1 comments about A Game Of Golf.

1. I found the book very interesting overall. There are some parts that drag on but all in all a neat book. It tells the details of a great golfer Francis Ouimet. It was written in the 1930s and I am sure some of the details have been sugar coated but if a person like history and likes golf you will like this book!

5 comments about The Pro: Lessons About Golf and Life from My Father, Claude Harmon, Sr..

1. Little publicity gained from club pro, other than the infamous club pro's students who do good. These pros (male and female now) are true backbone of the sport, feeding the sport. In this case, Claude Harmon Jr. reflects on his father, famous club pro and player who wore the coveted Green Jacket.
   
   One clearly learns of life lessons Butch carried to his life and students from his father. Salient to his father's remarkable and here documented career is association with Henry Ford and Ben Hogan.
   
   There are many gleanings to take from this for golf, for life. Worth read which is personal and honest and passionate, reflecting the author.



2. The Pro; I though it was a very good read, It;s nice to know about others, and how they were able to get started.
   
   Playing lessons ;I did not carefor at all.



3. Excellent copy arrived in a timely fashion. A pleasure to do business with.



4. You don't need to be a golfer to enjoy this book. I'd been playing golf all of three weeks when this book was loaned to me. The title of the book is apt. The lessons indeed apply both to life and golf. A thoroughly enjoyable read!



5. There is way too much information about Tiger Woods in this book and not enough about Claude Harmon. Who cares whether Tiger did his first long TV interview on Oprah? So what if people clapped for Tiger in a restaurant in Vegas? Most people who haven't been living in a cave for the last ten years are aware of how great Tiger is and what a record he has amassed. I understand that a teacher is proud of his student, but I can read that stuff in Tiger's book. And Butch goes on far too long about how important it is for people to learn from as many sources as possible. It really sounds like Butch is mad or insecure about Tiger leaving him.
   On the positive side, there are a few good stories about Claude Harmon and some of the greats from his era.

3 comments about My Greatest Shot: The Top Players Share Their Defining Golf Moments.

1. This book shares the pros greatest shots that we mortals that play golf can only dream of. It is terrific to hear the pros describe in their own words, the shots that made an impression on these bigger than life performers who routinely make amazing shots every day. Great reading and a great book to give as a gift to anyone who plays, watches, or dreams about golf.



2. This book of entertaining and successfully compiled letters from the best golfers in the world, past and present, brings memories and the love of the game to the forefront. A great idea and a special book espcially for those who have been following the game for a long time. This book will be greatly appreciated by any golf enthusiast.



3. Good book, well worth the read, but something short of an eagle or a 5-star rating...like that eagle putt that comes up just short. Still a good effort and good score, but not quite as good as it could be....But who complains about a birdie, right? And there are no complaints about this book. Well worth the read.
   
   The concept is exceptional--tour players describing their own greatest shots and the greatest shots they have seen in their own words--and the cooperation of some of golf's greatest appears to be remarkable.
   
   Those descriptions that were written by hand on personal note cards or stationary were especially interesting. Frankly, even the logos of some of the typed responses were interesting. (All responses are presented exactly as sent or presented to the editors which adds much to the book.)
   
   All in all, a good book, a good read. Can't say it is a great additon to golf literature, but as the years go by, it may become more and more significant to golf history, legend and lore.

5 comments about Hogan.

1. Ben Hogan was a no nonsense, focused champion who realized early in life that hard work was the path to success. Curt Sampson does a great job in presenting the real Hogan, not just the golf legend. This book should be required reading for all golf fans.
   Especially the goofs who scream "You da man!" everytime Tiger hits a shot. There will never be another Ben Hogan.



2. This book really only confirmed what I had thought for a long time, behind Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan was a tremendous golfer who was way ahead of his time. Hogan nearly won the grand slam, and could not compete in the PGA because of the fact it started almost the same time the British Open was finishing. As we all watch Tiger Woods try for the grand slam, let us not forget Ben Hogan who was as close as anyone has ever come to doing it. The most amazing part of Hogan's story was the fact he won the US Open after almost dying in a car crash.

   Sampson does a nice job with this book, telling about Hogan like he was, stearn and driven, and definitely not writing a fluff piece like some biographies can be. Hogan was tough, and I would equate him as the "Ted Williams" of golf, so good it was hard for him to teach anyone because he set such high standards for himself. I recommend this book to golfers and people who want to read about a remarkable man.




3. When I was growing up the names of Palmer, Nicklaus, Trevino, Player, and their generation were the top competitors. Ben Hogan was a revered name, but one of past glory. His great year of 1953 was in the past. I had heard about his auto accident and his amazing comeback, but this book helped me see the man who "dug it out of the dirt" through hard work, discipline, and ferocious tenacity.

   Mr. Hogan started out with less than most. His father's suicide and the family's subsequent poverty didn't leave him with many open paths to success. He found golf and found that it not only matched his physical skills, but was an even better match for his nearly obsessive temperament.

   The swing he developed has become the pattern millions of us try to emulate, although he would find our haphazard approach to the game less than useless. Why we love being duffers would be beyond him. He knew how to work and to practice. I still cannot fathom the kind of internal strength it would take to come back from that terrible leg shattering accident when his Cadillac was struck by a bus. He played in great pain for the rest of his life and had four surgeries on his left shoulder. When I realize that his greatest achievements and most of his wins at major tournaments were after the accident I am simply dumbstruck.

   Mr. Hogan was a very private and enigmatic figure. Mr. Sampson does a good job in teasing what facts we know into a good story. We get interesting stories from the golf side of his life (mostly stories told about Hogan by others) and those are very enjoyable. However, I like the way Mr. Sampson puts all that in the context of a real person - a real man. Ben Hogan wasn't a fictional character even though the media version of him was a distortion of the actual hard working man who practiced, practiced, and then practiced some more, who loved his wife, Valerie, and built a successful golf equipment business.

   Ben Hogan made a long journey through life and I think this book tells the story well.




4. In my very large golf library this is clearly the best book on golf
   I have read period. For the first time you get an insight into the "wie ice mon" in what reads like a novel.



5. Few people, even non-golfers, can escape ever having heard of Ben Hogan. Maybe you don't know exactly who he was, but the name is oddly familiar.
   
   To golfers, Ben Hogan is as close to legend as anything. Other players, even Bobby Jones and Tiger Woods, lack the mystique which has encompassed Hogan, even many years after his death.
   
   What few of us know is just who he was. This information may not be so pertinant to people who play the game, since they are mostly interested in his swing. However, anyone who has touched even in a small way on part of his career realizes the great mysteries that lie in his life and being.
   
   "Hogan" may not answer everything satisfactorily, but it comes as close as any are likely to get. This covers his life in as much informative detail as could be needed, and presents Hogan not so much in a less-than-glamorous light, as is common to biographies, but rather in a "judge for yourself" presentation of evidence for what made the man what he became.
   
   Anyone curious about this modern legend will get more than he bargains for. Where perhaps the book does not go into his game to the extent golfers may want, the story of Hogan's life is engaging enough without it.

3 comments about The Immortal Bobby: Bobby Jones and the Golden Age of Golf.

1. I have read a few books on Bobby Jones including his book Down the Fairway and this is definitely one of the better books about Jones. Well written with a different and interesting look at the life of Jones on and off the course. If you are an admirer of Bobby Jones this book is a must read and will make you admire and respect Jones more than ever before.



2. 
   Having heard about Bobby Jones since I started playing golf at age thirteen, and having attended many Masters tournaments, I was drawn quite naturally to this book.
   
   Rapoport serves as a keen biographer. While he praises Jones as the most gifted golfer of his era, he doesn't avoid including passages that show Bobby's warts. The book details Bobby's early temper tantrums, his longstanding feud with another leading amateur golfer, and how he missed opportunities to use his fame and good name to pave the way for racial transition in golf and in the Atlanta area.
   
   Even so, Jones comes across very positively in the way he handled his crippling illness that drove him from the game so early. In my judgment, his most heroic deeds happened when he clutched a wheelchair instead of a golf club.
   
   From the sporting angle, golfers will welcome the shot-by-shot replay of Bobby's most heralded victories. Also, the behind the scenes story of the Bobby Jones/Clifford Roberts relationship uncovers events known to only a few at the time.
   
   If you've never encountered Bobby Jones in print, this is a great place to start.
   
   The Complete Communicator: Change Your Communication-change Your Life!



3. Ron Rapoport is a gifted and entertaining writer. His thorough research and effort to provide a detailed background in each chapter adds depth and interest that would be missing from a more straightforward sports story--without diminishing the excitement of the sports story itself. You will learn much about not only Bobby Jones and his life but also other golfers, Atlanta and other cities, England and Scotland, and American history as well. I thought this was a wonderful book and recommend it highly.

5 comments about Ty and The Babe: Baseball's Fiercest Rivals: A Surprising Friendship and the 1941 Has-Beens Golf Championship.

1. I have now read all of Tom Stanton's books, and I have enjoyed them all. I am one of many that had certain perceptions of Ty Cobb's character based on stereoptypical opinion of Cobb in recent years. But Stanton sets the record straight in allowing us to get to know a different Ty Cobb; one who is a great competitor, but no where near the "evil" man that he has been portrayed as. The Babe is as fun loving as ever in this book and it is a fun read. I would recommend it to baseball fans, and golf fans too!



2. This book was very interesting and informative and obviously well researched since the author is a baseball historian. It makes you feel as if you know the players and are living in their time period but it isn't the most enjoyable book I've ever read. You rarely smile or laugh, there's very little that's amusing even though these are two very colorfull and bigger than life characters so I felt the book could have been a little lighter. Also check out two of my favorites - The Teammates by David Halberstam and When Life Was Baseball Teams and Egg Creams by Craig Howard, the last one being much lighter and more about life in the time period than baseball itself. Good nostalgia though.



3. This is a strange little book. For one thing, it presents a far more positive picture of Ty Cobb than one often encounters. Second, golf becomes a key part of the relationship between two bitter antagonists--Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb.
   
   Ty Cobb was an exemplar of the old fashioned "scientific" approach to baseball, bunts, stolen bases, sacrifices, etc. Babe Ruth was a harbinger of a new era--focusing on the home run.
   
   Cobb versus Ruth, while they were in the major leagues together, had a pretty negative relationship. Cobb had little respect for Ruth; Ruth despised Cobb.
   
   The book tells of their slowly evolving relationship, to the point where they expressed respect toward one another by the end of Cobb's career.
   
   Their rivalry took a turn after their respective retirements. Both became avid golfers. They took part in a series of golf matches, where there was much greater camaraderie than when they played baseball.
   
   The book chronicles that strange evolution in their relationship.
   
   There is a nice appendix, which chronicles those games in which they opposed one another. Interesting. . . .
   
   An offbeat little book that ends up humanizing Cobb.



4. An excellent resource for the Baseball fan, who is always looking for good books about the Legends of baseball.



5. Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth.
   
   Two of the greatest names ever to play Major League Baseball and a pair of the most fiercest rivals on the diamond. Ruth was the new-school slugger whose gargantuan homers matched his pursuits off the field. Cobb was the oldest of old-school, a master of "small-ball," who saw the game of titan shots with "juiced" baseballs as an utter abomination.
   
   "Cobb disliked much about Ruth. But one of the things that pricked him most was Ruth's lifestyle. The Babe lived with wild abandon, ignoring curfews, staying out all hours, drinking, partying, overeating, and snaking through towns in search of sex," writes Stanton. "Cobb was nearly fanatical about taking care of himself, about being prepared for games, and about the need to sacrifice for the long term. He felt confident that Ruth's nocturnal adventures would eventually undermine him."
   
   But in retirement, the pair were kept at arm's length by the top executives in the game - Ruth never got a shot at managing a club and Cobb was tarnished by a 1926 gambling scandal "cover-up" - though each eventually found the time to frequently chase a golf ball around 18 holes. Ruth was a five handicap and Cobb a nine.
   
   Author Tom Stanton tees up an interesting dual biography of the legends that is built around a 1941 charity golf match which pitted Ruth against Cobb. Along with coverage of every baseball game the paired played against each other, Stanton drives into the professional hatred which erupted into near brawls and vicious taunts, but eventually evolved into a cordial friendship.
   
   Even the biggest fan of baseball history will find some new gems, especially about Cobb, which is a salute to the solid short game of Stanton; meticulously lofting up to the green buried facts from the sand traps of historical fiction.

5 comments about The Majors-In Pursuit of Golf's Holy Grail.

1. Is a book a book because an author says it is? Or is it a book because it is about something?

   John Feinstein seems to take the former "I write therefore it is" approach. As a result, I never quite got what "The Majors" was about. My fault? I don't think so. I not only "got" the point of Feinstein's previous golf book, "A Good Walk Spoiled," but enjoyed it. That book belongs on any sports lover's shelf, and is worth any novice's time as well.

