Harvey Penick is probably the most well known golf instructor in the history of the U.S. game.
But in reading either of his books, Red or Green, he gives advice that applies very well in classrooms or home.
Like: ‘It’s not what the teacher says, but what the student hears that matters.?
And: ‘All people like to be important. Criticism from a teacher can kill a pupil’s ambition to improve. Be anxious to praise and slow to fault-find.?
Now for a bit from another side of golf: ‘The difference between golf and government is that in golf you can’t improve your lie.? – George Deukmejian
‘May thy ball lie in green pastures and not in still waters.? – Ben Hogan
‘Golf is a game invented by the same people who think music comes out of a bagpipe.?- Lee Travino
Penick golf instruction: God made what is called the lifeline in the right palm of a human being for very special reason . . . it fits exactly perfectly against the left thumb in the perfect golf grip.
Another Penick tip: When you are trying to decide which club to hit, the first one that comes to mind is the right one. Let us suppose your instinct tells you to pull a 5-iron. But you throw up some grass to get the wind and you check the yardage again, then you overrule your instinct. You change to a 4 or 6. Now you are no longer sure. You’ll probably ease up on the 4-iron or really bear down on the 6-iron. The result is liable to be a poor shot.
Bishop Sheen: ‘Man blames fate for all other accidents, but feels personally responsible when he makes a hole-in-one.?
The Rev. Billy Graham: ‘The only time my prayers are never answered is playing golf.?
Pete Dye: ‘The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody would put a flag stick on top.?
Harvey Penick – In golf (JAS-and in life) your strengths and weaknesses will always be there. If you could improve your weaknesses, you would improve your game. The irony is that people prefer to practice their strengths.
Penick believed the only way to play golf was by the rules. He wrote, ‘Call me old-fashioned or starchy or whatever you will, but two things in the world I just can’t grow accustomed to are a man and woman living together without being married and taking a mulligan at golf.?
Advice from the ‘fringe.?
On a par four, if your ball is on the fringe of the green in two strokes and you require three more strokes to get the ball into the hole, you might as well have whiffed your tee shot.
The penalty is the same — the loss of one stroke. If you whiffed your tee shot, you would be embarrassed.
But if you take three from the fringe, you are apt to say, ‘Well, that’s just my game.?
You should feel that you can get down in two from the fringe every time. Practice it. There’s no use throwing away all those strokes.
Penick, the teacher, guide:
Try to talk plain.
Life consists of a lot of minor annoyances and few matters of real consequence.
Finish one job before starting another.
Be brave if you lose and meek if you win.
The best way to get pupils to do something is to get them to want to do it. Try to make the other person happy about doing something you suggest.
There are no winter or summer rules in golf. In the game of golf the ball is played as you find it.
Buddy Hackett: ‘I’m hitting the woods just great, but having a terrible time getting out of them!?
Arnold Palmer: ‘I don’t say my golf game is bad, but if I grew tomatoes they’d come up sliced.?