A collection of wit and wisdom offers practical advice to everyone from golf pros to high-handicap amateurs.
Stories recounted by the Oldest Member describe golfers who fall in love, bet excessively, use the rules to win, are defeated by their own superstitions, and become better people playing golf
The game's big lie is that the rules of golf are simple. The actual fact is that they are complex and confusing, which is why millions of earnest amateurs unwittingly violate them every time they play. PGA Tour official Mark Russell is one of golf's best at making complicated rules decisions clear and understandable to the best players in the world, and now he's presenting his common sense approach in plain drawings and plainer English. If you want to truly understand the rules and confidently play by them, read this book.
-- Jaime Diaz, Sport Illustrated
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"Reilly pokes more holes in Trump's claims than there are sand traps on all of his courses combined. It is by turns amusing and alarming." -- The New Yorker
"Golf is the spine of this shocking, wildly humorous book, but humanity is its flesh and spirit." -- Chicago Sun-Times
"Every one of Trump's most disgusting qualities surfaces in golf." -- The Ringer
An outrageous indictment of Donald Trump's appalling behavior when it comes to golf -- on and off the green -- and what it reveals about his character.
Donald Trump loves golf. He loves to play it, buy it, build it, and operate it. He owns 14 courses around the world and runs another five, all of which he insists are the best on the planet. He also claims he's a 3 handicap, almost never loses, and has won an astonishing 18 club championships.
How much of all that is true? Almost none of it, acclaimed sportswriter Rick Reilly reveals in this unsparing look at Trump in the world of golf.
Based on Reilly's own experiences with Trump as well as interviews with over 100 golf pros, amateurs, developers, and caddies, Commander in Cheat is a startling and at times hilarious indictment of Trump and his golf game. You'll learn how Trump cheats (sometimes with the help of his caddies and Secret Service agents), lies about his scores (the "Trump Bump"), tells whoppers about the rank of his courses and their worth (declaring that every one of them is worth $50 million), and tramples the etiquette of the game (driving on greens doesn't help). Trump doesn't brag so much, though, about the golf contractors he stiffs, the course neighbors he intimidates, or the way his golf decisions wind up infecting his political ones.
For Trump, it's always about winning. To do it, he uses the tricks he picked up from the hustlers at the public course where he learned the game as a college kid, and then polished as one of the most bombastic businessmen of our time. As Reilly writes, "Golf is like bicycle shorts. It reveals a lot about a man." Commander in Cheat "paints a side-splitting portrait of a congenital cheater" (Esquire), revealing all kinds of unsightly truths Trump has been hiding.
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.
"This book is going to be controversial. There is no question about it. . . . It is the most unvarnished view of the tour--the biggest tour in the world--that I've ever read. And it's not close."--Gary Williams, Golf Channel
"A must-read for PGA Tour fans from the casual to the most dedicated . . . This book is certain to be as important to this era as John] Feinstein's A Good Walk Spoiled] was two decades ago. . . . A well-researched, in-depth look at the men who inhabit the highest levels of the game."--Examiner.com "A masterfully written account of an important time in golf history."--Adam Fonseca, Golf Unfiltered "Absolutely marvelous . . . Ryan's writing flows and his reporting turns pages for you."--Kyle Porter, CBS Sports "A riveting read."--Library Journal "Ryan's fresh look is just what we golfer/readers want."--Curt Sampson, New York Times bestselling author of Hogan "Ryan does a fantastic job painting a thoughtful and accurate portrait of the new crop of heirs apparent."--Stephanie Wei, Wei Under Par
In June 2002, the US Open was played, for the first time in history, on a true public golf course. Bethpage State Park is owned by the state of New York, and no membership is required to play there. This is golf at its most populist, most pure - and most challenging. In what Tiger Woods himself would declare the most difficult national championship, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo and the rest would, through days of rain and roughs, learn the hard way that while Bethpage may be open to the public, even for the pros the chance of winning can be closed off to mere mortals. par; this was golf at its most intense. With backstage access, John Feinstein removes the mystery shrouding golf's most famous event, unravelling how pairings are made; qualifiers; setting up the golf course; and all the complexities of bringing golf's most exclusive competition to a truly public setting. Feinstein takes readers through every step, every thorny hole, every bitter rivalry of one of golf's greatest tournaments.
One of the funniest, most beloved, and most often quoted entertainers in the world tells his tale of Life and Golf--and of somehow surviving both.
With his brilliant creation, groundskeeper Carl Spackler, and the outrageous success of the film Caddyshack firmly etched into the American consciousness, Bill Murray and golf have become synonymous. Filled with Murray's trademark deadpan and dead-on humor, Cinderella Story chronicles his love affair with golf from the life lessons he learned as a caddy--"how to smoke, curse, play cards. But more important, when to"--to his escapades on the Pro-Am golf circuit at the Augusta National and as a fan at the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the Western Open. An up-by-the-bootstraps tale of a man, his muse, and our society's fascination with a little white ball, Cinderella Story is one pilgrim's bemused path through the doglegs.
"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.
