Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book by Harvey Penick with Bud Shrake should be required reading for anyone who loves the game of golf or is interested in learning about it. According to the cover of the paperback edition, it is the highest selling sports book of all time, and there is little question why.

Harvey Penick was one of the most respected teachers the game of golf has ever seen. One only needs to read the introductions in his Little Red Book to see that.

The testimonials by Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, Mary Lena Faulk, Dave Marr, and Byron Nelson aren’t just evidence of what kind of teacher Harvey Penick was, but are a testament to the man himself.

Throughout his over seventy years of teaching, Penick kept various notes and observations on topics from every facet of golf in a little red notebook. For a long time, he only shared the contents of his book with his son Tinsley and had no intention of publishing it. Late in his life, he decided to share these notes with the rest of us and that’s how his Little Red Book came to be.

He took a simplistic approach to teaching, but don’t let that fool you. While he didn’t get wrapped up in angles and planes and the geometry of modern golf, he understood the game like few ever could. His mantra of “take dead aim” is, by his own words, the most important lesson to be taken from the book.

He also understood players like few others. He seemed to have a knack for understanding how to relate to players and get them to accept what he was teaching. Two of his most famous pupils, Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw, have over 70 wins as professionals, including three majors.

In some ways, Harvey Penick was the first golf blogger, well before the days of the personal computers and the internet. He just kept his posts on paper instead of whirling around the information superhighway. His “posts” are just chapters in the book and cover his observations about players, the swing, and whatever else came to mind.

One of my favorite anecdotes is one involving an average golfer pestering Tommy Armour about how to get more backspin on the ball. Armour asked the golfer when he hits an approach from 140 yards whether he was normally past the pin or short of it. The player remarked that he was nearly always short of the pin and Armour’s reply was, “Then what do you need with backspin?”

Chapter List

I usually like to list all the chapters, but this book just has too many.

The Good

• The book contains many, many pearls of wisdom that any golfer can benefit from.
• His teachings and observations are timeless and are applicable still today.
• The book is a tremendously easy read.
• Penick’s gentle personality really comes through the book. After reading the book several times, I wish I had a chance to know him.

The Bad

There’s nothing about Little Red Book that I didn’t like. I would ask you to be aware that Little Red Book is not a blueprint for the golf swing. You’re not going to find a step by step introduction to the game or to the swing. Beginners can take a lot from the book but it’s not the book for someone who has never played the game and is looking to figure out how to start.

Conclusion

As I said at the top, this book should be required reading for every golfer. It’s interesting, informative, and fun. Golfers of all skill levels will learn things that can help them with their own games. We’re fortunate that Harvey Penick changed his mind and decided to share his Little Red Book with us.

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Further Reading

Harvey Penick Biography (Austin Country Club)
Another Harvey Penick Biography (The Handbook of Texas Online)
Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book (Amazon.com)
More Books by Harvey Penick (Amazon.com)

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