--- product_id: 12757029 title: "The Practice Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers" price: "£30.05" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/12757029-the-practice-manual-the-ultimate-guide-for-golfers store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # The Practice Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers **Price:** £30.05 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Practice Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers - **How much does it cost?** £30.05 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/12757029-the-practice-manual-the-ultimate-guide-for-golfers) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description *Featured on THE GOLF CHANNEL*A golf best-seller in the USA, UK, Canada, Germany and France - This book is the most comprehensive guide to improving your Golf EVER! With golfers around the World hitting the driving ranges and not improving, it is time to do something different — It’s time to do something better. Using information from the latest in motor learning research, you will discover the key ingredients which make the ultimate practice plan. You will also find out where you have been going wrong all these years, and be able to quickly change for the better. If you are a keen golfer who likes to practice, or if you are an aspiring Tour Pro or College player, this book is a necessity. For Golf Coaches around the World, this book will transform the way you teach golf forever.IF YOU LOVE GOLF, YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOKLEARN ABOUTBall Flight LawsDeveloping SkillSIPFATS — the key to improving quicklyThe truth about ConsistencyDifferential and Variable PracticeHow to guarantee results with Performance TrainingAnd much more......“We love to support the passion from golf teachers and coaches who want to grow the game. Adam is definitely one who commits to continuous learning and making a difference. He believes that the coaching of the future in golf will include more than technical knowledge."Lynn Marriott & Pia Nilsson Co-Founders VISION54 Review: Get that practice game sharp and bring it to the course. - Short version : it's a very good book for getting you to focus on your practice routine and stresses the importance of being mindful during practice, and tracking and scoring your progress. This instruction is geared towards trying to get you to apply your practice skills on the course and using measurable ways to improve. Longer version : If you're like me, you've spent a lot of time on ranges and practice greens, trying to improve, working with instructors, and just generally spending a lot of time hitting balls. If you're still like me, you probably HAVE improved, but feel like you could have used your time more wisely, or you've circled back too often onto things you should have already "mastered". You're probably even working on some of the same issues you were working on two years ago. This book is for you. The strength of the book is that his main ideas of what makes a good golf shot are simple and he never loses sight of them as he moves through the book. What are the main ideas. . . 1) Hit the ball in the center of the face, not too near the toe or heel. 2) Strike the ground in the right place, not too fat nor thin. 3) Make sure the clubface and path are correct (he demands that you understand the ball flight laws. If you're not willing to do that, don't read this golf book) 4) Faster club head makes the ball go further. Duh. 5) Finally, angle of attack and dynamic loft. He spends less time on those final two ideas. The key point he stresses is this (I quote verbatim), "'What' we achieve at impact is far more important than 'how' we achieve it. Ultimately, form should be changed only if it produces better function. Form changes should not be made to simply look more like a model, or to achieve some kind of pretty symmetrical look." I don't want to misrepresent him. He believes that swing flaws need to be addressed through instruction. He's an instructor himself, so he's not poo-poo'ing instruction; he's just giving the reader a lot of things to focus on to help the reader improve. Basically, after outlining WHAT the reader should be trying to achieve, he spends the rest of the book explaining the means to go about getting it. And, believe me, this book is not for someone looking for a shortcut. This is about going out and making sure you're hitting the center of the face to a certain degree of precision (based on handicap level) You got that? Good. Now, start working on hitting the ground in the right place a significant amount of the time. Got that? Start working on getting your club path and face right. You got all that? Move on to the next level and tighten the parameters on every one of those things. At no point does he talk about what to do with ball position, grip, posture, etc. He seems to be of the opinion that you'll figure a lot of those things out on your own in your process of practicing impact. In addition to drills and techniques to measure these things (he also gives parameters for improvement based on handicap level), he presents a very interesting look at the mental game of golf. He breaks "swing thoughts" down into 5 categories. . . -Internal (an idea like "keep your left arm straight" or "head still" or "shift weight") -External process. I'd say, "what you do with the club." (an idea like "hit the ground in the right place") -External result. I'd say, "what you do with the ball." (an idea like "draw the ball" or "flight the ball low") -Neutral. (an idea like "1 2 3 go" or a breathing exercise while you're hitting) -Transcendental. (essentially no thoughts at all). He offers the strengths and weaknesses of each, but more importantly, and this is a key idea concerning everything in the book: EXPERIMENT WITH THEM AND SEE WHICH WORKS BEST FOR YOU, on the range and the course. So, I think that's enough to give you an idea of what the book is about and the author's focus. I'm not going to explain in a page what he uses 400 pages to do. He has a lot of other fun/interesting/useful ideas in the book that I've already implemented in my practice. E.g. as he mentions, you don't play golf from perfect lines off flat surfaces, so get good at adapting and being athletic. . .do a Happy Gilmore swing. Do a swing where you start by hovering the club a foot above the ball. Try a claw grip for full swing. Try a cross-handed grip. Etc etc. Cons: he's somewhat wordy and repetitive about his ideas. I kept wanting to get to sections on practice and it felt like, "you're harping on this again?" He has a section on the process of change where he comes up with an acronym (SIPFATS) to help you remember the process. It almost seemed unnecessary in light of the other yardsticks and techniques he offers. In summary, I don't know if the book is going to drop my handicap or if it will be THE LAST GOLF BOOK I'LL EVER NEED!!! but for a guy who feels like he's put in a lot of work, and could use a jolt to get off the current plateau, I feel like I'm all of a sudden armed with a whole new box of tools to do that. For now, 8/10. Get back to me in a year. I could find it utterly useless, but if I had to guess, I think it's more likely I'd move the book into the 9+ range. I think it's going to prove to be quite useful. One final thought if anyone has made it this far: I think this would be an excellent book for instructors to read. I've liked the instructors best in my life who have talked about contact, and ball direction more prominently than swing positions (I had a guy once who, when I asked him about my foot alignment, said, "you don't hit the ball with your feet". Sure, he talked about footwork a little, but something like lining your feet up right. . .wasn't meaningful to him). Review: Anything that can't be measured can't be managed - This book has been the number one influence in helping me internally understand how I need to practice golf to become a master at the craft. I have read golf books of every kind but this one trumps them all, it honestly makes the information I learned from those books more valuable because it all makes sense now. I hate trying to summarize something in one word because it doesn't do information justice but I know some people do not want to read a long review so for you this book is about DELIBERATE practice. If you have never heard of this concept then you are in luck because now you get to learn about while applying it to something you love, golf, and that is probably one of the best ways to learn new things. You'll learn how to record and measure your progress in golf and that is important because if it can't be measured then it can't be managed. This isn't you're average golf book about how to keep your head down and left arm straight. If you are trying to make a Swing Change then the author and I would both recommend that you at least see an experienced teacher a couple times to better understand the movement that you need to make to swing the club in a more efficient manner. This book is full of new concepts that some readers may be skeptical about and that is understandable, no one wants to find out that what they have been practicing for 20 odd years isn't the best way to get better at golf. If that's you then you're in luck because this book has the answers for you and you should start to see vast improvement in no time when you put some of these principles into place. I realize that not everyone will experience the same aha moment from this book as I have and it would be silly to think so. Aha moments come from a lifetime of searching and learning new things. I think the way to get the most out of this book is to think of it like a new exercise routine, you must gradually increase your level of difficulty every day to see results in the gym and it is the same way on the course or practice tee. If you don't leave your practice session feeling a little mentally or physically drained then you aren't gaining any muscle. Because I want the reader to gain as much as possible from the principles in this book I would like to add some topics and books that may help you in getting more from this book and getting better at golf. I believe that if you understand habit loops and how new habits form then you will better understand how to create practice habits that suit you. I also think that if you realize that creativity is a very messy process and that it's better to make a ton of rough drafts and learn from all of them that you will gain immensely when trying to create practice plans for yourself if you do them without a couch. This isn't a plug for other books but I am just adding a few extra ones that helped me get more out of this one. Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull- Learned about how anyone can be creative and great ideas are the result of a long and rigorous process. The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferris- Learned about minimum effective dose as it relates to exercise but really can be applied to anything. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg- Learned about habit loops and helped me understand how to get rid of or make new habits. This is great for getting you out to the course to practice. Every Shot Counts by Mark Broadie- Learned about how to use statistics to shave strokes off my game. This book could be viewed as complex by some but it is great information and a real eye opener into what the pros do way better than you or me. Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool- A lot of good books out there on deliberate practice but this author is the grandaddy of the subject so I would start with this one. There are also some great podcasts on iTunes about learning and golf that you should totally check out. This book is a really great book for someone who has been searching for the answers to why they practice all the time and never get any better. I don't think this is the last we'll hear from Adam Young. Checkout his blog if this kind of stuff interests you, should be an easy google search. Ted Huffingham ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #32,434 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #56 in Golf (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,386 Reviews | ## Images ![The Practice Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51-hdlDPj7L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Get that practice game sharp and bring it to the course. *by M***H on June 10, 2015* Short version : it's a very good book for getting you to focus on your practice routine and stresses the importance of being mindful during practice, and tracking and scoring your progress. This instruction is geared towards trying to get you to apply your practice skills on the course and using measurable ways to improve. Longer version : If you're like me, you've spent a lot of time on ranges and practice greens, trying to improve, working with instructors, and just generally spending a lot of time hitting balls. If you're still like me, you probably HAVE improved, but feel like you could have used your time more wisely, or you've circled back too often onto things you should have already "mastered". You're probably even working on some of the same issues you were working on two years ago. This book is for you. The strength of the book is that his main ideas of what makes a good golf shot are simple and he never loses sight of them as he moves through the book. What are the main ideas. . . 