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In Search of the Greatest Golf Swing: Chasing the Legend of Mike Austin, the Man Who Launched the World's Longest Drive and Taught Me to Hit Like a Pro | 
 enlarge | Author: Philip Reed
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Category: Book
List Price: $20.00
Buy New: $10.71
You Save: $9.29 (46%)
New (8) Used (8) from $7.89
Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 417554
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Carroll & Graf Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0786713666
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.352092
EAN: 9780786713660
ASIN: 0786713666
Publication Date: April 18, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Ships immediately! Perfect and New! 1st Carroll & Graf Ed. 2004 Hardcover.
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Product Description
Can you teach an ordinary golfer like me to drive the ball 300 yards? With this question sportswriter Philip Reed's search for the greatest golf swing begins. When Reed met ninety-year old Mike Austin, he knew that Austin held the record for the longest drive ever—an awesome 515-yard shot during a Senior PGA event. What he didn't know is that he was forging a bond with a man whose amazing life he has now chronicled in a book that is charming, funny, and wise. As Reed's tutelage under his cantankerous teacher begins, he learns of Austin's winning wagers on trick shots, sharing a Hollywood apartment with Errol Flynn; giving secret lessons to Howard Hughes; and matching shots against Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. As Reed's drives get longer, Austin's health worsens. Mike soon suffers a stroke that silences him, but Reed is sure that Mike wants someone to tell his story—of a man who could do one thing better than anyone else, who possessed the most prodigious golf swing ever. This book is not just for golfers, but for all readers who savor heartwarming stories of unexpected friendships and are eager to learn secrets of living life to the fullest.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
A fascinating read for any golfer -- and a touching story, too April 21, 2008
Ostensibly this book is half biography of little-known long driver Mike Austin and half technical discussion of Austin's revolutionary swing, many aspects of which run counter to conventional PGA wisdom. But as the artfully written narrative progresses, a third element emerges as well -- the touching story of the friendship that develops between Austin and author Reed during the writing of the book.
No avid golfer could read this book and fail to feel inspired to work on his or her game (I finished it yesterday and headed straight for the driving range today); some might even want to try out Austin's unorthodox mechanics. Yet there is a human-interest story here as well, the story of a larger-than-life golfing god who smacked a 515-yard drive at age 64 but somehow couldn't putt to save his life; lived it up with Hollywood celebrities and was respected by the best golfers in the world; studied the human anatomy and wore a skeleton suit while giving golf lessons to demonstrate proper body movement; and forged an unlikely friendship with a journalist decades his junior who weathered Austin's steely gruffness until it gave way to genuine respect and affection.
Highly recommended -- not just for golfers, but also for anyone interested in a well-crafted feel-good story about a fascinating man and his iconoclastic genius.
A great book about a great golfing hero January 30, 2008
I've just finished reading this book and I have to say it is a great read and is well worth buying.
It is a story of how the author, Philip Reed, sets off to document the world's longest ever drive in a tournament set in 1974 by Mike Austin, and along the way wants to learn enough about this swing so he can transform his own drive of 200 yards into a more manly 300 yards.
The books gets off to a shaky start but I stuck with it. And after a couple of chapters I could no longer put it down. He helped me get to know more about Mike Austin, his history and his achievements.
It made me want to be there in the place of the author since Mike seems like a real character and a throwback to a different age and a different world.
It even gave me a few tips, and some hope, on how I might possibly be able to improve my own swing to give 300 yard drives. Now that would be nice.
Read this and give yourself a pleasant break from all those golf instruction manuals out there while enjoying a good golfing story.
Magnificent Book and a Fascinating Story December 7, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is absolutely wonderful. I picked it up out of curiosity after learning about Mike Austin's record-breaking achievement (longest drive in professional golf competition history), and ended up being completely drawn into the story. With a straightforward, honest writing style that moves at a nice pace and never gets bogged down, Philip Reed does a masterful job of portraying a complex man filled with both flaws and greatness, who not only achieved a stupendous feat that no one has ever topped, but also lived a fascinating life that plays like a great movie. Reed deftly weaves Austin's story together with his own journey by bringing the reader along with him as he describes his efforts to get to know Mike Austin and learn his swing secrets. He sets out not only to write about Austin, but also to experience for himself the power of Mike Austin's swing, hoping to harness it to achieve a personal goal of hitting the ball 300 yards. As we learn about Austin's amazing life and unmatched golf swing alongside the author, we are simultaneously drawn into a surprisingly touching story of how Reed came to develop a bond of friendship with Austin. Viewed through the lens of Reed's relationship with Austin, we come to understand and truly appreciate Mike Austin at a much deeper level, and also come away with important lessons about life. This is a magnificent book, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
wonderful reading November 16, 2007
The other reviews say it all - that this is a wonderful book on many different levels. I trust that some day it will be recognized as a sports classic.
I just want to add that Reed's book is an invaluable companion to Dan Shauger's 'The 21st Century Golf Swing'. This latter book has such an odd and uncomfortable style (my opinion only, of course) that it was hard for me to know whether to take the technical parts of it seriously. After reading this fine book it became clear that, yes indeed, you can.
It would be great if Shauger and Reed could collaborate on a second edition of '21st Century...'. I'll put up some front money, if that would help.
Hits a Golfer's Sweet Spot October 9, 2007
Had a terrific time reading this book. It reaches out and grabs every weekend golfer by what they desire most... the Shangri-la of a long, monster drive by exploring the fascinating life of Mike Austin via the student/teacher relationship with the author.
Mike Austin's tales tend to come off as a bit hard to believe, sort of like the "Dos Equis's: World's Most Interesting Man," but Phil seems to bear out all as truth through what appears to be painstaking research.
It really didn't end up helping my swing but gave me inspired look at a the longest drive hitter, now off to get the dvd....
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