Book Reviews

“CONFESSIONS OF A SANDBAGGER” BY J.J. GOWLAND

Can be purchased on: www.smashwords.com

Michael “Micky” Blaine is a Sandbagger, self professed and acknowledged by all his “friends” and his ex-wife, ex-girlfriend etc. He is indeed the quintessential sandbagger. He is a gregarious, sympathetic character (perhaps only to another sandbagger) but has the system down pat. He has sandbagged his way through paying his mortgage, rent and support payments after being crushed in a Canadian recession.

The plot is novel, tying and strapping him to his pull cart and golf bag and filling his golf bag and pants with old golf balls to sink him so just his head is above water in the par three 17th hole pond and his unsuccessful pleading for help. (Come on you’ve wanted to do this once or twice in your golfing career)

In the end he enrolls in a 12 step program Sandbagger Anonymous.

We of Sandbaggeranonymous.com agree there is a need for peer pressure and Micky Blaine demonstrates this need.

J.J. Gowland’s writing reminds me of “Missing Links” by Rick Reilley. Easy and enjoyable reading on your next plane ride.

Those of you who are wondering what Michael’s 12 step plan was:

1. No more psycho psych out games
2. No more handicapping the players for the para-mutual betting
3. No more tournament play
4. No more alibis from the pro shop
5. No more debts to pay, or collect
6. No more grounding my club in a bunker or hazard
7. No more coaching with incorrect advice
8. No more than 14 clubs in my bag
9. No more kicking the ball from behind a tree
10. No more pressing bets on the 18th hole, in fact, no more betting on the golf course at all
11. No more entering the wrong score in the computer handicap data bank
12. I had to deliver the final act of redemption. The one thing they all needed ….. Okay. Okay. I’ll be on the handicap committee!

“MISSING LINKS” BY RICK REILLY

Can be purchased on: www.amazon.com

“Missing Links is the story of four middle-class buddies who live outside Boston and for years have been 1) utterly obsessed with golf and 2) a regular foursome at Ponkaquoque Municipal Course and Deli, not so fondly known as Ponky, the single worst golf course in America. Just adjacent to the municipal course lies the Mayflower Country Club, the most exclusive private course in all of Boston and a major thorn in their collective sides. Frustrated by the Mayflower’s finely manicured greens and snooty members, three of Ponky’s most courageous–Two Down, Dannie, and Stick–set up a bet: $1,000 apiece, and the first man to finagle his way onto the Mayflower takes all.

One of the three will eventually play the course, but their friendships–and everything else–change as various truths unravel and the old Ponky starts looking like the home they never should have left.

(Sandy having been a Massachusetts golfer has a Ponkaquoque GC logo golf ball in his collection. It is one of his most prized)

“THE SOCIAL GOLF COURSE: INCREASING ROUNDS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA“ BY ZEB WELBORN

Sandy Bagger® absolutely loved it. Many of the suggestions are intuitive toward the end of the book with discussion of service in a service business but certainly deserved discussion. The social media and marketing information and suggestions are helpful to a novice in social media. Even though it is aimed at the golf course industry it easily can be extrapolated to other businesses, golf or non-golf related.  Easily read in one sitting which is helpful but chock full of information. Well worth a look if you are in or considering getting into the use of social media beyond developing a web page for your business.

“KEEP YOUR SWING LOWER YOUR SCORE “ BY MIKE PILE

Sandy Bagger® finds this common sense approach to playing the game both interesting and helpful in venting some of everyman golfer per peeves. The 15 handicapper never really improves therefore his off the course assessment on the range, golf tips and lessons are food for thought though I doubt will permeate well with the golf courses (range), golf magazines(tips) and the golf professional(lessons).

The USGA certainly will take umbrage with his statement “For the Good of the Game?” But not for the good of the golfer, that’s for damn sure. Certainly no fan of the rules for everything according to the USGA “…most are them are stupid, all of them unintelligible” His curmudgeonly thoughts are well curmudgeonly but I, and you, will agree with most of them.

There are three pages at the end for

1. Your curmudgeonly thoughts.
2. Today’s Swing Thought
3. Cart Girls: Name, phone # and Course

Now that alone is a great reason to carry this little bible in your golf bag

“FEELING NAKED ON THE FIRST TEE: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR NEW WOMEN GOLFERS”,
BY ANN KELLY

(Available on Amazon.com)

Finally a book that will boost the confidence of a new woman golfer, written by someone who knows how it feels! Packed with helpful hints, Feeling Naked on the First Tee explains parts of the game that other golf books don’t talk about, in language the beginner can understand.

Editorial Reviews

Review

what to wear, where to stand, where to park the cart, how to mark your ball — things that no one had told me before.”

