Non-Instructional Golf Books

[gogolfing]

any one read

I've read it and thought it was great.... Some laugh out loud parts to it. Read it in the early 90's and still have it. I intend on reading it again.

Just started Moment of Glory by John Feinstein and so far it is quite good. Read Paper Tiger in July and really enjoyed that too.

[Clambake]

I've just finished "One Week in June: The US Open", a collection of US Open stories and articles compiled by Don Wade. The book is a compilation of magazine articles, news stories, and book excerpts covering the US Open from its inception until a couple years ago. Although it doesn't offer any new writing or other analysis, it is a very enjoyable way to see the US Open in many vignettes, gaining a better understanding of our national tournament through the eyes of those who have played it, managed it, and reported on it. I particularly enjoyed some of the vintage stories of the Open in the early years. Although I like stories of the elder greats in the sport, I sometimes find reading golf histories to be dry and hard to relate to - I enjoy a story or two about someone like Vardon, but have a hard time wading through a whole biography. But this book's presentation gets right to the interesting tournament tales without a lot of backscatter story.

[Borf]

I read Bobby Jones: Grand Slam, overall a good book. Very long and detailed about his whole career. Not really recommended although I did enjoy it. Bobby Jones was a goddamn living legend when he played.

[nhwoj]

Three favorites that I would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat:

The Downhill Lie , Carl Hiaasen
Who's Your Caddy? , Rick Reilly
The Legend of Bagger Vance , Steven Pressfield

Three great reads, the first two being about the author's experiences with golf, both very funny and well-written. The last one is a historical fiction, very entertaining and thought-provoking.

[Clambake]

Rocco Mediate's victory last week inspired me to re-read his book "Are You Kidding Me?", written after his extraordinary experience at the 2008 US Open. The book is well written and really gives you a lot of insight into Rocco and his unique personality. He chronicles his career and the many difficulties he has had with his back problems and how he managed to come back and keep playing. A highlight of the book, or course, is his account of that amazing Open and his battle with Tiger. One thing that really stood out to me is that Rocco is an intense competitor - he looks like he's joking around a lot and at ease on the course, but as you see from this semi-autobiography is that he deeply Rocco is driven to win.

The book is a very enjoyable read with a nice balance of autobiography, gripping battle on the course, and his thoughts on the game.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Kris Tschetter has a new book out called Mr. Hogan: The Man I Knew . Her family were members at Shady Oaks. She struck up a friendship with Hogan, and this book is about Hogan the man, rather than Hogan the golfer. More info here:

http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/2...r-on-ben-hogan

[keb]

Just finished reading Golf's Greatest Championship The 1960 US Open by Julian Graubart. It was 50th Anniversary addition. Very enjoyable. Last round Nicklaus and Hogan were playing together. Palmer won the tournament. Great stories about each of the those golfers as well as many others.

[statcard]

What was the theme of the book? Who is Julian Graubart? Does he have other golf-related books? Have you read him prior? It is always enjoyable to read history's, real-life situations and personal biographic pieces about the great golfers. And, these three are the greatest. Keb, give us some more insight on Graubart's book, sounds like a super read.

[keb]

You will love this book if you enjoy golf history. Focus is on the 1960 US Open. Palmer came from way behind to win. Before getting into the tournament, the book discusses tournaments leading up to the Open and also gives some history of the Open. Has biographical information on golfers who were on the leaderboard. Nicklaus was still an amateur and playing with Hogan. Played well, but sounds like intimidated by the Hawk who I think hit every green in regulation, but had trouble putting. There is an epilogue discussing the rest of the careers of many of the golfers. Some of the golfers discussed in addition to Hogan, Nicklaus, and Palmer are: Player, Casper, Littler, Boras, Mike Souchak (who I wasn't familiar with). It was fun and easy read. I don't know anything about the author. Just saw book in the new releases at the library. It was written some time ago, but this was new 50th Anniversary Edition.

[heardetal]

"Golf in the Kingdom" is a GREAT read.

Others are "Golf Dreams" by the wonderful, John Updike. "Hogan" by Simpson. "Beyond The Fairway" by Jeff Wallach. I also think that everyone who picks up a club and steps up to a tee box should be required to first read "Golf Etiquette" by Barbara Puett and Jim Apfelbaum. "Paper Tiger" was also an interesting take on Q-School.

I've read it and thought it was great.... Some laugh out loud parts to it. Read it in the early 90's and still have it. I intend on reading it again.

