The Elements of Scoring: A Master's Guide to the Art of Scoring Your Best When You're Not Playing Your Best

For all the words written about the golf swing, the grip, the stance, the shaft angle, "the slot," and the follow-through, very little has been said about playing the game of golf itself. The object of the game isn't to have a pretty swing, or to hit the ball farther; it's to get the ball into the hole in the fewest strokes possible. All the rest is a means to that one vital end.

Raymond Floyd has long been known as one of the great champions in the world of golf. Multiple major championship winner, past holder of the record for lowest score at the Masters for 72 holes, Floyd was known as an absolute killer in competition. Opponents came to recognize and fear "the stare," the look in his eyes that guaranteed he wouldn't be caught from behind because he wasn't going to be making any mistakes.

In The Elements of Scoring, Floyd explains how learning to play the game -- regardless of your level of skill -- will guarantee you lower scores and more fun. On every level from pro to high-handicapper, golf is a game of mistakes; the secret to better golf lies in making fewer of them, or making sure the ones you make don't prove too costly. Floyd recommends two central principles -- play comfortable and avoid the big mistake -- and shows how those two simple ideas can lead the way to the golf game you've only dreamed of.

Along the way, Floyd tells stories from his fabled career, and he shares the secrets he's learned in his four decades in professional golf: