Best Golf Audiobooks Of 2023
When you find yourself unable to play golf due to injury or the course being closed, how do you quench your need for golf?
There is a way to enjoy stories of our great sport and even improve your own game, all from the comfort of your own home. The answer is audiobooks.
Listening to audiobooks is a great way of consuming ideas and learning more about a topic. Golf is no different and you can significantly improve your game through audiobooks.
Today, we want to take you through some of the best audiobooks out there for you to enjoy.
1. Tiger Woods – Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian
Genre: Biography
There is no bigger name in modern golf and this audiobook digs into the life of the great, Tiger Woods.
Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian, two acclaimed investigative sports journalists, take us behind the scenes of Tiger’s life. The information in this book will shock you and teach you things about Tiger that you will struggle to believe!
Interviews with friends of Tiger through many years of his life including tour pros gives you a whole new look at this enigmatic legend.
You will learn that the life of Woods wasn’t as perfect as you may think. His parents combined to create this image of the ‘chosen one’ and put him through an incredibly rigorous training regime from a very young age.
Tiger lost many fans, and sponsors, in 2009 due to the revelation of his secret life. This book may help give reason for how that may have come about.
You will learn that the life of Tiger is hugely complicated and he was probably always going to go off the rails at some point. For any golf or Tiger fan, this book is a must.
Overall rating: 10/10
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2. Zen Golf –Mastering the Mental Game – Dr. Joseph Parent
Genre: Game-improvement/philosophy
This is a book that many credit for revolutionising their golf game.
As the name would suggest, Parent draws on Buddhist techniques and philosophy, among other things, to help you start thinking differently about your game.
He delivers his lessons in a light-hearted way and makes you realise your probably a better golfer than you give yourself credit. Even if you’re not, you should still be enjoying your golf because it should always be fun.
Too often, after a round, we get into the clubhouse and tell our friends about all of the bad shots we hit and where we dropped shots. This is as true for good rounds as it is bad rounds and we need to stop it.
This book gets you thinking about how to use your mind as an asset and to stop berating ourselves when things go wrong. One of the bonuses you will get from this audiobook is the fact that many of these lessons can be taken out of golf and into your everyday life too.
This is a great book to give yourself an edge and improve your game, a great way of developing your skills even if you can’t get out on the course.
Overall rating: 9/10
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3. John Daly – My Life in and out of the Rough – Jonh Daly and Glen Waggoner
Genre: Autobiography
Few golfers have ‘shaken up the establishment’ like John Daly and he continues to do golf his way.
Having won two major championships before the age of 30, Daly injected a new excitement into golf and lived by his “grip it and rip it” philosophy.
He is a larger than life character and in the early 90s there was nothing like him. This is an incredibly raw and candid look inside the life of the long-driving, Marlboro-smoking golfing rock star.
The life of Daly is as dramatic as his golf game and many will be amazed at many of the things he has been through.
His multiple marriages, subsequent divorces, copious battles with addiction and his weight. Daly lived and travelled in a huge motorhome. He would travel tour stop to tour stop like a rock star and bring with him extra-large galleries wherever he decided to play.
His life has been a battle and it is easy to paint Daly out as some sort of class clown, he is far from that and this book will change your mind. You will meet a man who has spent his whole life battling and so his double-major winning career will start to make more sense.
Overall rating: 9/10
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4. Ian Poulter – No Limits – My Autobiography – Ian Poulter
Genre: Autobiography
Poulter is one of the most polarising men in modern golf and one of many true European Ryder Cup heroes.
He has been an integral part of many blue victories and he has ruffled more than a few feathers in the US because of this.
He has a fascinating backstory though and is arguably one of the last old-fashioned pros to make it to the highest ranks of the game. You see, back in the day, club pros used to become tour golfers as this was really the only way to climb the ranks and make a living.
Poulter achieved this in the modern game, in an era when golfers go through college systems and academies to make it to the highest level. He turned pro with a handicap of four, something almost unheard of in the level of the game that he has got to.
This is a story of a gutsy competitor who never takes no for an answer and always finds a way.
His Ryder Cup achievements are a great testament to this and an insight into this mind-set.
This book gives you an insight into who “The Postman” really is and his view of one of the most interesting careers in modern golf.
Overall rating: 8/10
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5. Mind Game – The Secrets of Golf’s Winners – Michael Calvin and Thomas Bjorn
Genre: Game-improvement/psychology
We’ve all been there, walking up the fairway and you realise you have a score going.
You start to think about it, a new milestone broken and something to tell your friends. Then it all goes to pot and the wheels come off. Why does this happen and why do we do it to ourselves?
Golf is a funny game and so much of it is in the head. Developing a better mind-set is one of the best ways to improve your game no matter what level you play at.
Who better to hear about the mentality of winners than from successful Ryder Cup captain, Thomas Bjorn?
With some great insight from some of the biggest names in golf, this book looks at those who seem comfortable being at the top in golf and how they do it, mentally.
It is hard to think of a sport that is as mentally demanding as golf so it is incredible to have such an in-depth look at those with the right stuff.
This book really is an eye-opener and one that can give you a real edge for the next time you tee it up. You’ll also enjoy some of the stories that come out during it, a fun and informative read.
Overall rating: 9/10
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6. Arnold Palmer – A Life Well Played – My Stories
Genre: Autobiography
There are few men more loved in golf than the late and great Arnold Palmer. His nickname was “The King” and that really says it all.
Palmer revolutionized golf as he wasn’t a country club kid like pretty much all of his peers at the time.
The King learned his craft playing municipal courses, “munis”, and so brought a whole new audience to the sport as he showed people that you don’t need blue blood to be a golfer.
Many think that Tiger Woods revolutionized golf, and he did, but what he did for the sport has absolutely nothing on what Palmer did.
This is a look back on the life of an American icon and a true gentleman of our sport. In this book you will learn about how to be a better golfer and how to play better at the game of life.
Arnold Palmer has made a huge success of life both on and off the course and this is a look inside that life in great detail. Apart from anything else, this book is a chance to hear more about one of the greatest heroes in golf and a man who is sorely missed.
Overall rating: 10/10
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7. Gary Player’s Black Book – 60 Tips on Golf, Business, and Life from the Black Knight
Genre: Self-help
From one member of golfing royalty to another, Gary Player was the first international golfer to win a green jacket and is one of the greatest to have ever played the game.
More than just a golfer though, Player continues to be a successful businessman and is still very much a part of the golfing world. In this book, he takes you through specific questions and scenarios that he has lived through and how he got the best of the situation.
This is a man who knows success and you could certainly do worse things than take his example.
This is also a little look inside the head of the Black Knight as he openly explains some of his shortcomings as a man and a golfer and how he gets around them.
You will learn how to improve your golf game and many aspects of your life with this highly entertaining listen. There is also a foreword from Lee Trevino for fans of him.
If you’re a younger golfer, this will teach you a little about of the best players of all time.
Overall rating: 8/10
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8. The Unstoppable Golfer – Trusting Your Mind & Your Short Game to Achieve Greatness – Dr. Bob Rotella
Genre: Game-improvement/psychology
Dr Bob Rotella is one of the most successful golf psychologists in the modern game and was part of Padraig Harrington’s team when he won his three majors.
He has worked with a host of other major champions and all of his books are a great mix between interesting anecdote and lesson to take onto the course.
More recently, he’s worked with Rory McIlroy, so he comes with some serious referrals. Rotella has an incredible knack for making you think, “That’s so obvious, yet I never do it” and this book is full of those moments.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t read it though, as obvious as many of his pointers are, they really help and they really simplify the mental game of golf.
This book focusses in on your short game, this is where you make and save your scores. It is where around two-thirds of your golf shots are played and so it is worth some serious investment.
You will learn new techniques to improve your killer-instinct on the course and to stay calm when things get tense. You will also learn some great stories from some of the biggest names in golf.
Overall rating: 9/10
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9. Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect – Dr. Bob Rotella
Genre: Game-improvement/psychology
Personally, I love the books of Dr Rotella and so I think it is only right that he features twice on this list.
“Golf is Not a Game of Perfect” was the first golf psychology book I read as a young student of the game and I was instantly hooked. This is arguably his most famous book and the best one to start with in order to get the Rotella-effect into your game as efficiently as possible.
This is a book that you should read a few times and dip into chapters as and when your game needs a boost in that particular area.
The main strength in this book is in breaking down mental barriers that you place on yourself.
Dr. Bob explains that the game of golf is bloody hard and you will hit bad shots, every single player in the world does it and it is part of the game.
In this book you will learn not to be so hard on yourself and to plan for great shots whilst accepting whatever happens. It is a wonderfully liberating attitude to take onto the course.
Overall rating 10/10
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10. Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book – Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime of Golf – Harvey Penick
Genre: Game-improvement
There are few golf coaches in history that have the stature of Harvey Penick. He is one of those names that only real golf fans know of yet many will have heard his teachings.
His career in golf started from the age of eight and continued until he’s recent death. He was a true legend of the game and a man who remains dearly beloved.
This book takes you through some of his greatest lessons that he learned during his many years as a coach to some of golf’s biggest names.
Over his sixty-year career, Penick kept notes on the things he was working on with players and this is the culmination of that work.
There are very little new concepts in golf and even most things that are being touted as new have just been rebranded and repackaged.
You will learn a lot here from one of the most influential coaches in the history of the great game of golf. Sit back and take notes, it’s what Harvey would have done.
Overall rating: 10/10
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Conclusion
Your golf game can always get better. Listening to some stories from the true greats of the game can help you realize that we all have issues with our swings from time to time and it will make you feel better about this.
You will learn some great anecdotes from years gone by and you will enjoy sharing these with friends on the course or in the clubhouse.
Golf is a game steeped in history and full of stories. Immerse yourself in these and you will come out a better golfer, even if you can’t play right now.
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Hi, I am Matthew, a mid handicap golfer who likes to play as much as possible. I love trying out new gear and this blog is where you can find all the gear I have tested over the years!
