How to Win at Golf: Without Actually Playing Well - Hardcover

The idea is simple: "Break your opponent's concentration and you destroy his game." Master gamesman Winokur offers up time-tested ways to shift your opponent's focus away from golf. Not by cheating--nothing so blatant and unseemly. Rather, unsettle your adversary with ego work ("reinforce [your opponent's] secret belief that his book shots are anomalies," thus creating a victim mentality); scare tactics ("raise the prospect that your opponent may encounter a poisonous snake when he enters the woods or a deep rough to search for his ball"); self-congratulation (bellowing "I'm da man!" after a particularly good shot); or asking about his swing thoughts: "If your opponent doesn't have a swing thought, he'll wonder if he should get one. If he does have a swing thought, he'll question its effectiveness." Each gambit and ploy is described in detail; many with examples of pros admitting to similar tactics, and many have both "high road" and "low road" versions. There's even an escape clause should you find yourself playing against someone who has also read the book: "Identify yourselves to each other by means of the code words 'Titanic Thompson.' Then bow out of the match." Funny as well as educational, How to Win at Golf is well worth extended study. --M. Stein