There are many golf instructional books written by some of the games greatest players, and greatest instructors, of earlier times. Some of these books are still considered among the best golf instruction books out there. Below is a list of our picks of the best "classic" golf instruction books. These books are still helpful to modern golfers, and they all have contributed to the foundation of today's teaching methods.
1. "Ben Hogan's 5 Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf"
If you took a survey of professional golfers, Hogan's slim volume would likely be chosen as the most influential golf instructional book ever written. Who wouldn't want to know the secrets of Hogan? It's concise and to the point, and has helped golfers for decades.
2. "Harvey Penick's Little Red Book"
Harvey Penick was in his 80s when this book came out, and the book itself just entered its second decade of printing. But the words within were compiled over the course of Penick's 60-year teaching career, jotted on scraps of paper that Penick saved and finally collected. It has become the best-selling golf instructional book of all-time.3. "Bobby Jones on Golf"
The greatest amateur - some would argue, the greatest player - golf has ever known, Jones' book also served as the basis for the movie shorts that have regained popularity through their airing on The Golf Channel.4. "Swing the Clubhead" by Ernest Jones
Ernest Jones was one of golf's first "superstar" instructors. He taught decades ago, but what he taught - summed up in the title of this classic book - is still influencing golfers and teachers of the game.5. "How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time" by Tommy Armour
The great Tommy Armour played his best golf quite a bit of the time, winning more than 30 times on the PGA Tour, including three majors. "The Silver Scott" retired from professional golf in the 1930s, then became one of the game's most highly sought instructors.6. "On Learning Golf" by Percy Boomer
Percy Boomer rivals Ernest Jones as the most highly respected and most influential teachers of the game from the World War II era and earlier. "On Learning Golf" was first published in 1946 and has gone through more than 20 reprints as modern golfers keep rediscovering it.7. "Golf My Way" by Jack Nicklaus
Along with Harvey Penick's "Little Red Book," "Golf My Way" is one of the two youngest books on this list. Nicklaus' tome was first published in 1974, almost instantly achieving classic status. It's been reprinted numerous times, and numerous spinoffs (including a popular series of videotapes) have appeared. If you want to know how the greatest golfer of all-time approaches the game, Nicklaus' book is for you.8. "The Gist of Golf" by Harry Vardon
Harry Vardon was arguably the first golf "superstar." He was the first to hook up with an equipment company and produce eponymous golf clubs; he was the first British golfer to barnstorm the U.S. and draw huge crowds; and he was one of the first to write his own instructional book. Vardon's book is a great look into the thinking about golf that existed in the early 20th century.