And If You Play Golf, You're My Friend: Furthur Reflections of a Grown Caddie

Another round of inspiration and instruction.

When Harvey Penick signed copies of his now classic first book, Harvey Penick's Little Red Book, Bud Shrake, his coauthor, noticed that he often inscribed them with the line “To my fried and pupil.” When Shrake asked him why, Penick replied “Well, if you read my book, you're my pupil, and if you play golf, you're my friend.”

Taking up where the Little Red Book left off, this is the second dose of Penick's singular brand of wit and wisdom, full of the simple and easy-to-understand lessons on golf that Penick is known and admired for. Like its predecessor, And If You Play Golf, You're My Friend is rich with Penick's great love of the game, a love that he delighted in sharing with golfers of all ages and levels of ability.

ISBN-13: 9780684867335

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 10-15-1999

Pages: 176

Product Dimensions: 5.00(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.50(d)

Harvey Penick lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife Helen. This is his first book.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1

My Son-in-Law's First Lesson

My son-in-law, Billy Powell, was captain of the University of Texas basketball team. When my daughter, Kathryn, married him, Billy's pals accused him of trying to improve his golf game.

Everybody knew that was meant as humor, because Billy had never touched a golf club. Basketball was Billy's idea of a real game, not golf.

After college, Billy and Kathryn served a tour in the Air Force. They were stationed at Clovis, New Mexico. Billy tried golf for the first time in Clovis. Playing with a friend who had a 2 handicap, Billy learned what a thrilling experience golf can be. He was hooked.

Billy phoned me that night. He was so excited, he could hardly catch his breath.

"Harvey, I'm on my way to Austin to take a lesson," he said. "How soon can you fit me in?"

I said, "Billy, I will send you a set of golf clubs. Play golf for six months. Then we'll talk about lessons."

Six months later, Billy and I went to the practice range at Austin Country Club.

"I have to ask you a question," Billy said. "I've had an awful struggle for six months. Why did you make me wait so long for this first lesson?"

"This is the second lesson," I said. "Your first lesson was six months of struggle on your own."

"But why?"

I said, "Athletes like you, who have had success in other sports, need to be humbled before they can learn the game of golf."

There's an old saying: The student must be ready for the teacher to appear.

Copyright © 1993 by Harvey Penick, Bud Shrake and Helen Penick

Show More

Table of Contents

Contents

My Son-in-Law's First Lesson

Teaching Billy

A Value of Knowledge

Identify the Problem

The Lawyer

God Knows

In the Mind's Eye

What Does It Mean?

Take Pleasure in It

Flavor That Lasts

The Oracle Speaks

A Story by Helen

Another Call

Toss It

An Irony

The First Choice

A Strange World

Look Here First

Toward a Stronger Grip

All You Need to Know About the Wrist Cock

Higher Aspects

A Method for Madness

Making a Comeback

A Distinction

Preacher Mann

The Reason for It

From the Fringe

South of the Border

The Lay Up

Tommy Wins the Open

A Story by Christy Kite

Make Up Your Mind

The California Woman

The Judge

Keep It Moving

The Learning Game

A Story by Tom Kite

The True Way

Club Selection

A Special Club

A Golfer's Prayer

Give Luck a Chance

The Bench

A Teacher's Guide

Musings on Rulings

Wilmer's Woes

The Power of Negative Thinking

The Champion

Practice It First

Wrongheaded Husbands

Children

Crosshanders

The Left Arm

The Secret of the Golf Swing

Hit It Hard

Brand-Name Aiming

Slices and Hooks

Pressure

The Erratics

How to Stop the Bleeding

The Dashing Demaret

Luck

Sweet but Incomplete

Paula Granoff's Story

Indoor Teaching

Masters Manners

A Golfer's Poem

Wasting Your Time

Mr. Connerly

Fate Takes a Hand

Unfair to Ben

Made in Heaven

Chipping

What Do You Look At?

Telephone Lesson

Still the Most Dreaded Shot

Reassurance

A Future in Golf

The Sweet Spot

Playing Hurt

The Feeling of Far

In the Eyes

In the Mind

Old Familiar

Governor Hobby

Life in the Mind

My First Lesson

A Soft Wedge

The Examination

Club Fitting

The Best Hands

A Hard Job

Mr. Aminex

An Inexhaustible Subject

A Tip

The Fee

Timing

Time to Move

Mr. Roberts

Randy's Driver

Jack Did It

The Downhill Lie

Haunted

Hogan Whiffs It

Caddie-Yard Psychology

Where Is He?

My Prayer

Training Aids

Necessity

Summing Up

Game of Honor Show More