“...Nothing Major.”

Golf is fun - or at least it should be. You hear it all the time, especially from those professionals who attempt to make their living playing the game. “I was just trying to have fun out there,” is the common cliché in an interview. So, if we're all “trying to have fun out there,” the logical progression should be that golf is funny. Well, we certainly know that's the case. Funny stuff happens consistently on a golf course. We might not view it as amusing at the time, but later, upon serious reflection or a visit to the 19th hole, it certainly produces a smile.

But with all these shenanigans happening on the course, very seldom does some golf scribe take time to catalog these amusing incidents. They are too busy analyzing the game attempting to elucidate on the perceived thinking of the great players. The lot of golf books written from the humorous angle is quite slim. Fortunately, we now have a new volume that will surely put a smile on your face and often get you to laugh out loud.

The culprit is Bob Cayne and his monumental work on humor in golf is entitled “...Nothing Major.” Cayne is the former co-host of “Talking Golf,” a weekly radio which he shared with Cleveland Plain Dealer golf writer George Sweda. Cayne has compiled 219 pages of quips and clips from the radio show and his years in golf. The result is an anecdotal walk down the fairways of golf. Virtually every page will have you cracking a smile.

Cayne displays a waggish sense of humor and his writing style is what definitely adds to the fun of the book. His clever use of metaphors and similes adds greatly to the humor of the book.
You'll want to read (and perhaps re-read) the complete volume, but here's an appetizer of what's in store. Be sure to read the chapter entitle “I'm 74 Years Old, or Two Over Par.” It'll give you a finer appreciation for senior golfers.

I also found this book to be “educational.” In the chapter “The Laughs Are On Me” you'll discover why golf should be taught from the green backwards. And finally, as part of the educational process, you'll discover why golf equipment and personal grooming products are marketed the same way.

If you love golf and like to laugh a little bit at the game and the antics that go on around the game, “...Nothing Major.” is a must for your library.

Golf's Dream 18s

All of us who love to play the game of golf have a number of favorite holes that we have played. Our fantasy is to transplant those holes to a mythical course that we could play forever. It would be a place where we could visit to get a small taste of golf utopia. Alas, these courses that we build in our hearts and minds are a daydream, a mental image that we conjure up as we envision a life with nothing but the greatest game of all to occupy our time.

Fortunately, we now have been provided some visual and written assistance to serve as guidance along the paths of our fantasies. David Barrett's newest volume, Golf's Dream 18s, has taken the daydreaming to a new level. Recently published by Abrams Press, the leader in dynamic, visually appealing golf volumes, Barrett takes the fantasy course scenario to the ultimate extreme. Golf's Dream 18s is a collection of fantasy courses, 18 to be exact, that teases the golfer's mind and pleases his visual senses.

Barrett is well equipped for the job. He has served as a senior editor at Golf Magazine and he also produced a similar volume from Abrams Golf Courses of the U.S. Open.

Barrett's organizational structure of this volume provides us with a fun look at over 300 holes from around the world. He starts us off with a short introduction and then guides us through 18 holes on 18 individual fantasy courses with each “course” having a specific theme. We get to tour courses with Scenic Holes, Historic Holes, Exclusive Holes (ed. op., holes virtually no one can play), Holes Anyone Can Play (ed. op., which is more like it), Modern Holes, Classic Holes, and twelve other themed, fantasy courses culminating in The Ultimate Dream 18, an all-star team of the holes in the book.

What really makes Golf's Dream 18s really enjoyable is that each hole is accompanied by a first-class picture (This is what Abrams does quite well.) and informative text. We learn a little about each and every hole. Unfortunately, there are no diagrams of each hole which at times left us wondering how the entire hole looks.

This book is a heavyweight, literally and figuratively. It comprises 324 full-color photographs and 304 pages. Together with the hardcover and the eye-catching jacket, it tips the scales at approximately four pounds. But its content is also fascinating.

To date this is our second favorite book of the season, ranking right behind SI's The Golf Book. (But that may be because we are slightly more interested in golf history than course architecture.) You can't go wrong with this volume for your favorite golfer who loves golf courses (and a little bit of fantasy).