From the Author

For several years I have been looking for solutions to alleviate the trepidation and self-consciousness that many women feel on the golf course. Finding nothing in the marketplace that speaks to new, nervous women golfers to give them a basic overview of the game and answer some of their questions such as…What do I wear? How do I get started? …led me to write Naked on the First Tee. I know that this guide will provide new golfers with “need to know” basic information which could be critical to their success and enjoyment of this game.

“101 Mistakes All Golfers Make (And How to Fix Them)” by Jon Sherman.

(Available on Amazon.com)

“Sandy says: Without listing them all, it’s hard to exclude some of the faults. Some are good teaching points, some philosophical, some common sense and some tongue in check. Giving samples for you to look at is difficult. Suffice it to say there are many aha moments.”

From the author: I racked my brain for a few days and came up with the definitive list of 101 mistakes that all golfers are making. I estimate I have done about 80-90% of these at some point!

1)   Stands over the ball too long before a shot

11) Decelerates on chips, pitches, and putts out of fear

14) Thinks that a new club will solve their woes

19) Thinks the term “course management” is a job title

28) Plays lofted shots way too often in their short game

29) Professes that they have the game “figured out”

38) Would rather thread the ball through a tree than pitch out into the fairway

41) Thinks the driver is the only club they can hit off the tee

42) Thinks Johnny Miller is a good announcer

48) Takes too long of a backswing on all shots

50) Plays a ball that spins too much for their game

51) Constantly changes putters

52) Doesn’t repair their pitch marks on the green

66) Never takes a golf trip with friends

82) Plays from tees that are too far for their game

83) Doesn’t open their club face in the sand and use the bounce of the wedge

101) Can’t smells the roses, and realize playing golf is a privilege not a chore!

Golf is a difficult game, but it doesn’t have to be a complicated one. Sometimes the best answers are the simple ones.

Written in an easy-to-understand format, 101 Mistakes All Golfers Make will serve as your guide to golf for years to come. Players of all levels will learn how to improve their mental game, course strategy, practice methods, technique, and much more.

By seeing the most common mistakes made by all golfers, you will get something that is often lacking in the golf world, which is coaching. Many times golfers just need to be pointed in the right direction in order to enjoy the game more, and fulfill their potential. Whether or not you are a complete beginner, or a more experienced golfer, this book will give you tons of ideas on how to approach the game in a new way!

By Joel Zuckerman Copyright 2006 Andrews McMeel Publishing LLC, Kansas City

(Available on EBay)

An interesting view into the minds of Joel Zuckerman (who I have golfed with) and Jeff Wong of misfits we all know and mostly distain. It’s a short stroll from the rigors of practice, lessons, and serious golf games to laugh out loud when you identify or identify with one of these misfits. I particularly enjoyed The Sandbagger, Swindlus ceaseless!  An excellent bathroom book for your guest bathroom (sorry Joel, it’s not “Golf in the Kingdom“ , but was not meant to be).

By Mark Frost  (Available on Amazon.com) Copyright 3/17/09

 In 1956, a casual bet between two millionaires eventually pitted two of the greatest golfers of the era — Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan — against top amateurs Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi.

The year: 1956. Decades have passed since Eddie Lowery came to fame as the ten-year-old caddie to U.S. Open Champion Francis Ouimet. Now a wealthy car dealer and avid supporter of amateur golf, Lowery has just made a bet with fellow millionaire George Coleman. Lowery claims that two of his employees, amateur golfers Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi, cannot be beaten in a best-ball match, and challenges Coleman to bring any two golfers of his choice to the course at 10 a.m. the next day to settle the issue. Coleman accepts the challenge and shows up with his own power team: Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, the game’s greatest living professionals, with fourteen major championships between them.

In Mark Frost’s peerless hands, complete with the recollections of all the participants, the story of this immortal foursome and the game they played that day-legendarily known in golf circles as the greatest private match ever played-comes to life with powerful, emotional impact and edge-of-your-seat suspense.

One of the most enjoyable golf books I have read. Couldn’t put it down. I had once met Ken Venturi and knew of Eddie Lowery from the movie The Greatest Game Ever Played but Harvie Ward becomes an instant hero to me. Learning about the history of Pasatiempo GC was a lesson in golf history. Designed by Alister MacKensie was of special interest as he was the designer of Augusta National and many top-100 classic courses.

By Mark Frost Copyright 2002

(Available on Amazon.com)

“This fascinating narrative chronicles the birth of the modern game of golf, told through the story of Harry Vardon and Francis Ouimet. These men, in pursuit of their passion for a sport that had captivated them since childhood, lifted themselves out of their lives of common poverty and broke down rigid social barriers, transforming the game of golf into one of the most widely played sports in the world today.

Vardon and Ouimet were two men from different generations and vastly different corners of the world whose lives, unbeknown to them at the time, bore remarkable similarities, setting them on parallel paths that led to their epic battle at Brookline in the 1913 US Open. This collision resulted in the ‘big bang’ that gave rise to the sport of golf as we know it. In THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED, Mark Frost tells their story, including along the way over a dozen of the game’s seminal figures, within the dramatic framework offered by the 1913 tournament where they finally met, which became one of the most thrilling sports events in history.”Many if not most will remember the movie and not the book but if you are a reader Sandy thinks you will enjoy reading this book especially if you are going to follow up with “The Match” Having played The Country Club and taken for through the Archives by our host my library is filled by his generous contributions of Programs from The Country Clubs History.  The 1913, 1963, 1988 US Open and 1999 Ryder Cup included. The upcoming 2022 US Open is scheduled to be played there.

By Donald Ross ,  An Autobiography, Copyright January 29, 1996

(Available on Amazon.com)

“Many years before his death in 1948, legendary golf course architect Donald Ross wrote a book that was never published. Within the manuscript, Ross offered many of his thoughts on the game that he so dearly loved. In the mid-1990s, the book was miraculously rediscovered and published to great acclaim.

Golf Has Never Failed Mei s an insightful look at the game by one of its most famous and beloved people. And what may surprise you is that many of the astute observations that he made so long ago still hold true today.”

As a Donald Ross aficionado Sandy loves his designs. A bogey shooter can enjoy open access to greens whereas the low handicapper best be aware of the trouble off the back. It doesn’t hurt that he has two hole-in-ones on #16 at Longmeadow CC in Longmeadow, MA (not Springfield).

By Dr. Bob Rotella ,

 (Available on Amazon.com) Copyright 2004

“For the last decade, golfers of all abilities have been drawn to the writings and teachings of Bob “Doc” Rotella. His books Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, Golf Is a Game of Confidence, The Golf of Your Dreams, and Putting Out of Your Mind have all become classics for golfers everywhere. Weekend golfers and pros like Brad Faxon, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Tom Kite, and Davis Love III all read and listen to the man they call Doc because his teachings are simple and direct—and in the end, what Doc says makes them play better golf.

The Golfer’s Mind was actually first suggested by Davis Love, Jr.—Davis Love III’s dad—who encouraged Doc to write an instruction book on golf’s mental challenges, organized by topic. Love thought that golfers could keep the book with them, or at least nearby, at all times. When they needed a refresher on a certain issue, they could consult the book, read for a few minutes, and take away solid guidance regarding their difficulties. Doc heard what Love said, and twenty years later, The Golfer’s Mind is that book. From his Ten Commandments (Commandment I. Play to play great. Don’t play not to play poorly) to just about any topic a golfer might imagine, this is the ideal way for players to get all of Rotella’s teachings. Doc covers topics including:

-Butterflies

-Practicing to Play Great

-The Rhythm of the Game

-Routine

-Setbacks

-How Winning Happens

In the perfect format for the busy golfer, The Golfer’s Mind is the concise and convenient quick-reference tool to appeal to Rotella’s millions of followers and is sure to become a golf classic.”

A great read and reference book for those interested in competitive golf. Sometimes it’s in your mind and help is available. Dr. Rotella’s series of books have to be read to avail yourself of improvement in your game.

By Dr. Bob Rotella,   

Simon & Schuster Copyright September 17, 2007

(Available on Google Books)

“Filled with insightful stories about golf, Dr. Bob Rotella’s delightful book will improve the game of even the most casual weekend player.

Dr. Bob Rotella is one of the hottest performance consultants in America today. Among his many professional clients are Nick Price (last year’s Player of the Year), Tom Kite, Davis Love III, Pat Bradley, Brad Faxon, John Daly, and many others. Rotella, or “Doc,” as most players refer to him, goes beyond just the usual mental aspects of the game and the reliance on specific techniques. What Rotella does here in this extraordinary book, and with his clients, is to create an attitude and a mindset about all aspects of a golfer’s game, from mental preparation to competition. The most wonderful aspect of it all is that it is done in a conversational fashion, in a dynamic blend of anecdote and lesson. And, as some of the world’s greatest golfers will attest, the results are spectacular. Golfers will improve their golf game and have more fun playing. Some of Rotella’s maxims include:

-On the first tee, a golfer must expect only two things of himself: to have fun, and to focus his mind properly on every shot.

-Golfers must learn to love ‘the challenge when they hit a ball into the rough, trees, or sand. The alternatives—anger, fear, whining, and cheating—do no good.

-Confidence is crucial to good golf. Confidence is simply the aggregate of the thoughts you have about yourself.

-It is more important to be decisive than to be correct when preparing to play any golf shot or putt.