   "A Good Walk Spoiled" is about the lives and trials of the pro golfer. "The Majors," despite the title, is about much the same thing, not so much the four events that make up the biggest trophies in pro golf but the elite PGA Tour pros who compete for these titles.

   Frankly, if you aren't hot for golf, you aren't going to relate to these millionaires and their quest to buck the dread acronym BPNTHWAM (best player never to have won a major) the way you will to the fringe folk and dewsweepers that made up the cast of "A Good Walk Spoiled," for whom making the cut was the difference between survival and doom.

   There are some decent profiles here, like that of Mark O'Meara, who won two of the four majors in 1998, the year of Feinstein's narrative. O'Meara seems affable, but I got no sense of hunger from the guy. Brad Faxon offers some revealing insights, but since he didn't contend for any majors, he seemed a waste of time in the ultimate scheme of the book. A lot of golfers Feinstein profiles are like that. Meanwhile, players who did contend in 1998 majors are skimmed over, like PGA Championship winner Vijay Singh, British Open runner-up Brian Watts, and most crucially, Tiger Woods. Feinstein probably couldn't get the same level of access to these guys he could to those he dotes on, but that shouldn't be the reader's problem, should it?

   Unlike "A Good Walk Spoiled," the writing feels tired. The humor is forced. He throws in some clunky metaphors. A caddy "studies the wind the way a political pollster studies trends." Tiger Woods' security entourage are "like the guys chasing Butch and Sundance: You could see them coming from miles away." This makes the rote approach to the subject all the more apparent, and enervating.

   Feinstein seemed to be trading in on the good will he engendered on the pro circuit with "A Good Walk Spoiled." That's great, if he gives the reader something for his new access. But whereas "Good Walk" was a candid and often blunt description of what went on inside the ropes, "The Majors" seems more an exercise in puffery and back-patting, never more egregious than with Fred Couples, a decent golfer and a good guy who Feinstein blows totally out of proportion in his narrative. Couples doesn't contend except at the Masters, but Feinstein can't let go of him for more than a chapter at a time.

   The biggest problem about this book is it isn't about the title subject. He doesn't give equal time to the four majors, doesn't really relate any of the day-to-day drama, and offers little insight as to the courses or the final-day fields. He reports the winners, and some key shots, but that's it. If you want majors excitement, read Herbert Warren Wind or "Massacre At Winged Foot."

   "The Majors" won't interest people who don't care much about golf, and though it has some interesting insights that made it more than a one-star read for me, it's not something that knowledgeable golf readers are going to find that illuminating.




2. John Feinstein reports the stories of the 1998 major golf championships through the lives of several players who were contending for one or more of them that year. The Majors are, of course, The Masters, The US Open, The Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship. Saying that Mark O'Meara won The Masters and the British Open, Lee Janzen the US Open, and Vijay Singh the PGA Championship says almost nothing about the character, history, and the dynamic nature of life and competition on the PGA tour.

   Mr. Feinstein helps us get to know some of these players as people. We learn some things about their health, how the got to the PGA tour, how qualifying for the various majors is done (and other tournaments, for that matter). Of course, the author reports actual competitions and how the leaders changed position and finally emerged victorious.

   All of this is told in a rather meandering and leisurely style. If you want crisp, concise, and beginning to end reporting this book really isn't for you. However, if love golfing anecdotes and enjoy reading about golfing events, I think you will enjoy this book as much as I did. I learned about players I didn't know and learned more about some that I did know. Certainly, I learned more about these events we call the Majors and my enjoyment of them has been enhanced because I have read this book. Thanks to Mr. Feinstein for that favor.




3. The year was 1998 and the winners were Mark O'Meara (The Masters at Augusta National and The British Open at Royal Birkdale), Lee Janzen (The U.S. Open at the Olympic Club), and Vijay Singh (The P.G.A. Championship at Sahalee Country Club). Although all four Majors are conducted under the collaborative supervision of the U.S.G.A. and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club organizations, each has its own terms and conditions for participation as well as stages of qualification to compete with those who, for various reasons, are automatically eligible. For me, one of this book's most fascinating subjects is the qualifying process to which many are called but few are eventually chosen. Perhaps only the annual process to earn a P.G.A card creates greater tension and frustration for those involved.

