I have been infatuated with the game of golf since my pop first put a club in my hands when I was a toddler. I was an only child, and the club and ball became my playmates.

That feeling of solitude and self-reliance enhanced the game's attraction for me and endures today. I suspect that is true of most people who have succumbed to the lure of the game.

Golf affords you supreme independence. The cliche about the game being you against the golf course is only partly true. Ultimately, it is you against yourself. It always comes down to how well you know yourself, your ability, your limitations and the confidence you have in your ability to execute under pressure that is mostly self-created. Ultimately, you must have the heart and head to play a shot and the courage to accept the consequences.

Sometimes the game comes so easily you can hardly believe it. Sometimes it seems so difficult you wonder whether the effort is worth it. It took me a while to understand why some days you have it and others you don't. Fact is, every day your body feels a little different, and golf is such a finite game that a little off can translate into a lot.

Success in golf is finding equilibrium, accepting the fact that it is a game of ups and downs and learning something every time you tee it up.

I hope the tips I offer here will help you discover your game -- one that is powerful yet precise, consistent yet exciting, impervious to pressure yet yielding large doses of fun. After all, that's the real reason we play.

As Woods shares his passion, he wants this book to help others discover the game

Chapter 1: With putting, there's always room to improve
Chapter 2: Short game is important
Chapter 3: How to escape from sand
Chapter 4: How to swing
Chapter 5: How to flag your irons
Chapter 6: How to smoke the driver