Pete Dye Golf Courses: Fifty Years of Visionary Design

(Editor's Note: Originally published December 13, 2008)

It truly is the the Christmas season. There are always a few clues to give us a hint. Whether or not we look at the calendar, there are always a few certain indicators: Walmart changes its home & garden section into a Christmas Wonderland the day after Halloween; green fees quadruple in the Valley of the Sun; and “coffee table” books pop up quicker than a case of the shanks. So, in the spirit of Christmas past, here’s another coffee table offering – Pete Dye Golf Courses: Fifty Years of Visionary Design by Joel Zuckerman.

Last year I reviewed Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects, a book with similar subject matter and volume and weight. The difference, however, is that Zuckerman’s offering is a tribute to the architectural work of one man – Pete Dye. In a massive volume of three hundred plus pages Zuckerman and photographer Ken May present us with 75 of Dye’s gems. Zuckerman does the text in his unique style and May lays out before us a visual feast of golf photography.

The arrangement of the book is not unique or original. From golf course to golf course the format is identical. You receive the name of the course, 600 to 800 words by Zuckerman and elegant photography by May. Zuckerman does a workman-like job in maintaining the text from page to page providing entertaining and insightful historical information on each course. If you are familiar with any of Dye’s work, it is fascinating to be privy to some inside understanding on the development of the course.

This prose and photographic splendor present us with an easy choice for the proper Christmas present for the golfer in our lives. Anyone’s favorite golfer will be well-pleased to receive this volume under the tree.

Fifty More Places to Play Golf Before You Die

All golfers dream about playing famous golf courses, historic courses, exotic courses or finding a hidden gem that's Off the Beaten Cart Path. Let's face it, we would all like to play just one round at Pebble Beach and St. Andrews both of which are open to the public. This would assuredly be golf nirvana. But the cold, hard truth is that most of us will never set foot on such hallowed links. Time or money seems to hinder our best intentions.

But let's just imagine that we win the golf lottery and have virtually unlimited resources with which to travel and play any courses we so desire. Which ones do we select? Where can we go to whet our golfing appetite? Fifty More Places to Golf before You Die will help to answer these questions.

Written by freelance writer Chris Santella as a sequel to his successful Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die, Fifty More … takes us on a world wide journey to familiar and not so familiar courses. Familiar courses include Pebble Beach, Harding Park in San Francisco (site of the recent President's Cup) and Pinehurst #2. Courses that are perhaps little known to us in the United States include Devil's Paintbrush in Ontario, The Machrie Golf Links in Scotland, and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club in China. Santella catalogues these six and forty-four more around the world.

Each course has been recommended by someone who knows the golf course well and provides insight for playing the course. You will recognize many of the names of those who have shared their stories for this volume. Consider Amy Alcott, Bob Charles and Ian Baker-Finch for starters. And if you do just happen to get the inclination to go, Santella has provided us with “If You Go” information at the end of each chapter that includes Getting There, Course Information, and Accommodations.

Santella has hit a successful niche with this style of book - Fifty “Whatever” Before You Die. He has penned five other titles in this series. And Abrams Books is a master at publishing these picturesque and entertaining coffee table-style books. This volume is well appointed with forty pictures from the fifty chosen courses.

Fifty More Places to Play Golf Before You Die is an engaging read and well worth consideration as a Christmas gift for all golfers. It will stir the wanderlust of your favorite golfer.

Ancestral Links

(Editor's Note: Originally published April 21, 2009)

Each man’s journey in life - and golf - is special and unique. Each step we take or each swing we make is different from the last and peculiar to each one of us. It is only when we pause during the journey and take time to look into the past that we get a true meaning as to who we really are. Each one of us should be required to take time for such reflection somewhere along the passage.

John Garrity has done this and then put it on paper for us to read in his latest volume ANCESTRAL LINKS: A Golf Obsession Spanning Generations. Garrity is a senior writer at Sports Illustrated (still active) and contributor to Golf Magazine. His other books include such titles as Tour Tempo and Tiger 2.0.

With ANCESTRAL LINKS Garrity takes us on a two-part adventure. On a somewhat self-imposed writing sabbatical in Ireland Garrity’s mission is to explore and discover his ancestry, obviously Irish and heavily steeped in golf while simultaneously attempting to conquer the devilish par-4 seventeenth at the Carne Golf Links. It is these two quests that constitute the essence of the book. He skillfully weaves these concurrent pursuits throughout the book by alternating chapters that focus on the goal.

