Book Review: Paul Runyan's Book for Senior Golfers

Last year I took a series of group golf lessons with Brent Wilkerson at Falls Road Golf Course in Montgomery County, Maryland.

One of the golf books he recommended was "The Short Way to Lower Scoring" by Paul Runyon. He said the only bad thing about the book was that it was out of print and used copies were selling for over $250.

Since I was unable to get my hands on that volume, I found another by the same author, Paul Runyan's Book for Senior Golfers (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

It turns out that the latter book contains much of the same content as "The Short Way to Lower Scoring" and is available hardcover, softcover and in a Kindle edition.

Although Paul Runyon wrote this book in 1962, the fundamental concepts remain as valid as ever. This is a book about scoring better, and covers every shot from tee to green, as well as how to handle pressure in tournaments.

The biggest takeaways for me were on the short game, especially chipping. Runyon explains how to determine the best aim point for your chips, and compares golf to bowling in terms of starting the chip on the right path. He also encourages you not to be too hard on yourself regarding the outcome. The goal of chipping is to leave yourself a makeable putt, so for long chips he aims for a mental target of a five foot circle around the cup.

Runyon may have been ahead of his time in promoting physical conditioning and flexibility training that are part of the modern golf game but don't come to mind when you think of pro golfers from earlier eras.

There is little in this book that targets senior golfers. Perhaps the title was designed to zero into a large target market. I suspect senior golfers like myself may be more likely to read golf books.

There are some inevitable anachronisms in a book written over sixty years ago. Club lofts have changed, so when Runyon talks about chipping with a seven iron, today that same loft club would have eight or even nine written on it. I didn't recognize many of the golfers he mentions from his competitions of the 1950s and earlier. The technical information on swing weights and distances is no longer accurate. In Runyan's day the longest hitters were driving 250 yards, for instance. Ball and club technology, not to mention more athleticism, have changed those numbers since then.

It's impressive that so much rings true, and that books like this and others I will be reviewing on this blog are still valuable for the aspiring amateur golfer.