   To the extent that space allows, Feinstein examines wannabes as well as perennial and promising contenders for each of the championships in 1998. He includes hundreds of vignettes and anecdotes about them, thus giving human significance to the names on the scoreboard. I also appreciate having historical information which creates a context for each Major, three of which have a different course location each year. Only the Masters has a permanent site.

   P.G.A. golf competition is unique among professional sports in that players are essentially self-regulated, personally assume all costs of participation (travel, accommodations, caddy, etc.), and earn nothing if they fail to make the 36-hole cut. It is not uncommon for one player to prevent another from inadvertently breaking a rule as Tom Kite once did near the end of the final round when he was in contention. Later, Kite was astonished that anyone was surprised by his initiative which probably denied him victory in that tournament. (The player he assisted won it.) Feinstein skillfully captures the flavor and nuances of what can be ferocious competition but also the fact that it is (with rare exceptions) conducted with dignity, style, and grace as well as with exceptional skill.

   For those who love the game of golf and especially for golfers who are eager to know what it is like to compete in the Majors, this is the book to read. It reads more like a novel than an almanac. It reveals "the joy of victory" for some and the "agony of defeat for others" while celebrating certain values which seem to have become less common each day...except on a golf course. For whatever it may be worth, over the years I have played probably 500 rounds of golf on several dozen different golf courses (both public and private) and do not remember a single "ugly" encounter with another player. Having said that, I feel obliged to point out that "golf" is "flog" spelled backwards. On numerous occasions, it really has been for me "a good walk spoiled" but my passion for the game and my respect for those who play it so well remain undiminished.

   Beginning in 1960, Theodore H. White wrote several "The Making of the President" accounts. I was reminded of that as I read this book, wishing that Feinstein or another author of comparable talent would write an annual volume in (let's call it) "The Making of Majors' Champions" series. This would enable avid golfers such as I to return in time to memorable moments during past Majors competition. End-of-year DVDs featuring such moments plus commentaries among special features would also be much appreciated. Meanwhile, we have Feinstein's lively as well as informative book which recreates (to the extent a text can) stirring triumphs by O'Meara, Janzen, and Singh as well as dozens of other human subplots associated with those victories eight years ago.




4. Feinstein's book chronicles the 1998 PGA Tour Season highlighting the Majors which are the Masters, the US Open, the British Open and the PGA.
   
   This book avoids becoming the run-of-the-mill 1998 PGA Tour Season review by providing us with information on the Major tournaments we cannot get in magazines [tidbits on the US Open "unfair" hole locations, champions' locker rooms(Masters), payment for trophy replicas etc...]
   
   Interesting backgrounders on major protagonists such as Mark O'Meara, Fred Couples, Vijay Singh, Tom Watson etc are provided as well as stories of golfers at the lower rung of the pecking order whose names we may never see again in the entry list.
   
   In short, this book tells us of life in the PGA Tour in the context of the 1998 season. I'm reading this in 2004 and still found it to be quite a good read.
   
   And oh, Colin Montgomerie does have a sense of humor.



5. Good read, especially good at giving an inside view of the golfers themselves, who they are, what they value, how they interact with each other and how they, individually and as a group, view the Majors. Very good read, especially about the golfers, how they they encourage and compete with one another--Lee Janzen's exchange with Scott Stricker is particularly memorable--and about how they approach and play the Majors. Readers may have a concern about this book being dated, and from a historical standpoint, it may be---But it is also like the old television series from long ago--"You Are There"--which effectively recreated great moments in history as if we, the viewers, were in deed there when it was happening. So it is with this book. Yes, we know who won the tournament, but when the final putts fall on these pages, there is still a sense of wonder, pride and accomplishment for the golfer. Feinstein has done his job well. Reading this book makes us feel like we are there when it happened, even though it happened several years ago. The "you are there" part is what makes this book a must read for golfers, for would-be golfers and for those who love and appreciate the game and those who play or try to play it.
   
   One thought: You might want to consider reading this book in parts, reading about the Masters before and during Masters Week, the U.S. Open before and during Open Week, and the same for "The" Open and for the PGA. That was my plan and it was a good play, but the book was so engrossing, I read is straight through...either way it is a book to be enjoyed and a book golfers should read. Don't hesitate. Go for it!