Filled with delightful and insightful stories about golf and the golfers Rotella works with, Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect will improve the game of even the most casual weekend player.”

Source: Publisher

Pretty much says it all, Golf like life is not perfect but if you consider the alternatives- well, Tennis?

Harvey Penick’s Little Red Golf Book

Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf

By Harvey Penick, Bud Shrake ·  Copyright 2012 Simon & Schuster

 (Available from Google Books)

“With over 60 years of coaching amateur players, as well as professionals of the calibre of Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw and Byron Nelson, golf teacher and former University of Texas coach Harvey Penick has a wealth of golfing experience on which to draw. His ability to see through all the technical jargon associated with the golf swing, means that all players, whatever their level, can follow his teachings to get the most out of their game.”

Source: Publisher

The first of four “Little” Golf Books that can be read on a flight but worthy of the read. Always use tee when you can. When Ben Crenshaw won the 1995 Masters the Sunday after his teacher Harvey Penick passed away it was as emotional as they come.

Copyright January 1, 1994 Simon & Schuster

by Harvey Penick

(Available on Amazon.com)

The sequel to the bestselling Little Red Golf Book. “The most iimportant instruction book ever written.” per Tom Kite.

The Game for a Lifetime: More Lessons and Teachings

Copyright April 8, 1996, Simon & Schuster

by Harvey Penick  (Author), Bud Shrake (Foreword)

“His gentle demeanor and timeless wisdom made Harvey Penick America’s best-loved teacher of the game of golf. From his lesson tee at the Austin Country Club, he taught several generations of champions and high-handicappers, pros and amateurs alike. All who came in contact with him came away with their grips improved, their souls refreshed, and their hearts gladdened by his love of teaching and his eagerness to serve.

At the time of his death in April 1995, Harvey was well along in the work on this, his fourth book of golf instruction. Like his classic Little Red Book, The Game for a Lifetime is filled not so much with swing tips and stance aids but with a timeless philosophy that seeks to improve your play by improving how you feel about your game. The secret of Harvey’s teaching lies not in any techniques he prescribes but in how the stories and advice and parables he shares point the way for anyone to play better golf by being a better golfer.

In The Game for a Lifetime, Harvey tells us about the different methods he used to help his pupils find twenty more yards off the tee; about the incredible swing of Leaping Lucifer who did everything wrong when he stood over the ball, but whom Harvey helped to find contentment and joy both on and off the course; and about the sweet-swinging pupils whose swings he could remember and recognize without having seen them for thirty-odd years. He spends much of the book advising “the seasoned player” — whose seasoning is measured not in years but in experience on the links and at the practice tee. His highest praise goes not to any of the champions he trained or Hall of Famers he worked with but to his wife, Helen, who stood by him in thick and thin during his seven decades of service to the game he loved. And the book concludes with the tribute his son, Tinsley, paid him at a gathering of the world’s best golf teachers during the week of the 1995 Ryder Cup.

Harvey always said he knew that the teachings in his books have stood the test of time. His was truly a lifetime spent pursuing the best the game has to offer us: physically, emotionally, spiritually. The Game for a Lifetime is a fitting testament from this remarkable man.”

By Harvey Penick with Bud Shrake

Copyright April 11, 1995, Simon & Schuster

(Available on Amazon.com)

“Following in the tradition of the Little Red Book, a famous golf player and instructor focuses his latest guide on the specific needs of women golfers and offers accompanying anecdotes.

He does, however, make several telling points relating specifically to women: why women have such naturally good short games, for example, and how women can develop “golfing muscles.” Readers of both the previous books will find some repetition here, but Penick’s homespun wisdom always bears repeating.”

by Arnold Palmer  (Author), James Dotson  (Contributor)

Ballantine Publishing, Copyright 1999

(Available on Amazon Prime)

“There has never been a golfer to rival Arnold Palmer. He’s the most aggressive, most exciting player the game has ever known, a dynamo famous for coming from behind to make bold last-minute charges to victory. To the legions of golf fans known around the world as “Arnie’s Army,” Palmer is a charismatic hero, the winner of sixty-one tournaments on the PGA Tour and still going strong on the Senior PGA Tour. But behind the legend, there is the private Palmer–a man of wit, compassion, loyalty, and true grit in the face of personal adversity.

Golf-crazy as far back as he can remember, Arnie followed his dad, “Deacon” Palmer, the head greenskeeper, around the Latrobe Country Club fairways; as a youth he played at dawn before the club members arrived (the only time he was allowed on the course); by the time he graduated from high school he was headed for the national circuit. His rise to fame was meteoric, and by the 1960s he had emerged as one of the few American athletes the public truly cared about–a vibrant, daring, handsome sports celebrity who attracted wild crowds and enormous television audiences whenever he played and whose charisma propelled the explosion of enthusiasm for golf in the sixties.