The story of Garrity's search for his paternal ancestral links is skillfully done so as not to bore us with a scavenger hunt for relatives. We can feel his anticipation and his joy as he looks under the leaves of the family tree. Yet at the same time these chapters did not hold my attention as well as those which chronicle his determination to conquer Carne.

So, for the golf fanatic, the real story is the details of his mission to conquer the seventeenth hole at the Carne Golf Links. Carne is located in the town of Belmullet on the northwest coast of Ireland and it is a true links course artfully carved along the coast and through the dunes. Garrity holds the belief that he can play the seventeenth, a long difficult par-4 in 90 strokes. That's playing three balls at a time on six different occasions. He brings us on this odyssey sharing the physical and the emotional. To get a better feel of what he is up against, I recommend that you explore the Carne Golf Links website.

I also advocate that you delve into this volume to discover how one golf fanatic satisfies his golf fantasies.

Freddie and Me perfect for life's lessons

(Editor's Note: Originally published April 27, 2009)

Occasionally a golf book comes along that has golf at its nerve center, but is not totally about golf. Such is Freddie & Me: Life Lessons from Freddie Bennett, Augusta National's Legendary Caddy Master. Freddie and Me is the tale of one man whose life was directly influenced by Freddie Bennett, long time caddie master at the famed Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters. The story spans approximately thirty years of Tripp Bowden's life from a young boy of about ten to a grown man with a career and family. It is an entertaining and at times an educational journey that we take with Bowden.

Freddie... is Tripp Bowden's first book. Bowden was the first full-time white caddy at Augusta National Golf Club formerly a bastion for white golfers and black caddies. Today, as a direct result of Bennett's mentoring, Bowden is a stable family man and owns an advertising company.
Not every individual who has a dynamic influence on the game of golf is a high profile person securely lodged in the upper echelons of the game. Not every specific agent who has a motivating influence on an individual life is a long on education. Such is the case of Freddie Bennett. In bite-size chapters Bowden gives us snapshots of thirty years of his life and how it was gently guided by Bennett.

There are fun and fascinating stories along the way. Throughout this literary journey we learn how PGA Tour player Charles Howell III got his first set of clubs. We are also let in on the secrets of playing AGNC as part of a chapter in which Freddie takes Bowden through the nuances of each hole as part of his caddie education. But the most fascinating instruction we receive are the Freddie-isms, Bennett's bits of wisdom for life.

Get ready at the end for a few tears or at least a little lump in the throat. Even though you know the inevitable is coming, you still can't control that emotion. Why is that? It's because Bowden has drawn us into his life and thus Freddie's life. He has made us care about the characters. We rejoice in their successes and mourn at their demise.

The question Bowden wants each of us to answer is this: Who is the Freddie in your life?

Make sure you answer and thank him immediately after you finish this book.

Jenkins at the Majors - great golf history

(Editor's Note: Originally published May 6, 2009)

Love him or hate him, there's no way to be inattentive to golf writer Dan Jenkins. Jenkins has been following the trials and tribulations on the fairways and greens for nearly sixty years. Regardless of one's appreciation of his body of work – books include Dead Solid Perfect, Semi-Tough, and most recently The Franchise Babe - that longevity alone should earn the reader's respect. Whether or not he “invented the art of golf writing” as claimed by John Feinstein on the jacket is another discussion.

Jenkins' latest volume is Jenkins at the Majors: Sixty years of the World's best golf writing, from Hogan to Tiger. It is collection and re-editing of his essays and press room work from 1951 to 2008. The bottom line on this book is quite simple: If you are a golf fan and have even the slightest interest in the history of the game, you need to read Jenkins at the Majors. It is a massive history lesson presented with the Jenkins' flavor. It is a time travel odyssey from Ben Hogan's victory in 1951 U.S. Open to Tiger Woods' win at the 2008 U.S. Open with 92 other layovers along the way. Unfortunately these 94 majors are less than half of the number (198) that Jenkins has covered.