[sacm3bill]

I just came across this - Golf In The Kingdom has been made into a movie: http://golfinthekingdommovie.com/. There have been some advanced screenings in southern CA, but I haven't been able to find any other release/distribution info.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Arnie & Jack, by Ian O'Connor (2008)

This book traces the competition in golf and in business between these two greats. It opens with a description of an exhibition match in September 1958 in Athens, Ohio held in appreciation for local hero Dow Finsterwald, who had just won the PGA. Arnold Palmer would be there, too, as he and Finsterwald were good friends. Event organizers thought they might invite this 18-year-old hot-shot from Columbus named Jack Nicklaus to be in the group, too. Nicklaus was not entirely impressed with the newly-crowned Masters winner and played him stroke for stroke. The account of this match you have probably never heard of is quite complete and sets the tone for their relationship for the rest of their lives.

There is a lot of golfing history in here you might know about, but from a perspective you probably don't, and some history you never knew about, but should. There are insights into how the rivalry helped each one define themselves, and looks at each one's personality that might surprise you.

If you're a fan of either of these two players, this book is for you. I would recommend it as well for people who think golf greatness began with Tiger Woods.

[Clambake]

Just finished "Dead Solid Perfect" by Dan Jenkins.       Overall, I'd rate it "OK", but not great.    The story is a first person narrative about a fictional mid-level touring pro who is trying to win the US Open, telling pieces of his life (particularly relationships) entwined with discussions about his golf and the tournament.     I found the fictional accounts of his childhood friends and their exploits to be kind of ludicrous.     The book is meant to be a satire on the golf world, Dallas, country clubbers, etc. and he paints almost all of it highly bigoted and shallow.    Perhaps a bit too much, as there aren't really any sympathetic characters in the book.

As a golf fan it is still worth a read, but as a work of fiction I give it a "C-".

[gogolfing]

Originally Posted by Clambake

Just finished "Dead Solid Perfect" by Dan Jenkins.       Overall, I'd rate it "OK", but not great.    The story is a first person narrative about a fictional mid-level touring pro who is trying to win the US Open, telling pieces of his life (particularly relationships) entwined with discussions about his golf and the tournament.     I found the fictional accounts of his childhood friends and their exploits to be kind of ludicrous.     The book is meant to be a satire on the golf world, Dallas, country clubbers, etc. and he paints almost all of it highly bigoted and shallow.    Perhaps a bit too much, as there aren't really any sympathetic characters in the book.

As a golf fan it is still worth a read, but as a work of fiction I give it a "C-".

Never read any of Dan Jenkins' books, but I can't stand his articles in Golf Digest. His attempts at humor are pathetic. I now just skip right over them. I know the legend of Dan Jenkins as a journalist, but I just don't see it.

I am off to Mexico in a few weeks, so I am bringing  "A Course Called Ireland" by Tom Coyne along to read;  same guy who wrote "Paper Tiger", which I thought was great. I will post a review when I get back.

[gogolfing]

I finished "Moment of Glory" by John Feinstein just before Christmas.

It looks at the majors in 2003 when there were all first time winners in the majors.

I thought the best parts were the beginning when he went through Tiger's break with Butch Harmon, and the impact this had on the rest of the golf world, and then when he went into detail about what happened to the guys who finished second in the tournaments. Looking at how they changed the lives of the winners was also pretty good in my opinion.

As for the accounts of the tournaments themselves, it was just retelling the events with a few extra insights, so having watched the tournaments I didn't find these parts (which are the meat of the book) that interesting.

[SMOOTH1]

Is Michael Bamberger the guy from SI who got Michelle Wie DQed?

[Eddie Lowery]

"Freddie and Me"

such a great story about a young boy and an old wise caddy master at Augusta National.  easy enjoyable ready.

[Clambake]

"A Game of Golf" by Francis Ouimet.

Francis Ouimet was a relatively unknown twenty-year-old amateur and former caddy when he walked across the street from his modest home in Brookline, Massachusetts, and stunned the sports world by upsetting famed British golfers Harry Vardon and Ted Ray to win the 1913 U.S. Open in a dramatic playoff .      This book is a short memoir first published in 1932, combining his anecdotes and thoughts on the game.    It isn't a long read, and it is quite enjoyable to read in his own words about golf in that interesting age.

There are numerous versions of the book available, but I picked up an interesting version - it's a first edition and the forward is by Bernard Darwin, first grandson of Charles Darwin who became a fairly famous golf author.     And if anyone is interested, the "Links to the Past" store at Pebble Beach has an unread copy of this first edition in original oilskin wrapping, signed by Ouimet himself - they're only asking $4900 for the copy.      Although mine had no autograph and had been used, it was a lot cheaper!