Product Review: Butch Harmon About Golf presented by Titleist

As early as I can remember, I was a golf-instruction junkie. When I as first bitten by the golf bug, I combed through my monthly Golf Digest and GOLF magazines and read Jack Nicklaus’ “Golf My Way” and Harvey Penick’s “Little Red Book” from cover to cover. Then came video: Lee Trevino’s “Priceless Golf Tips” and Chi Chi Rodriguez’s “Bag of Tricks” were my two favorites.

While books and VHS tapes have long been replaced, Butch Harmon has now elevated the art of instruction with his two-DVD set "Butch Harmon About Golf presented by Titleist."

While Harmon rose to fame as an instructor working with Greg Norman, he is most known for molding Tiger Woods over a hyper-successful 10-year period. He’s also guided the swings of Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Natalie Gulbis, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Nick Watney, to name a few.

Voted No. 1 in Golf Digest's annual ranking of America's Best Teachers for the past 11 consecutive years, Harmon has brought his expertise to the masses with more than four hours of instruction on the set.

How about enjoying 57 chapters with more than 250 specific tips from the comfort of your living room? Thanks to "Butch Harmon About Golf presented by Titleist," this dream is now a reality and only mouse click away via www.butchharmondvd.com.

"Over the past 40+ years I have been blessed to work with some of the greatest players in the game: Phil, Ernie, Greg, Tiger, Seve, Freddie, and several up and coming players, such as Adam, Nick, and Dustin, who are destined to carve their names in the golf record books," Harmon said in a release. "Obviously I am proud to have been associated with them and to have contributed in some small way to their success. But their accomplishments are only part of the overall picture of the scores of everyday players, from all walks of life who have left the practice tee after working with me, that feel that their game has been improved. For everyone that has worked with me there are thousands of golfers that I will never have a chance to try and help.

"With that thought in mind, I decided to commence work on the filming of a DVD that would share a lifetime of golf knowledge with the public that would cover: the fundamentals, identifying faults and the fixes, specialty shots, short game, sand play, putting, club selection, kids, under and over 13, women, seniors and physical fitness (by the way, I do practice what I preach as I have recently lost 35 lbs.).”

Flashing back to instructional DVDs of the (not-so-distant) past, a major flaw has rarely been addressed - consistency. Either the instruction was intended to teach the game to a beginner or novice or the teacher directed his message way over the collective heads of the golfing masses. A beginner would be lost with the latter, while a low-handicapper would learn nothing from the former. That is not the case with Harmon’s version.

Harmon speaks to the masses, while providing ample technical jargon to keep the scratch involved and learning. His chapter on specialty shots is a perfect example. When faced with an obstacle, the novice can simply get the ball back in play, while Harmon teaches advanced players shaping techniques - left-to-right, high, low, etc.

American Golfer Recommendation: Young or old, male or female, beginner or experienced veteran ... all will benefit from watching "Butch Harmon About Golf presented by Titleist." Take the lessons to the course and enjoy the improvement in your game.

The DVD set will be released internationally in six languages - English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

The "Butch Harmon About Golf presented by Titleist" DVD set is sponsored by Titleist, Winn Grips, Rolex, Golf Digest and JMA and will be available for $79.95 on-line at www.butchharmondvd.com.

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