On Course with Mike Weir: Insights and Instruction from a Left-Hander on the PGA Tour

With 6 million Canadians playing golf - that's 1 in 6 of us - Canada has more golfers per capita than any other country in the world, including the US and the UK. And now we have a Canadian on the PGA tour that is a force to be reckoned with.

Golfer Mike Weir launched the new millennium with a bang. His million-dollar win at the prestigious American Express World Championship in Valderama, Spain, capped his 2000 winnings at $2.5 million and earned him sixth place ranking on the PGA Tour. Now he can add Canadian Male Athlete of the Year to his collection of titles.

But these certainly are not Mike's first accolades. He ended 1999 with ten top-10 finishes and a ranking of 23rd on the PGA Tour along with several other credits:

- first Canadian to win the Export 'A' Skins Game, beating David Duval, Fred Couples and John Daly

- first Canadian to win a PGA event on home turf since 1954, winning the Air Canada Championship in Vancouver, and

- a head-to-head battle with Tiger Woods in the final pairing of the PGA Championship.

His first book - On Course with Mike Weir - covers all this and gives you an insider's view of what it takes to compete with the world's top golfers. Co-authors Tim Campbell and Scott Morrison draw on their sports journalism expertise to take you from Mike's early days of amateur tournaments in Southern Ontario to playing tension-filled rounds in the pros. Mikes' personal insights reveal how he became such a dedicated student of the game, how he rebuilt his swing from scratch while in the heat of PGA competition, and how a left-hander can excel in a world dominated by righties.

More than 60 full-colour instructional photos, along with Mike's personal tips, make this book invaluable for golfers at all levels, from the novice looking for inspiration and advice to long-time golfers trying to take their game to the next level. And, for the 22% of Canadian golfers playing a left-handed game it offers views of the game from their perspective.

Mike also calls upon his own coach, Mike Wilson, to provide the reader with tips on grip, stance, posture and other mechanics of the game. And for ideas about the mental game, his sports psychologist, Dr. Rich Gordin, provides insights on discipline, patience and determining the effects of pressure. Finally, Mike offers his readers the drills that have made his game so successful.

Mike Weir, a native of Brights Grove, Ontario, is the top Canadian on the PGA Tour and ranks sixth overall. Winner of the American Express World Championship in 2000, he had eight top-10 finishes. Tim Campbell is a golf writer with The Winnipeg Free Press, Score magazine and other golf publications and Scott Morrison is sports editor of the Toronto Sun.

Tim Campbell is a golf writer with the Winnipeg Free Press, Score magazine and other golf publications. The allure of the game didn't present itself to Tim until his first lesson at the age of 12, a session he and brother Chris reluctantly attended, but the seed grew to an ever-increasing attraction and enthusiasm a short time later. A left-handed player himself, Tim's ongoing fascination is with the mental side of the game and trying to shave a shot or two off his single-digit handicap. Originally from the Guelph and Kitchener, Ontario area, Tim now makes his home in Winnipeg.

Scott Morrison is the sports editor of The Toronto Sun and a hockey analyst on CTV Sportsnet. He also enjoys the game of golf and hits from the left side. Scott's previous books have focused in the area of hockey, including The Days Canada Stood Still, which was about the 1972 Canada-Russia series, and Fire on Ice, about great international series. His most recent title was a best-seller about Wayne Gretzky called The Great One. Scott lives in Toronto with his wife Kathy and their son Mark.