I love golf. I love practicing my game, but…. It can be a bit tedious at times, to practice the same shots over and over. I’ve found the best golf audiobooks that are actually free to listen to, so that these training sessions can be spiced up a bit.
Sometimes it’s the repetitions and consistency that yields you the results in your game. But let’s admit it, it’s not everything that is equally fun to practice. Sometimes it’s just nice with some diversion.
Listening to golf audiobooks while practicing is a good way to pass the time. It also helps you to think less and lets the muscle memory take over.
I personally find that it helps me immerse myself more in my training sessions with something entertaining to listen to.
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But Is It Possible To Find Golf Audiobooks For Free?
It sure is. Amazon has made its audible service available for one month, free of charge. You can cancel any time, and what you already downloaded is yours to keep.
You get a single credit which is valid for one download. After that, there’s a recurring fee, which is significantly less than what most audiobooks actually cost. Check out the current fee here.
You will get a single credit each month which makes it possible to download one audiobook.
Many of the best golf audiobooks that are available have +10 hours worth of listening in them!
If you train more than 10 hours each month that’s just great for your game, and you might even find out that you want to download more audiobooks. That is possible, but then you will have to pay the full price for the next ones before the membership renews the next month.
So while there’s no unlimited amount of free golf audiobooks, it’s still a very good offer.
I tried cancelling my subscription and they even offer another free credit for staying. So you’re able to get two free audiobooks right away, even if you don’t like the service.
I encourage you to stick around though, since there are also so many other exciting topics of audiobooks.
Maybe you’re not even in the mood to listen to golf-related audio when you’re on the course, and that’s perfectly fine.
Should you be out for golfing content, here is an overview of the selection.
What Does The Selection Look Like?
A quick search on audible yields 506 different results on golf, so I would dare to say that you will never exhaust this source of interesting topics about golf.
If you do, hats off to you! Then you can go on to all the other interesting topics that audible offer.
Here’s the selection of the best golf audiobooks available to spice up your training session.
Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game
by Dr. Joseph Parent
Highlights
This audiobook is made specifically for the golfers who want to connect their mind to their game in the best way possible. There’s an emphasis on the routines we go through before, during and after the swing. This allows the golfers to feel more confident and prepared for even the trickiest shots. Synchronizing to the moment is a key aspect of what’s taught in this audiobook, and it’s even helped professional golfers like Vijay Singh get more attuned to himself while playing golf.
During the course of the book, you will be introduced to a unique pre shot routine which will enable you to learn from past mistakes and enhance your game further.
I’ve particularly benefited from the ability to stay calm during mishits and other bumps in the road during my game. It is something that is taught with actionable measures in the book.
Listening Time: 4 hours 48 minutes
Available in hard copy: Yes
Available on Kindle: Yes
About The Author
Dr. Joseph Parent has spent years teaching the mental aspects of golf and has a unique view on how to pair the mental and physical aspects of golf together. He is a PGA Tour Instructor and has teached his ways to both amateurs and professionals.
Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect
by Dr. Bob Rotella
Highlights
Dr. Bob Rotella is on a mission to change the attitude of golfers with this interesting audiobook. He loves working with positive players with ambitions. That means that if you’re a middle-aged golfer with ambitions to play on the senior tour despite your handicap 25, you’re just the kind of person that sparks Rotella’s attention.
It’s all about the process of having a goal before you, and aiming meticulously at this target through many years of playing. Waking up every morning excited about the day that is coming is the mentality he wishes to spark.
Golfers should have fun, during the process and not just focus on the end goal.
One of the good things about this audiobook is Doc’s ability to mix anecdotal examples with actual concrete lessons.
Listening Time: 1 hour 32 minutes
Available in hard copy: Yes
Available on Kindle: Yes
About The Author
Rotella is known as “Doc” in the industry, and he is one of the most prominent performance coaches in the American golf scene today. He has worked with several pros including Nick Price, John Daly and Tom Kite. Here’s an interesting read about Rotella and his view of things.
Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf
by Ben Hogan and Herbert Warren Wind
Highlights
Funnily enough the modern fundamentals of golf have been modern for 60+ years now 🙂 Ben Hogan, world famous golfer, published the first version of the book in 1957.
The physical book copy is filled with old school drawings and gives off a nostalgic feel. The audible version is read by a guy named Steve Carlson who’s got a nice calm voice of an aged gentleman. Steve’s voice adds to the nostalgia and gives the feel that it’s read by Hogan himself.
You’ll be walked through the fundamentals of the golf swing, by the man who was most famous for his flawless swing.
The grip, stance, posture, swing and downswing will be explained in details, to help you dial all those areas in and improve your scores.
Hogan’s five lessons outline all you need to know to improve your game, no matter what level you’re on. One of his core beliefs was that every golfer with average coordination would be able to break 80 with his instructions.
