Taking readers through the 2014 season, an up-and-coming sportswriter reports on the new talents arriving on the green to dethrone golf's recognized kings and reshape the traditionally old-fashioned sport for a new generation.

A veteran sportswriter traces the life and career of one of the greatest golfers ever to play the game, examining how Palmer helped define golf's golden age and how he became a successful entrepreneur by creating his own marketing brand.

When acclaimed golf writer James Dodson leaves his home in Maine to revisit Pinehurst, North Carolina, where his father first taught him the game that would shape his life and career, he’s at a point where he has lost direction. But once there, the curative power of the sandhills region not only helps him find a new career working for the local paper but also reignites his flagging passion for the game of golf. And, perhaps more significantly, it inspires him to try to pass along to his teenage son the same sense of joy and contentment he has found in the game, and to recall the many colorful and lifelong friends he has met on the links. This wise memoir about finding new meaning through an old sport is filled with anecdotes about the history of the game and of Pinehurst, the home of American golf, where many larger-than-life legends played some of their greatest rounds. Dodson's bestselling memoir Final Rounds began in Pinehurst twenty-five years ago, and now A Son of the Game completes the circle as it follows his journey of discovery back to where his love of the game began—a love that he hopes to make a family legacy.

Perhaps the best golfer ever, Tiger Woods rocketed to the top of a once whites-only sport. Endorsements made him a global brand and the world’s richest athlete. The child of a multiracial marriage, Woods and his blond, blue-eyed wife, Elin Nordegren, seemed to represent a new postracial America. Then, in late 2009, Woods became embroiled in a sex scandal that made headlines worldwide. In this concise yet far-reaching analysis, Orin Starn brings an anthropologist’s perspective to bear on Tigergate. He explores our modern media obsession with celebrity scandals and their tawdry ritualized drama, yet he offers much more than the usual banal moralizing about the rich and famous. Starn explains how Tiger’s travails and the culture of golf reflect broader American anxieties—about race and sex, scapegoating and betrayal, and the role of the sports hero. The Passion of Tiger Woods is required reading for all those interested in the high-stakes world of professional golf, the politics of sports and celebrity, and the myths and realities surrounding the flawed yet riveting figure who remains among the most famous athletes of our time.

Instant New York Times Bestseller “Irresistible…Immensely readable…The authors have laid out a saga that is part myth, part Shakespeare, part Jackie Collins….A whirlwind of a biography that reads honest and true.” —The Wall Street Journal “A confident and substantial book…It has torque and velocity…It makes a sweet sound, like a well-struck golf ball. I found it exhilarating, depressing, tawdry, and moving in almost equal measure. It’s a big American story.” —The New York Times Based on years of reporting and interviews with more than 250 people from every corner of Tiger Woods’s life—many of whom have never spoken about him on the record before—a sweeping, revelatory, and defining biography of an American icon. In 2009, Tiger Woods was the most famous athlete on the planet, a transcendent star of almost unfathomable fame and fortune living what appeared to be the perfect life. Married to a Swedish beauty and the father of two young children, he was the winner of fourteen major golf championships and earning more than $100 million annually. But it was all a carefully crafted illusion. As it turned out, Woods had been living a double life for years—one that unraveled in the aftermath of a Thanksgiving-night car crash that exposed his serial infidelity and sent his personal and professional lives over a cliff. Still, the world has always wondered: Who is Tiger Woods, really? In Tiger Woods, Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian, the team behind the New York Times bestseller The System, look deep behind the headlines to produce a richly reported answer to that question. To find out, they conducted hundreds of interviews with people from every facet of Woods’s life—friends, family members, teachers, romantic partners, coaches, business associates, physicians, Tour pros, and members of Woods’s inner circle. From those interviews, and extensive, carefully sourced research, they have uncovered new, intimate, and surprising details about the man behind the myth. We read an inside account of Tiger’s relationship with his first love, Dina Gravell, and their excruciating breakup at the hands of his parents. We learn that Tiger’s longtime sports agency, International Management Group (IMG), made $50,000 annual payments to Tiger’s father, Earl Woods, as a “talent scout”—years before Tiger was their client. We discover startling new details about Earl, who died in 2006 and to this day lies in an unmarked grave. We come along as Tiger plunges into the Las Vegas and New York nightclub worlds alongside fellow superstars Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. We are whisked behind the scenes during the National Enquirer’s globetrotting hunt to expose Tiger’s infidelity, and we get a rare look inside his subsequent sex-addiction treatment at the Pine Grove facility in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. But the portrait of Woods that emerges in Tiger Woods is far more rewarding than revelations alone. By tracing his life from its origins as the mixed-race son of an attention-seeking father and the original Tiger Mom—who programmed him to be “the chosen one,” tasked with changing not just the game of golf but the world as well—the authors provide a wealth of new insight into the human being trapped inside his parents’ creation. We meet the lonely, introverted child prodigy who has trouble connecting with other kids because of his stutter and unusual lifestyle. We experience the thrill and confusion of his meteoric rise to stardom. And we come to understand the grown man’s obsession with extreme training and deep sea diving—despite their potential for injury—as a rare source of the solitude he craves. Most of all, we are reminded, time and time again, of Woods’s singular greatness and the exhilaration we felt watching an athletic genius dominate his sport for nearly twenty years. But at what cost? Benedict and Keteyian provide the answers in an extraordinary biography that is destined to become the defining book about an authentic American legend—and to linger in the minds of readers for years to come.

Outlines a non-traditional approach to improving one's golf putting skills by building self-confidence, clearing one's mind, and learning from experience, in a guide that places a particular emphasis on building one's self-coaching abilities. By the author of Extraordinary Golf. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

An acclaimed Sports Illustrated writer presents a revealing, nostalgic, and authoritative account of golf's greatest generation - then and now, profiling the big names as well as legendary figures known only to insiders, who nevertheless have left an indelible mark on the sport.

"Whether you're a novice or club regular, Steve has the answers to all your golf problems." -- Ernie Els For the weekend golfer, the game of kings can be an unfortunate succession of shots that are too short, too high or fond of the hazards. Each swing is followed by frustration, anguish and futile attempts to correct the problem, which often only creates more problems. What is needed is a patient golf pro who analyzes each swing and gives constructive advice. Golf Cures and Fixes is like having professional instruction whenever it is needed most. Straightforward instruction, informative diagrams and do-and-don't photographs zero in on specific problems and provide specific cures. Steve Newell shows the golfer how to diagnose mistakes by paying close attention to how the ball reacts: short drives, slices, hooks, missed shots and more. He identifies the cause of the errant shot - foot position, grip or posture, for example - and shows how to fix the problem. He also recommends drills that will help cure the problem for good. Golf Cures and Fixes is organized into chapters according to the type of club used: - Drivers - Short irons - Fairway metals - Wedges - Long irons - Sand irons - Mid irons - Putters. A sunny day on the course is easily spoiled by frustration and self-criticism. Whether a golfer needs to overcome one problem area or 18 holes' worth, having Golf Cures and Fixes on hand is a practical and positive strategy that offers a great return on green fees.

How to conquer the toughest part of the golf course: the putting green.

This work offers a comprehensive introduction to basic golfing skills and tactics for new players, including details of equipment and helpful advice on course etiquette.