips in the magazines and websites will all make perfect sense. You’ll know exactly where they are coming from.

Visit Perfect Golf Swing here

(Illustration from Swing Like a Pro. Ralph Mann and Fred Griffin)

I bought some well known Windows software that, including shipping, cost me just over half of the price available locally.

And as well as saving me almost $50, the software was delivered to my door from the US in just six days.

I knew the same big savings were available on the huge range of golf books available through the ASG Bookshop and the purchase spurred me to make some actual price comparisons. What I found confirmed the great prices available.

But first, the Australian Senior Golfer Bookshop is an offshoot of Amazon.com and all sales and delivery are handled through their system based in the US.

People scanning through the titles and the prices quoted often can’t believe they are factual, which is understandable when you see books that you would be paying over $40 dollars for in an Australian bookshop advertised for around $10. But it’s true.

Add to that the fact that there are usually second hand books in good as new condition available in most titles, sometimes for just a few dollars. From my experience these second hand books are in top condition and if there are any imperfections or wear and tear this is clearly stated.

There are two things to bear in mind when browsing the cheap golf books in the ASG shop. The initial price you will see is usually in US dollars, (at time of writing add about AUD 55 cents per US $10) and you also pay for postage and handling.

The usual shipping cost for books from the US to Australia is around $11.

…you could pay around $22 for a new golf book delivered to your door that would cost you around $45 in an Australian bookshop

So in this example you could pay around $21 for a new book delivered to your door as opposed to $45 in an Australian bookshop, or add around $4 to $8 extra for delivery from a local online store.

Cheap Software

In my own software example, I was after the well known antivirus software Windows OneCare. The price for a direct download from Microsoft is $99.95 and that’s about the best price you will see in Australian stores. (I did see OneCare advertised during a major retailer’s sale for around $90 a few months back).

Through the ASG Bookshop it was on sale for $19.99. Shipping and handling was $35.98 (much higher than for book postage for some reason) but still a total of just $55.97, and it was delivered to my door before 9am six days later. No contest as far as I’m concerned.

Book Price Comparison

The first two popular golf book titles I tried to compare I had to abandon because they just weren’t readily available on the Australian online stores.

I settled on Tiger Woods How I Play Golf.

From the ASG Bookshop, in Hardcover, this title is listed as AUD $14.98 plus $11 shipping and handling. Total = $25.98

Angus & Robertson

Same title in Hardcover was $62.99 plus $3.50 delivery (site says it “Usually ships in 10 days”.) Total = $66.49

Collins

Same title, in Paperback, $45 plus $6.95, ships in 10 to 15 days. Total = $51.95

Dymocks

Same title, again in paperback, $45, postage to Sydney Metro area $6.50, $7.95 elsewhere in Australia.

Total = $51.50

Booktopia

Paperback edition $40.50 plus $6.50 postage. (Title “needs to be ordered from overseas supplier and can take up to 10 days”).

Total = $47

In my local shopping centre Angus & Robertson the Tiger Woods How I Play Golf in paperback was $45.

So the same hardback edition best price found available locally was a whopping $40.51 extra. Even most paperback editions found were still around twice the price.

That’s why it is well worth checking out the Australian Senior Golfer Bookshop and seeing for yourself.

There is the added benefit over a physical bookshop that you not only get a full product description, but there are also often editorial book reviews as well as customer reviews.

As one television commentator untidily put it: “Norman has been up in Scotland practising with his new wife.”

I think if the commentator had his chance over he would rephrase that slightly, but at least we all know what he meant in general terms.

Back in May, Norman was playing in a couple of USPGA and Champions Tour events and talking about how his relationships with then fiancée Chris Evert and son Gregory had given him a new vigour for golf and life.

“I’ve been a bit absent for a while, about five years now,” Norman said at the time. “I haven’t really focused a lot of attention on wanting to get out there and play, and now I feel I just want to get out there.”

He was certainly getting “out there” at Royal Birkdale and was looking right at home on the big stage - his first major in three years.

Still, Norman wasn’t getting carried away about his overall chances after finishing on par and one shot behind co-leaders Robert Allenby (great to see him doing well), US Open star Rocco Mediate and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.

Norman was sharing second spot with Adam Scott, who had led all the way before succumbing to two late bogies. (Let’s hope Adam doesn’t let the slip get to him and comes back and fully realises his huge potential.)

At 53, Norman admitted no one was more surprised than he over his great start in what were very difficult but improving conditions. (The wind and rain made it absolutely atrocious when Craig Parry led the tournament off earlier in the day.)

“It probably surprised me as much as anyone,” Norman said. “I don’t play that much, and I don’t practice that much. I probably practice more tennis than I do golf.

“But at the same time there’s something about this event that stimulates you. The feeling you get coming down 18 after five and a half hours of golf and the way people receive you. You don’t get that anywhere else in the world. It is a phenomenal experience and you have a little more juice that you normally would.”

Norman credits his marriage to tennis great Chris Evert in the Bahamas last month with rebalancing his life in a way that has spin-off benefits for his golf.

“I wouldn’t say getting married to Chrissy has revitalised my golf game, I think it has just revitalised my life,” he said.

Norman was full of praise for the set-up of the course and acknowledged he and the other later starters had enjoyed by far the best of the conditions.

“I wouldn’t say getting married to Chrissy has revitalised my golf game, I think it has just revitalised my life,” he said.

Norman was full of praise for the set-up of the course and acknowledged he and the other later starters had enjoyed by far the best of the conditions.

“I think it’s the best Open I’ve ever played in. The course has been set up the fairest and toughest I’ve ever seen. It’s very balanced and gives the opportunity to someone like me to get a good score on the board,” he said.

“These conditions are an equaliser. Maybe some of these young players have not experienced it before.”

“When somebody asked me the toughest conditions I’d played in and said Turnberry 1986. Some of these kids might not have been born then.”
Norman did not play in the last two Opens through injury and admitted he had no wish to return to a full competitive schedule.

“The mind still wants to play but the body doesn’t want to practise,” he said.

“It’s gone through enough pain and surgery and I just don’t want to do it any more. I still enjoy playing but I don’t enjoy standing on the range for four hours a day.”

“The other side of my life is fantastic. I have the most beautiful balance I have ever had. When it was golf, golf, golf everything else was second. Now golf is second behind everything else.”

Greg Norman’s new lease of (golfing) life

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