Hale Irwin is ripping up the Senior Tour. A 20-tournament winner on the PGA Tour, and a 3-time U.S. Open winner, he’s been even more impressive on the senior circuit.

How does he do it?

He’s not a long driver. He’s not a great putter. His short game is very good, but not mentioned as among the best by his peers. During his entire career he earned a great reputation for how he hit his long irons, though, and that is a good clue.

A person that can control his long irons must have good balance.

In several respects, Irwin recommends different types of good balance as essential to good golf in his new book.

Irwin developed a reputation over the years as a player who got the most out of his talents. Because his talents were deemed more limited that other players, Irwin became known as a competitive, smart golfer.

Irwin knows his own reputation and plays to it in his approach to this book. It is divided into two basic parts: Smart Game Management and Smart Course Management.

The first part deals with appropriate goal-setting, tracking performance, equipment choices, and practice choices.

I particularly liked one pithy comment:

[A] smarter game will be something you can hold on to, unlike so many swing changes golfers make. Band-aids, after all, eventually fall off.

Irwin delves into remarkable detail concerning fitness and, notably, the need for a balanced diet. For this segment he had the help of Dr. Debra Hartley, the wife of collaborator Jim Hartley. This is the first time I’ve seen a nutritional guide in a golf book, describing menu choices that vary depending on starting times.

Irwin’s points on fitness are not as original but are nonetheless beneficial, especially for the senior set. His discussion returns to the need for balance, by stressing work on the legs, hips, and low back.

The second part, on course management, begins with a nice section on preparation for play. It then stresses the need for balance in practice again, in a chapter on the short game. The theme continues in other chapters on tournament play and on the Rules of golf.

This part of the book should make the members of Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles feel very proud. This is the third book in recent years (that I know of, anyway) featuring a hole-by-hole description of how a PGA player played the course in a notable performance. [The other two: Brad Faxon’s 63 to make the Ryder Cup team, in Bob Rotella’s Golf is a Game of Confidence, and Steve Elkington’s 1995 PGA Championship round in his Five Fundamentals, with Curt Sampson.]

Irwin uses his 1998 U.S. Senior Open win at Riviera for his chapter called "Anatomy of a Smart Round." What’s nice in reading this segment is that he balances his description of his triumphs with an equally careful depiction of his mistakes. This vignette is a good example of course management, and Irwin was smart enough to include it.

The last chapter is a useful summary of the topics covered in the previous nine chapters. Again, there are no major new insights. Nonetheless, golfers seeking improvement in their own games should seriously consider adopting Irwin’s balanced approach.

It’s the smart thing to do.

Review Date: November 14, 1999

Click on the book cover above or the link below to buy this book today! You'll want this book in your library!

If you're looking for golf books we haven't reviewed yet, click on this image: