Best golf books to read on your summer holiday

Heading on your summer holidays and looking for something to read? Take some golfing inspiration with you with one of these classics…

Just because you’re sunning yourself on a beach or having an espresso on an Italian piazza, doesn’t mean you’re not thinking about your next round of golf. As a lover of the game, it's inevitable - so this summer make sure you feed your habit by taking one of these golf-inspired books for some holiday reading.

The biggest seller: Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf

If there’s one golf book you should own, it’s probably this one - it's seen by many as the defining book on the sport. Published in 1992, it draws on the decades of experience Penick had as a coach to some of the world’s greatest golfers, offering practical wisdom on things like how to swing, and even on aspects of golf phycology. He is thought to be one of the greatest instructors of the mental aspects of golf that ever lived.

The historical epic: Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost

Chronicling the birth of the great game, the Greatest Game Ever Played tells the dual stories of Harry Vardon and Francis Ouimet as they rise from poverty to become becoming leading players. The men, from very different backgrounds, broke down many of the social barriers to golf and ended up facing off against each other at the legendary 1913 US Open.

The modern classic: Ben Hogan's Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf

Another big seller – with over a million copies in print – this book goes back to the basics of the game, helping golfers build from the foundations up, and it comes with plenty of useful illustrations. The aim of Hogan’s book was to get any golfer to break 80 by following a few simple tips, and applying oneself patiently and intelligently.

The philosophical book: Golf in the Kingdom by Michael Murphy

Golf is often seen as a game that’s played in the mind as much as in the body, and this work delves into the philosophies and teachings surrounding the game. It follows the travels of a young man from Scotland to India, meeting various teachers like Shivas Irons on the way and learning things like how to unleash a backswing governed by true gravity.

The look behind the scene: The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods, Hardcover by Hank Haney

For six years, Hank Haney had one of the most prized roles in golf – working alongside Tiger Woods at the top of his game. His relationship with the golfing great was as close as they come. This book is an intriguing insight into the life of an elite golfer, from his majestic game to the more personal side of Tiger.

The one for everyone: Dream On: One Hacker's Challenge to Break Par in a Year by John Richardson

We can’t all be Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy – some of us have more modest aspirations. Much like John Richardson, who set himself the task of playing a scratch round at Clandeboye Golf Club within 12 months. This book follows his a year in his life as he tries to balance completing his task with having a personal life.

The forgotten sci-fi classic: Golf in the Year 2000, or, What we are coming to by J. McCullough

Not your usual golfing book by a long shot, this sci-fi story was written in 1892 and imagines a world in the future (or our past) in which men play golf all the time and women run the country. It was written by Scottish golfer J. McCullough and also predicts golf carts, golf professionals and international golf competitions long before they were even close to existing. Fascinating.