3 comments about Playing Through: Straight Talk on Hard Work, Big Dreams, and Adventures with Tiger.

1. From this book, I get the feeling that Earl Woods is one of the most egotistical people I have ever come across. He does nothing but talk about how good he is at this, how good he is at that, what he did to bring up Tiger, etc. He even says his separation from his wife Tida is due to affluence, not that they are simply separated. Also, he takes no responsibility for anything that has ever happened to him. Every negative experience in his life was due to him being a minority. Give me a break.

   He also feels the NCAA was out to get he and his precious Tiger. NCAA rules are rules, just like in golf. Get over it. Tiger was not treated any differently than any other college athlete. Tiger was offered a country club membership at the Olympic Club while he was at Stanford, and Earl can't figure out why the NCAA wouldn't let him take it. Because, believe it, or not...Tiger has to live under the same rules as everyone else on this planet.

   I do have to say the book is an easy read, and keeps you interested, but only because Earl's "thumb on my back" mentality keeps you laughing.




2. Who was the man who was behind Tiger Woods to mold and shape him into the champion that he is today? The answer is Earl Woods, Tiger's father, friend and confidant. Playing Through is Earl Woods' own biography of what it is like to be the father of one of golf's greatest stars. One would expect a cohesive and comprehensive story about Earl's life and that of his son. Instead you are presented with a man who is uncapable of seperating himself from the persona of his son. Earl Woods spends the majority of the time speaking about his son rather than himself. How strange, since the book is supposed to be about Earl Woods. Unfortunately it ends up as a promotional text about Tiger.

   Earl Woods is a man who dealt with many obstacles in his life. As a teenager he lost his parents, struggled with a career choice, dealt with the racism in the Army and a failed marriage. Then after his divorce and remarriage a child was born and Earl devotes his life to him even at the expense of his own marriage. At this juncture we hear no more about Earl. Tiger becomes the focus which is a shame since Earl's life is far more interesting.

   Throughout the work Earl tends to put people on a pedestle to the point where they become unreal ( his mother, his brother-in-law, and the orignial Tiger, his friend). He is defensive about any criticism about his son and doesn't tell us much about his relationship with his other children. Earl is so emeshed in his youngest son's identity that he becomes a bore. Surely he could have told us more about himself rather than going on and on and on about Tiger.

   Despite his faults Earl Woods raises some interesting questions regarding the role of the NCAA on student athletes. He intimates that the NCAA controls the athletes who make money for their schools but receive nothing in return. Earl also shows the impact that Tiger's status has made on the game. Tiger's presence has made the game more accessible to people, raised the purses, tightened security and inspired more minority children as well as their parents to take up the game. Tiger's impact is immeasurable as he continues his career.

   If you can tolerate Earl's egotistical meanderings and defensive posture, the book is a good lesson in how not to make the mistakes Earl made and become a better parent. It is filled with Tiger's triumphs and challenges. Earl comes across as your controlling parent of an exceptional and talented player. It is worth the read for those who are Tiger fans and collectors of books written about thim.




3. (...)
   9th English
   24 March 2006
   "Playing Through"
   In the book "Playing Through" written by Earl Woods telling how to play through life's challenges, to dream big, and to work hard.
   "Playing Through means getting down to business, not letting anything get in your way, dealing with the task at hand, and accomplishing your goals." Tiger had to go through lots of racial discrimination when he first became a pro golfer. His father Earl Woods went through some of the same things when he was a young man. His father was the first African-American to play in the Big Eight Conference, Which is a Baseball League. So he also had to play through all of the racial discrimination.
   Dream Big, that is what Tiger Woods has been doing seen he was a little boy. Earl wanted him to be a baseball player like himself, but Tiger had other plans. Tiger wanted to be a golfer; he has been playing golf since he was around the age of three, when he was hitting balls in his garage. Then at the age of eleven he beat his dad for the first time 71 to 72.
   Work Hard, even though Tiger is a pro at what he does he still has to practice at his game. He really had to work hard at his game when he was younger or he would not be as good as he is now. Working hard also goes into playing through if he could not focus on his own game he could not play as good as he does.

1 comments about Kathy Whitworth's Little Book of Golf Wisdom: A Lifetime of Lessons from Golf's Winningest Pro.