Writing with the humor and candor that are as much his trademark as his unique golf swing, Palmer narrates the deeply moving story of his life both on and off the links. He recounts his friendships (and rivalries) with greats of the game, including Jack Nicklaus, his enduringly happy marriage with Winnie, his legendary charges to triumph and his titanic disasters, and his valiant battle against cancer.  Returning to the Senior PGA Tour with unmatched zeal after his recovery, Palmer reminded fans of his unfaltering heroism–and the world of golf is thankful.

From small-town boy to golfing legend, Arnold Palmer has lived one of the great sporting lives of the twentieth century. Now, with the help of acclaimed golf writer James Dodson, he has created one of the great sports autobiographies of our time.”

After playing hundreds of courses overseas in the birthplace of golf, ​Coyne, the New York Times bestselling author of A Course Called Ireland and A Course Called Scotland, returns to his own birthplace and delivers a rollicking love letter to golf in the United States.

In the span of one unforgettable year, Coyne crisscrosses the country in search of its greatest golf experience, playing every course to ever host a US Open, along with more than two hundred hidden gems and heavyweights, visiting all fifty states to find a better understanding of his home country and countrymen.

Coyne’s journey begins where the US Open and US Amateur got their start, historic Newport Country Club in Rhode Island. As he travels from the oldest and most elite of links to the newest and most democratic, Coyne finagles his way onto coveted first tees (Shinnecock, Oakmont, Chicago GC) between rounds at off-the-map revelations, like ranch golf in Eastern Oregon and homemade golf in the Navajo Nation. He marvels at the golf miracle hidden in the sand hills of Nebraska, and plays an unforgettable midnight game under bright sunshine on the summer solstice in Fairbanks, Alaska.

More than just a tour of the best golf the United States has to offer, Coyne’s quest connects him with hundreds of American golfers, each from a different background but all with one thing in common: pride in welcoming Coyne to their course. Trading stories and swing tips with caddies, pros, and golf buddies for the day, Coyne adopts the wisdom of one of his hosts in Minnesota: the best courses are the ones you play with the best people.

But, in the end, only one stop on Coyne’s journey can be ranked the Great American Golf Course. Throughout his travels, he invites golfers to debate and help shape his criteria for judging the quintessential American course. Should it be charmingly traditional or daringly experimental? An architectural showpiece or a natural wonder? Countless conversations and gut instinct lead him to seek out a course that feels bold and idealistic, welcoming yet imperfect, with a little revolutionary spirit and a damn good hot dog at the turn. He discovers his long-awaited answer in the most unlikely of places.

Packed with fascinating tales from American golf history, comic road misadventures, illuminating insights into course design, and many a memorable round with local golfers and celebrity guests alike, A Course Called America is an epic narrative travelogue brimming with heart and soul.

Available on Amazon, Review from Amazon

For much of his adult life, bestselling author Tom Coyne has been chasing a golf ball around the globe. When he was in college, studying abroad in London, he entered the lottery for a prized tee time in Scotland, grabbing his clubs and jumping the train to St. Andrews as his friends partied in Amsterdam; later, he golfed the entirety of Ireland’s coastline, chased pros through the mini-tours, and attended grueling Qualifying Schools in Australia, Canada, and Latin America. Yet, as he watched the greats compete, he felt something was missing. Then one day a friend suggested he attempt to play every links course in Scotland and qualify for the greatest championship in golf.

The result is A Course Called Scotland, “a fast-moving, insightful, often funny travelogue encompassing the width of much of the British Isles” (GolfWeek), including St. Andrews, Turnberry, Dornoch, Prestwick, Troon, and Carnoustie. With his signature blend of storytelling, humor, history, and insight, Coyne weaves together his “witty and charming” (Publishers Weekly) journey to more than 100 legendary courses in Scotland with compelling threads of golf history and insights into the contemporary home of golf. As he journeys Scotland in search of the game’s secrets, he discovers new and old friends, rediscovers the peace and power of the sport, and, most importantly, reaffirms the ultimate connection between the game and the soul. It is “a must-read” (Golf Advisor) rollicking love letter to Scotland and golf as no one has attempted it before.

Available on Amazon, Reviewed by GolfWeek & Golf Advisor

    The hysterical story bestseller about one man’s epic Celtic sojourn in search of ancestors, nostalgia, and the world’s greatest round of golf

By turns hilarious and poetic, A Course Called Ireland is a magnificent tour of a vibrant land and paean to the world’s greatest game in the tradition of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. In his thirties, married, and staring down impending fatherhood, Tom Coyne was familiar with the last refuge of the adult male: the golfing trip. Intent on designing a golf trip to end all others, Coyne looked to Ireland, the place where his father has taught him to love the game years before. As he studied a map of the island and plotted his itinerary, it dawn on Coyne that Ireland was ringed with golf holes. The country began to look like one giant round of golf, so Coyne packed up his clubs and set off to play all of it-on foot.