The history aspect here is important. Whether we care to admit it or not, we are all to some degree interested in the history of the game. It may not reach back fifty or sixty years, but every golfer knows who Tiger Woods is. Our knowledge of the history of the game can always be improved and there is no substitute for getting it first hand.

Jenkins has a knack for catching just the right facts and quotes and then passing them along to his readers. For instance in his essay on Gene Littler's 1961 U.S. Open victory, Jenkins quotes Mike Souchak providing some unintentional prophecy, “I'm winning the Open and I hit a 5-iron 230 yards over the green...Nobody can hit a 5-iron that far!”

This volume also affords us the opportunity to watch Jenkins' literary style evolve over the years. His literary approach is sometimes off beat but always colorful. You'll enjoy some classic Jenkins' lines like the opener concerning the 1966 U.S. Open, “Nobody knows how to cook buffalo, bear and elk meat, so they probably thin Billy Casper eats it raw.”

And that's what makes this book so entertaining – a colorful history lesson from someone who has been there.

Sports Illustrated: The Golf Book

Editors Note: As advertised when we started this site, we want contributions and input from all golf book lovers. And now we have our first. Rick Woelfel, based in Philadelphia and the editor and publisher of Women's Golf Report, has provided us with a review of the recently released Sports Illustrated: The Golf Book. You can also check out some of Rick's work at the Golf Scribe.


Depending on your age, and the depth of your passion for golf The Golf Book, Sports Illustrated Books’ latest endeavor, is an overview of the history of the game, an educational tool, or perhaps a mechanism for stirring precious memories.

The book spans the history of the game, dating back to the 15th century, but concentrates on the era from 1955 (Sports Illustrated was first published in August, 1954) to the present day.

The best players of the last half century are selected by era, beginning with the period from 1955-69, not coincidentally the era of Arnold Palmer, and continuing from there, with pages devoted to 1970-82, when Jack Nicklaus had his greatest success, then moving on to the period from 1983-95 and from 1996 to the present day.

In addition to the top players, the most memorable milestones of each period are listed, whether they occurred on or off the golf course. The roll call for the period from 1970-82 for instance, includes the birth of Tiger Woods on Dec. 30, 1975, along with the first playing of the Legends of Golf three years later, which late to the formation of what is now the Champions Tour.

The text is comprised primarily of excerpts from SI articles, authored by writers like Rick Reilly, Frank Deford, and Michael Bamberger, as well as the likes of Bobby Jones and Bernard Darwin. Reading these accounts of championships past takes the reader back in time, and allows them to get a sense of the likes of Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Mickey Wright and even Jack Nicklaus and Nancy Lopez as the all-time greats they were instead of “merely” historic or ceremonial personages.

The heart of this volume however, consists of more than 300 photographs, taken by some of the finest photographers in the world. These photos, some of which date back to the early 20th century, combine to weave a historical tapestry of their own. Some are arranged to provide a historical contrast as well as context. In one instance, full-page photos of a female member at Shinnecock Hills, circa 1900, and Paula Creamer doing a handstand at St. Andrews in 2007 are laid out on facing pages, one in black and white, the other in full color.

Readers also get a glimpse of 20-year old Francis Ouimet, moments after his win at the 1913 U.S. Open, a handshake between Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus at the peak of their rivalry, and a U.S, Army captain hitting balls off the desert sands in Iraq, just to name a few.

If you’re a golf enthusiast The Golf Book will be a welcome addition to your library. And it’s ideal for the golfer on your holiday gift list, particularly if they have an interest in the history of the game.

This book will be a lasting treasure.

The USA Today Golfers Encyclopedia

Used to be, not too long ago, somewhere in time between Babe Ruth and Tiger Woods, baseball was the only sport obsessed with statistics. You know wins, losses, RBI’s, home runs, batting average and a few other miscellaneous, insignificant numerical musings. These were the numbers we all dabbled in as boys with a sports fetish. Then came the computer age and every sport has hitched on to the arithmetical bandwagon.

Golf is no exception. Before the golden age of computers golf was relegated to a few “golf-style box scores” basically listings of who shot what and how much they won. Now the statistical world of golf is a virtual smörgåsbord of numbers squeezed into formulas which analyze every player in every tournament for every shot.

Please permit a couple of examples.

