Being a huge John Daly fan, I was pleased to see his new book as I scanned the bookshelves at my local mega store.

His latest offering, Golf My Own Damn Way: A Real Guy’s Guide to Chopping Ten Strokes off Your Score with Glen Waggoner, is classic Daly. No frills, just straight to the point.

This is Daly’s version of the Little Red Book. It’s a primer of what makes him tick as a player and how you can follow his example to lower your own scores and have some fun in the process.

Let’s break it down.

The Good

• The writing style is very conversational, as if J.D. was sitting there chatting golf. Literature snobs would consider this a negative, given that Daly isn’t Bill Shakespeare, but I like it just fine.
• Daly has interesting insights into the game. His approach is simplistic, so you’re not going to get talk about angles and planes. It’s simple concepts that will save strokes.
• Aside from the game improvement information, there was a good amount of other material including his favorite courses, why he hates par threes, and why he thinks golf would be faster if everyone took a cart. And he means “everyone” as in four carts per group.
• It’s a fun read coming from a person who is a rare find in the world: an elite everyman. He’s been to the top of the mountain (the bottom too) and he’s learned a lot along the way that he shares.

The Bad

• There were a couple of painful typos. Accidents happen, but a book from a major publisher by a big-name player, co-written by a professional author, should have been given a little more scrutiny.
• If you read a lot of instructional material, then many of the game improvement tips in the book are going to be things you’ve heard before. What you get, though, is Daly’s perspective on the topics.

Conclusion

As I said before, I’m a huge John Daly fan. This book was like being able to sit down and have a long talk with J.D. about golf. For that reason alone, I liked it. There are no huge teaching revelations, but plenty of Daly’s insight on many facets of the game.

If you’re a Daly fan, I think you’re going to like it.

If you’re strictly looking for instructional material, then give this one a pass, because there are many books that go into much more depth covering the swing and how to score better.

Overall, I thought it was a fun read with definite John Daly flair, and I’m happy to have it in my golf library.

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