A Course Called Ireland is the story of a walking-averse golfer who treks his way around an entire country, spending sixteen weeks playing every seaside hole in Ireland. Along the way, he searches out his family’s roots, discovers that a once-poor country has been transformed by an economic boom, and finds that the only thing tougher to escape than Irish sand traps are Irish pubs.

by Tom Coyne  (Author)

“Think country-club clinic meets Navy Seals training. I will pay any price, bear any burden, leave my home to follow the seasons, build my own swing studio in the basement, construct a practice green in my backyard. . . . Everything the big boys have access to, I want double.” Like most amateur golfers, Tom Coyne had often wondered whether the pros won because they were more talented or because they were more obsessed. Overweight and burdened by a 14 handicap, he decided to find out for himself what it takes to play like a pro.

Charting his journey, which included hiring top golf gurus such as Dr. Jim Suttie—Paper Tiger takes readers from the Michelob tournament (a win for Tom) to the Australian Tour—where forty-mile-per-hour winds and a driving rain scare off his Japanese partners. With each chapter, he tracks his weight alongside his handicap, pursuing his dream with a reckless abandon that comes to involve hardcore diets, pricey technology, even psychologists. With echoes of Dead Solid Perfect and Who’s Your Caddy? Tom brings his uniquely edgy, deeply human perspective to a game that can simultaneously bring out the best and the worst in everyone who tries to master it.

Available from Amazon

Available from Amazon

BURIED LIES

TRUE TALES AND TALL STORIES FROM THE PGA TOUR

BY PETER JACOBSEN WITH JACK SHEEHAN ‧ RELEASE DATE: MARCH 1, 1993

Delightful recollections of Jacobsen’s 17 years as a touring golf pro, emphasizing his role as one of the great characters of the game. Though Jacobsen has never won a major tournament, few golf professionals have had as much fun as he has. A golf-course designer, TV-commentator, member of the Tour Policy Board, and founder of a well-attended charity tournament, Jacobsen doesn’t allow his serious side to get in the way for long. The author made news with his 1984 Golf magazine “centerfold,” done “to show how basically untanned and unattractive” pro golfers really are. He’s made appearances in a couple of movies and is the lead singer for Jake Trout and the Flounders, a rock group that includes fellow pro Payne Stewart on harmonica. Jacobsen’s on-the-course antics (including his tackle of a streaker at the 1985 British Open) have brought him a lot of attention, but it’s his spoofs and golf-swing impressions of Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Craig “The Walrus” Stadler, and others that have made him a popular attraction on the tour. Here, he recalls some “fabulous shots” (e.g, Bob Gilder’s 231-yard 3-wood for a double-eagle on the 18th hole in 1982), and he writes of “major moments” he’s witnessed over the years. Jacobsen includes some funny anecdotes and personal memories of Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw, and Nick Faldo, as well as of celebrities like Jack Lemmon (with whom he partners annually at the AT&T Pro-Am), Bill Murray, and Michael Jordan. An entertaining look at pro golf’s lighter side.

Available on Amazon

by Bradley S. Klein  (Author)

Discovering the life and work of a true artist: Donald Ross

I grew up playing a Donald Ross golf course, Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, so my standards of what a good golf course should be were based on a Ross design. I think being exposed early to a Donald Ross course provided me balance, as both a player and future golf course designer, because of the variety of shots found throughout each of his design. Ross was without a doubt a great influence on my design career, and he remains a personal favorite. I am happy to see Brad Klein devote a book to the work of Donald Ross. Brad is passionate about golf course design and that translates in his writing.
–Jack Nicklaus

Sandy as well is a Donald Ross Fan, playing much of his adult life on Longmeadow CC in Longmeadow, MA. That’s where the resemblance to Jack Nicklaus ends.

Available on Amazon

by Bernard Darwin  (Author), Robert S. MacDonald (Editor)

Not only is Bernard Darwin, the grandson of the famous naturalist, Charles Darwin, universally considered to be the greatest golf writer who ever lived, he is judged by many, including Herbert Warren Wind, to be the greatest sportswriter of all time. Here are his best essays from The American Golfer magazine, edited by Darwin-scholar, Robert S. Macdonald. These essays were written especially for American audiences.

Available on Amazon

Capt. Bruce Warren Ollstein (Author)

An entertaining, practical guide to competitive golf explains how players can draw on proven military strategies and effective psychological tactics to size up an opponent, work together as a team, rally back from disaster, or prepare oneself mentally for competition. 40,000 first printing. Tour.

Sandy, thanks the Capt. for his autographed copy!

Available on Amazon

Darwin, Bernard

The first of three autobiographies by the greatest golf writer of all time. This book is widely considered one of Darwin’s best efforts which means it is one of the best golf books ever written. Indispensable for any golf library. A facsimile of the original edition, published in 1928, with many photographs.

Available from AbeBooks   ISBN 10: 0940889471 / ISBN 13: 9780940889477

Available on Amazon

James Baird by Bernard Darwin

Hodder & Stoughton; 1st Edition (January 1, 1952)

Very few people, would want to read a biography of a professional

Golfer born over 150 years ago, no matter how colorful a person or

How great a golfer. But when the biography is written by Bernard

Darwin, it is another matter altogether/ The alchemy that a great writer

Can achieve is this: he brings the past into the present and makes it as real

a the window outside of the room in which you are reading- a greater fear than

turning lead into gold, for he rearranges. Time itself. Besides this Baird is a

fascinating subject, and he lived during the first era that golf had ceased to be a

private Scottish game, the era from 1896-1914, the era ruled by three outstanding

men and golfers called the Triumvirate: J.H. Taylor, Harry Vardon, both English,

Baird the Scot.- Robert Macdonald

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by Bob Thomas

Macmillan, Copyright 1997

Ben Hogan had a secret. Or so it was said. Ben Hogan’s unparalleled mastery of the game, many have speculated that he had discovered some special technique, some change in swing grip that made fellow tour members feel he was nearly unbeatable. A four-time PGA player of the year, five time Vardon Trophy winner, and one of only four players to win all of the Grand Slam titles. Despite the near-fatal accident at the peak of his career which left doctors wandering if he would even walk again. Hogan not only returned to golf but picked up a US Open title in his first season back. A few years later he went on to win three major tournaments in the same season- a feat no other professional has done before or since……by interweaving historical facts with fictional techniques. Thomas offers a compelling depiction of the whole man, the technical perfectionist as well as the pure lover of the game. He shows what Hogan found in golf and ultimately what golf found in Hogan.

Sandy thanks Bob for his autographed copy. A great read!

Available from Thriftbooks

by Ben Hogan  (Author), Herbert Warren Wind  (Author), Anthony Ravielli (Illustrator)

A timeless classic with nearly one million copies in print, Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons outlines the building blocks of winning golf from one of the all-time masters of the sport—fully illustrated with drawings and diagrams to improve your game instantly.

Ben Hogan, one of the greatest golfers in the history of the sport, believed that any golfer with average coordination can learn to break eighty—if one applies oneself patiently and intelligently. With the techniques revealed in this classic book, you can learn how to make your game work from tee to green, step-by-step and stroke by stroke.

In each chapter, a different experience-tested fundamental is explained and demonstrated with clear illustrations—as though Hogan were giving you a personal lesson with the same skill and precision that made him a legend. Whether you’re a novice player or an experienced pro, Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons is a must-have reference for anyone who knows that fundamentals are where champions begin.

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by

Robert T. Jones Jr.

Originally published in 1927, Bobby Jones’ Down the Fairway had become an uncontestable classic. Part memoir, part golf instructional, it is a must-read for all who care about this most fascinating sport.

Before I read this, Bobby Jones was only a name to me, and afterward he is a surprising engaging personality. A proponent of the relaxed, comfortable ´feel´ as a measure of good golf, he describes putting: ¨At the time, stance and grip and presence or absence of body motion or knee action were as far from bothering me as Mr. Einstein´s excursions into the realm of a supposititious Fourth Dimension.¨
It is just fun, too, to read about golf in a time when you could not clean your ball through the hole, nor mark a stymie.-Anonymous

This has to be one of my favorite books of all time. Bobby Jones led such a fascinating life, it’s very entertaining to read his take on it through the pen of O.B. Keeler. It’s written very much like a conversation – you feel like Jones is in the room with you telling you, in very modest terms, his life story. -Anonymous

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GOLF IS MY GAME

By Bobby Jones

Bobby Jones’ Own Story: A Dramatic Account of the Grand Slam Year; and a Look At Golf Then and Now  January 1, 1960

This is Bobby Jones’ second and final autobiography. From 1923 to 1930, Jones won 13 national championships, and from 1922-1930 he was first or second in the U.S. Open, save one year.

The impossible was accomplished by Bobby Jones in the magical year of 1930 when he won the British Amateur and Open Championships and the U. S. Amateur and Open Championships. Shortly thereafter, Bobby Jones announced he would play no more tournament golf, enigmatically stepping from the loftiest of competitive heights into the annals of golf history.