1. This is a really good golf book which has a number of useful tips (many from Harvey Penick who was her long time coach). However, even more valuable are her thoughts on managing your yourself, your game and the course. None of this nonsense of pretending you are simply having "fun", when competing. I have read a number of golf books on the psychology of golf and none were nearly as helpful as her common sense thoughts on managing your game. In my first round with two of my friends after reading her book I won all 18 skins!

5 comments about Down the Fairway.

1. If you not only enjoy playing golf but also cherish the game's traditions and values, and if you could purchase only one book about golf, this is it. Whether or not Jones is the greatest golfer ever is a judgment I eagerly entrust to those foolish enough to debate it. Suffice to say that he was among the greatest players and among the finest gentlemen ever associated with golf. Published in 1927 when Jones was just 25, three years before he won what has since been designated "The Grand Slam", this is a book in which Jones (in collaboration with Keeler) invites his reader to accompany him "down the fairway" of a life as well as a game. The first eleven chapters review the competitive process until what he characterizes as his "Biggest Year." In the final chapter of Part One, Jones observes that, "I started the year 1926 with one glorious licking and closed it with another. And it was the biggest golf-year I'll ever have." Or so he then thought. In that year, we're told, "Walter Hagen gave me the first drubbing, and of all the workmanlike washings-up I have experienced, this was far and away the most complete" and later, "George [von Elm] was too much for me....He simply outplayed me. It was coming to him....It was George's turn. So the biggest Year ended, as it began, with a beating. Still, I'll always feel kindly toward 1926."

   In Part Two, Jones shares just about everything he has learned (to that point) about the mental as well as physical skills needed to play golf well. What struck me, throughout the book, is Jones's candor. For example, "There are times when I feel I know less about what I am doing than anybody else in the world." He discusses putting ("a game within a game"), the pitch shot ("a mystery"), iron play ("I like it"), "the heavy artillery" (woods), miscellaneous shots ("and trouble"), and in the final chapter "Tournament Golf." The reader is provided with a generous selection of photographs, many of which I (at least) had not seen previously. "Early in this little book I made the statement that there were two kinds of golf -- golf, and tournament golf; and that they were not at all the same." When concluding this book, Jones acknowledges that he's been "awfully lucky. Maybe I'll win another championship, some day. I love championship competition, after all -- win or lose." What will it feel like when he days of tournament competition have ended? "It's going to be queer." Then he confides, as his "little book" ends: "But there's always one thing to look forward to -- the round with Dad and [other kindred spirits]; the Sunday morning round at old East Lake, with nothing to worry about, when championships are done." Three years after sharing these thoughts and feelings, Jones won the Grand Slam and then retired from tournament competition. Some people have expressed their preferences for those with whom they would like to share a "fantasy dinner." Were it possible, I would like to share a "fantasy round of golf" with Bob Jones, Walter Hagen, and Harvey Penick. Given the impossibility of that, I must seek their companionship in books such as this.




2. Bobby Jones shares his perspective on winning, losing, and his life-long battle against "Old Man Par". This is a must read for any serious student of golf history and tradition.



3. Great read, one all golfers will want to make, as Nicklaus suggests in the modern edition foreward.

   Why return to an outdated time of wood shafts and limitef flight balls? One finds it in this read, the character and strength of this great amateur.

   What impressed this reviewer was Jones' humbleness, and love for the game. He wasn't really into all the winning, which in fact caused him anxiety. Moreover he was into the challenge against Ole Man Par and himself. He relished the comradre with his fellow competitors and is most quick to give them praise rather than discuss what he didn't have in his game that round.

   Neat to realize that his prized trophy was the first, which he thought was improperly awarded to him, while Alexa Sterling should have won it, no question. This is what golf is about, not slugging it 300+ yds. to screaming fans playing for millions.

   Takes us back to what the game is and should remain. It's become far too commercialized.

   Will take a honored position in my growing golf book collection to be fondly recalled and reread.




4. Terrific insight to Bobby Jones - while O.B. Keeler must have "dressed" up the final product, the sense that so much came directly from a young man barely out of his teens coming to grips with the realization that he was the most famous golfer in the world... Just compelling reading!



5. Purchased after a program on XM radio's golf station mentioned this book. Excellent, easy read on the master of golf. What a guy in a different era. You can visualize the time and some of the matches. Highly recommend.