I personally benefited from this audiobook after a longer break from the game (kids take so much time :-)). It refreshed my previous state and when watching youtube videos of Hogan’s swing I was able to dial in my own game. It helps you take care of the fundamentals, so that you can focus on everything else.
Listening Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Available in hard copy: Yes
Available on Kindle: Yes
About The Author
Ben Hogan was born in Texas in 1912, and sadly died after a stroke in 1997. He was a legend, and if you don’t know anything about Mr. Hogan, it’s worth it to just do a quick Google search and see what he’s accomplished.
Specifically he was known for his influence on the golf swing and his superior ball striking ability.
He’s had an interesting life with serving time in the military during World War II and being in a near-death car accident followed by extensive recovery. He won several championships after recovering from his car accident.
Golf Psychology – When Positive Thinking Doesn’t Work
by Jonathan Adler
Highlights
Have you had enough of positive mentality books when it comes to golf? This audiobook takes a different approach.
It relies on practical mindfulness along with well thought out techniques and philosophies.
All this is accomplished by mastering the art of relaxed concentration.
This may all sound very fancy, but there’s actually something to it. The book is full of practical examples and exercises to help guide you along the way.
The stories that is sprinkled in along the way also gives something to relate to, which was very nice in my honest opinion.
One added benefit is that you are also able to apply the mindfulness to other aspects than golf. This made me able to cope better with the everyday stress and be more present. While also being more ready for a game of golf when I hit the turf in the spare time.
Listening Time: 3 hours 46 minutes
Available in hard copy: No
Available on Kindle: Yes
About The Author
Being a coach of both professionals and amateurs for more than 10 years, Jonathan Adler have a lot to contribute with.
To really learn about the human mind he’s been with buddhist monks in Thailand to learn their ways. He’s also been spending 10 days in silence with Hindu gurus in India.
These experiences give him a good ballast to teach golfers to be more aware of how their mind affects their game.
There’s a lot more to read about the author on his own homepage.
The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods
by Hank Haney
Highlights
As a many year Tiger Woods fan, this audiobook was especially interesting to me. It covers a six year period seen from the eyes of Hank Haney who coached Tiger.
Hank was in contact with Tiger for more than two hundred days per year, and spent a lot of time with the superstar athlete in his prime years.
It was no walk in the park, and Hank came to knowledge what a complicated person Tiger was and supposedly still is.
There were many ups but it ultimately led to the well-known down in 2009 – Tigers personal scandal combined with his escalating back pain.
The majority of the audiobook takes place in between their first meet and the scandal. Here Hank describes how it is to work with Tiger and how he came to learn where Tigers’ small imperfections were, and how to correct them.
About The Author
Hank Haney is mostly known for coaching Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara. He might be one of the most well known golf coaches of all time.
There’s some turbulence around Haney’s person as he said some alleged sexist and racist things on his radio show back in May 2019.
After that he publicly had a small “war of words” going with Tiger Woods. Read more here.
Nevertheless Haney is known as a good golf coach. Here he hosts a short instruction on how to avoid topping the ball.
A Life Well Played: My Stories
By Arnold Palmer
Highlights
The legend Arnold Palmer shares lessons from his life in this authentic audiobook. It is narrated by Rich Lerner from the Golf Channel, who felt a huge privilege by getting this opportunity to narrate the story of an American legend.
It is kind of a follow-up on Arnold’s biography from 1999 “A Golfer’s Life”. This version is sadly not available as an audiobook. But the good thing is, that he brings up some of the old stories and describes them in new detail in A Life Well Played.
I found this book particularly interesting because he is considered the most famous golfer of all time. Not only because he was good – but because he was extremely kind and a gentleman in every way possible.
He always gave back to his fans and was a true role model for the golf community. Now he gives back to us all in this great book.
Anecdotes on how his father taught him to hit the golf ball hard, go find it, and hit it hard again are well read out by Rich Lerner. It is fun to learn about how fellow golfers actually offered Mr. Palmer helpful advice because of his crooked corkscrew swing during his junior years. Little would they know what a legend he would soon become.
Named the King of Golf, you’ll have an idea of what an impact he’s made on the game.
So this audiobook is definitely worth a listen.
About The Author
Arnold Palmer is known outside the golfing world too, that’s how much he’s meant to not only golf, but to the whole world.
He was very liked and left behind sorrow all over the world when he passed away in September 2016.
Not many people can say anything negative about Mr. Palmer and that’s the legacy he leaves behind.
And then he also won 62 PGA Tour Events and 7 Major Tournaments. Impressive!
Summing It All Up
I hope the above descriptions have sparked your interest with regards to golf audiobooks.
There are hundreds more so it’s really just a matter of what sparks your interest.
On top of golf audiobooks there are countless others, and the first one can be listened to for free with audible.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve found one that you particularly liked, or having anything else to share on the topic.
Take care out there on the course.
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