Foreword by Bernard Darwin.

This is a hardcover book published with a dust jacket price of $4.50 by Doubleday & Co., Garden City New York in 1960. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 60-13386. From the dust jacket: On April 10, 1960, the man who presented the trophy to the winner of the world-famous Masters Golf Tournament was Bobby Jones. Although he had played little golf in recent years, having retired from active competition in 1930, he is still the most highly regarded man in golf. In his last year as a competitor, he won the Grand Slam if Golf — the U.S. Open and the U.S. amateur and British Open and British amateur Championship. No one before or since has ever won these four title (in one year or otherwise)

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Bobby Jones on Golf: The Classic Instructional by Golf’s Greatest Legend Paperback – May 1, 1992

From the best amateur golfer ever to play the game comes an essential instructional guide for any golfer. 

Bobby Jones is universally acknowledged to have been the best amateur golfer of all time. He held at least one major title every season of his career and electrified the world with his 1930 Grand Slam, winning all four major amateur and open tournaments in the United States and Great Britain.

Bobby Jones on Golf is a distillation of all that he learned about playing golf over more than half a century of devotion to amateur competition. Drawing both on the practical and the theoretical, this classic work addresses such topics as the feel of the club, placing the feet, using the body, and cultivating the proper backswing. Like the author’s impeccable reputation, Bobby Jones on Golf is as timeless as the game itself.

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Why Bobby Jones Quit by Bob Thomas

Author’s Edition Hardcover – January 1, 2004

“As you read the book, you will feel like you’re eavesdropping on history, even though you know it is a work of fiction. Thomas does such a masterful job portraying the main characters . . . that it is easy to let yourself believe that the conversations he created actually happened.”–Tom Ierubino, “Golf Magazine Online.”

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The Golf Swing of Bobby Jones

By Greene, Kell

The Golf Swing of Bobby Jones

By Bobby Jones

The Art of the Swing: Short Game Swing-Sequencing Secrets That Will Improve Your Total Game in 30 Days – May 12, 2011

By Stan Utley & Matthew Rudy

In the first golf book to link to smartphone video lessons, “the hottest instructor in golf” (Sports Illustrated) delivers a thirty-day greenside clinic for revolutionizing your full swing. Stan Utley’s breakthrough putting and short-game strategies have made him one of the most sought-after golf instructors in America. Over the years, he has noticed an added benefit to short-game enhancement: mastering the sequence of motion for a putting stroke, chip, or pitch shot is an integral part of mastering a superb full swing. In The Art of Sequencing Your Swing, Utley introduces the groundbreaking new instructional methods that grew from this discovery. In this thirty-day program, Utley focuses on grip, stance, and posture for short-game shots, and teaches readers the new sequence of motion that will transform their swing. He puts additional guidance in their hands using a multimedia element: Readers can snap pictures of bar codes throughout the book.

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The Culture of Golf by Laurence A. Hirsh

Published 8/16/21

The purpose in developing this book was to help more clubs thrive economically by providing food for thought about how to make the game grow.  As a lifelong and socially sensitive golfer, I hope to help the game grow while making it more inclusive and look more like society in general.

In his foreword, Dr Michael Hurdzan writes:  Social attitudes are powerful forces, and it seems outside special interest groups are always searching for another target of perceived injustice to “culturally reform,” to perhaps include golf.  The best protection to preserve what we love about golf is to be prepared to make changes when justified but defend against unfounded or false accusations with real information.  Granted it is a complex topic composed of many subcultures or points of view, but there is virtually no part of the sport that Larry overlooks in both a historical and future context. Even if you don’t fully agree with Larry’s views, at least you will be giving them some thought and seeing a bigger picture of golf, and that alone has merit.   Being sensitive to golf related topics that may need improving is a major first step.

Further, in his foreword, Bradley S. Klein writes: “In a trade used to gentility and praise, Larry has made a career by asking uncomfortable questions that get to the bottom of things. Along the way he has learned to communicate clearly to audiences not accustomed to dealing with such issues, including (especially) everyday golfers.

That’s why “The Culture of Golf,” is so welcome. These represent his collective wisdom, acquired through forty years of looking closely at golf courses.  Their virtue resides in the fact that he never just looks at revenue numbers or course conditions but places everything in a larger cultural context. Whether it’s consumer spending, economic cycles, the politics of the regulatory climate or the demographics of who is playing and at what price, Larry’s understanding of golf is always placed within a framework that goes well beyond a mere ball and stick game. It embraces golf as a social activity, one that needs to make sense financially if it is to succeed as an engaging practice. Unlike most golfers and unlike many owners, he puts his ego aside and looks at golf objectively, always keeping in mind that owners and managers have the right o accept some kind of reasonable return on their efforts.”

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