1) Hit the ball in the center of the face, not too near the toe or heel. 2) Strike the ground in the right place, not too fat nor thin. 3) Make sure the clubface and path are correct (he demands that you understand the ball flight laws. If you're not willing to do that, don't read this golf book) 4) Faster club head makes the ball go further. Duh. 5) Finally, angle of attack and dynamic loft. He spends less time on those final two ideas. The key point he stresses is this (I quote verbatim), "'What' we achieve at impact is far more important than 'how' we achieve it. Ultimately, form should be changed only if it produces better function. Form changes should not be made to simply look more like a model, or to achieve some kind of pretty symmetrical look." I don't want to misrepresent him. He believes that swing flaws need to be addressed through instruction. He's an instructor himself, so he's not poo-poo'ing instruction; he's just giving the reader a lot of things to focus on to help the reader improve. Basically, after outlining WHAT the reader should be trying to achieve, he spends the rest of the book explaining the means to go about getting it. And, believe me, this book is not for someone looking for a shortcut. This is about going out and making sure you're hitting the center of the face to a certain degree of precision (based on handicap level) You got that? Good. Now, start working on hitting the ground in the right place a significant amount of the time. Got that? Start working on getting your club path and face right. You got all that? Move on to the next level and tighten the parameters on every one of those things. At no point does he talk about what to do with ball position, grip, posture, etc. He seems to be of the opinion that you'll figure a lot of those things out on your own in your process of practicing impact. In addition to drills and techniques to measure these things (he also gives parameters for improvement based on handicap level), he presents a very interesting look at the mental game of golf. He breaks "swing thoughts" down into 5 categories. . . -Internal (an idea like "keep your left arm straight" or "head still" or "shift weight") -External process. I'd say, "what you do with the club." (an idea like "hit the ground in the right place") -External result. I'd say, "what you do with the ball." (an idea like "draw the ball" or "flight the ball low") -Neutral. (an idea like "1 2 3 go" or a breathing exercise while you're hitting) -Transcendental. (essentially no thoughts at all). He offers the strengths and weaknesses of each, but more importantly, and this is a key idea concerning everything in the book: EXPERIMENT WITH THEM AND SEE WHICH WORKS BEST FOR YOU, on the range and the course. So, I think that's enough to give you an idea of what the book is about and the author's focus. I'm not going to explain in a page what he uses 400 pages to do. He has a lot of other fun/interesting/useful ideas in the book that I've already implemented in my practice. E.g. as he mentions, you don't play golf from perfect lines off flat surfaces, so get good at adapting and being athletic. . .do a Happy Gilmore swing. Do a swing where you start by hovering the club a foot above the ball. Try a claw grip for full swing. Try a cross-handed grip. Etc etc. Cons: he's somewhat wordy and repetitive about his ideas. I kept wanting to get to sections on practice and it felt like, "you're harping on this again?" He has a section on the process of change where he comes up with an acronym (SIPFATS) to help you remember the process. It almost seemed unnecessary in light of the other yardsticks and techniques he offers. In summary, I don't know if the book is going to drop my handicap or if it will be THE LAST GOLF BOOK I'LL EVER NEED!!! but for a guy who feels like he's put in a lot of work, and could use a jolt to get off the current plateau, I feel like I'm all of a sudden armed with a whole new box of tools to do that. For now, 8/10. Get back to me in a year. I could find it utterly useless, but if I had to guess, I think it's more likely I'd move the book into the 9+ range. I think it's going to prove to be quite useful. One final thought if anyone has made it this far: I think this would be an excellent book for instructors to read. I've liked the instructors best in my life who have talked about contact, and ball direction more prominently than swing positions (I had a guy once who, when I asked him about my foot alignment, said, "you don't hit the ball with your feet". Sure, he talked about footwork a little, but something like lining your feet up right. . .wasn't meaningful to him). ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Anything that can't be measured can't be managed *by J***M on January 24, 2017* This book has been the number one influence in helping me internally understand how I need to practice golf to become a master at the craft. I have read golf books of every kind but this one trumps them all, it honestly makes the information I learned from those books more valuable because it all makes sense now. I hate trying to summarize something in one word because it doesn't do information justice but I know some people do not want to read a long review so for you this book is about DELIBERATE practice. If you have never heard of this concept then you are in luck because now you get to learn about while applying it to something you love, golf, and that is probably one of the best ways to learn new things. You'll learn how to record and measure your progress in golf and that is important because if it can't be measured then it can't be managed. This isn't you're average golf book about how to keep your head down and left arm straight. If you are trying to make a Swing Change then the author and I would both recommend that you at least see an experienced teacher a couple times to better understand the movement that you need to make to swing the club in a more efficient manner. This book is full of new concepts that some readers may be skeptical about and that is understandable, no one wants to find out that what they have been practicing for 20 odd years isn't the best way to get better at golf. If that's you then you're in luck because this book has the answers for you and you should start to see vast improvement in no time when you put some of these principles into place. I realize that not everyone will experience the same aha moment from this book as I have and it would be silly to think so. Aha moments come from a lifetime of searching and learning new things. I think the way to get the most out of this book is to think of it like a new exercise routine, you must gradually increase your level of difficulty every day to see results in the gym and it is the same way on the course or practice tee. If you don't leave your practice session feeling a little mentally or physically drained then you aren't gaining any muscle. Because I want the reader to gain as much as possible from the principles in this book I would like to add some topics and books that may help you in getting more from this book and getting better at golf. I believe that if you understand habit loops and how new habits form then you will better understand how to create practice habits that suit you. I also think that if you realize that creativity is a very messy process and that it's better to make a ton of rough drafts and learn from all of them that you will gain immensely when trying to create practice plans for yourself if you do them without a couch. This isn't a plug for other books but I am just adding a few extra ones that helped me get more out of this one. Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull- Learned about how anyone can be creative and great ideas are the result of a long and rigorous process. The 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferris- Learned about minimum effective dose as it relates to exercise but really can be applied to anything. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg- Learned about habit loops and helped me understand how to get rid of or make new habits. This is great for getting you out to the course to practice. Every Shot Counts by Mark Broadie- Learned about how to use statistics to shave strokes off my game. This book could be viewed as complex by some but it is great information and a real eye opener into what the pros do way better than you or me. Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool- A lot of good books out there on deliberate practice but this author is the grandaddy of the subject so I would start with this one. There are also some great podcasts on iTunes about learning and golf that you should totally check out. This book is a really great book for someone who has been searching for the answers to why they practice all the time and never get any better. I don't think this is the last we'll hear from Adam Young. Checkout his blog if this kind of stuff interests you, should be an easy google search. Ted Huffingham ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Groundbreaking Advanced Golf Instruction *by M***S on September 14, 2015* This book is for advanced students of the game! If you just want to play golf for social and exercise purposes stay away. However, if you want to learn why you can work hundreds of hours on your game and the scores don't change, Adam Young has the answers. This book appears to apply neuroplasticity theory from Jeffery Schwartz's revolutionary The Mind & The Brain to the game and learning of Golf. If I had only two books to read on advanced Golf instruction it would be Young's The Practice Manual and Rotella's The Unstoppable Golfer. The Practice Manual is a groundbreaking Golf book that marries neuroscience (“hacking your brain”) with quality instruction. Adam Young is an fresh, innovative coach who draws heavily on his own learning experiences and golf game mastery. His resolute focus on the most important element of the swing, IMPACT, and how the learner can find it, is refreshing given the golf teaching industry’s single-minded attention to swing positions. Young explains how we learn, and it’s not beating thousands of balls on the range. He offers the diligent learner a process how to most efficiently hack their own brain saving many years of practice. This book is perfect for the educated student who has just a few hours a week for practice but deeply desires that single digit handicap! The Practice Manual is also not a prescription for the prettiest swing, rather it is a method for finding form but only if it has a function in the swing. This manual uses advanced neuroscience concepts like Perception Action Coupling and Uncontrolled Manifold Hypothesis to explain how our brain analyzes golf learning tasks and why experimentation (and failure) in practice is so valuable. Young doesn’t spend much ink discussing on-course strategies or the “mental game,” but his Internet blog (https://www.adamyounggolf.com/blog-2/golf-blog/ ) is superb at tackling those topics. Overall, a five star manual for diligent students of the game. No matter your handicap, The Practice Manual offers a process to better your golfing skills and ultimately lower your average scores...in other words - how the brain, the body and the mind combine to practice and perform in unison. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Practice Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers - The Four Foundations of Golf: How to Build a Game That Lasts a Lifetime (The Foundations of Golf) - Ben Hogan's Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/12757029-the-practice-manual-the-ultimate-guide-for-golfers](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/12757029-the-practice-manual-the-ultimate-guide-for-golfers) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-05-14*