In the “Shot Link” section of the most recent Golf World we read the following about HP Byron Nelson Championship winner Rory Sabbatini’s road to victory: Sabbatini hit 49 greens in regulation and converted 25 birdie chances for a conversion rate of 51.02 percent while the field averaged a mere 30.32 percent. And add to that this statistical information about runner-up Brian Davis: his 21 birdie putts made was a mere seven feet, five inches, the result of hitting 19 approach shots during the week inside 10 feet - tops in the field. And this is just a microscopic sampling of what you can glean from the PGA Tour’s Stats. Or, if you want live, up to the minute coverage of how your favorite player is doing shot-by-shot, hole-by-hole, you can go to Shottracker. Indulge yourself.

Not to be outdone is the ultimate statistic book The USA Golfers Encyclopedia: The Ultimate Guide to Modern Professional Golfers and Tournaments compiled by Sal Johnson, purveyor of the everything-about-golf website golfobserver.com, and Dave Seanor, currently writing for examiner.com and golfobserver.com. The Encyclopedia is a statistical rendering of all golf tournaments and players over the past 50 years. It's a big book to say the least measuring in at 8.5x11 (just in case you want to punch holes and fit it in a notebook) and 1.75 inches thick extending out to 959 pages. Johnson and Seanor put one essential requirement for entry into this statical hall of fame: a minimum of 25 career starts. The remainder of their thinking is explained in Seanor's introduction. Be sure to read it.

Structurally, the volume has two sections: Part One: Player Statistics, A-Z (FYI Aaron to Zokol) and Part Two: Tournament Results, 1958-2008. It's a double dose of statistical heaven. But how interesting is it? How fascinating can nearly 1,000 pages of numbers be? In a word -FUN. For example, I was able to look up the PGA Tour record from the 1980's of my most recent boss. Want to have a little fun with names? How many players named Adams have played on the PGA Tour? It's easy to find in the Encyclopedia!

For the everyday golf fan this volume is fun, fact-filled and fascinating. For the golf writer it is worth its weight in gold.

Just one final request for Johnson and Seanor: this needs to be on disk and searchable.

Golf from the Ground Up

From July 2009

As a teacher of the game I read every book on instruction that comes to my desk or that magically pops off the bookshelf in a used book store. Yes, sometimes the good old stuff is the best stuff. And, if you are even the mildest aficionado of the game, you surely know that there are countless numbers of golf instruction books and articles on the market. The monthly golf tabloids bombard our minds, senses and sensibilities with changing technique and theory. As a teacher and as a player, you have to be able to dissect the good from the bad and the practical from the insane.

The latest addition to my library is Golf from the Ground Up by Bob Mullen published by Burford Books. Mullen is certified as a Master Teaching Professional with the United States Golf Teachers Federation and certainly has a sound grasp of the fundamentals and the basics of the golf swing. And, since this is A New Focus on Fundamentals from a Master Teaching Pro, Mullen has structured his volume in logical and typical fashion. He begins with a discussion of the fundamentals and then progresses to the swing. At the end of the volume in his final two chapters Mullen deals with The Number One Fault in Golf, the over-the-top, loopy swinging move – and then in a chapter entitled Author's Notes Mullen lets us in on the long sought after “secret” of Ben Hogan. He takes six pages in this chapter detailing the mystery.

Mullen's term for the fundamentals, the absolute necessities of the game if you want to develop a repeatable swing, is the “platform.” And, whereas most instructors give four five as the number of fundamentals, Mullen includes a sixth, footwork. His discussion on the importance of footwork is excellent worth the purchase of the book.

Golf from the Ground Up is Mullen's version of Hogan's The Modern Fundamentals of Golf even to the point of illustrations by Tom Weyl. In fact we can detect a bit of Hogan in the title itself - Golf from the Ground Up – for it was Hogan who believed that the golfer needed to dig his game out of the dirt.

His explanation of the fundamentals is excellent and down to earth, however, at times his discussion on the swing becomes too technical and involved if the reader is not well versed in the mechanics of the golf swing. Mullen does provide a multitude of excellent drills for the teacher to implement and the student to try.

Golf from the Ground Up is definitely a worthwhile read for all golfers highly recommended for teachers and definitely beneficial for students.

The Golf Bag Book

Editor's Note: As Golf Book Reviews continues to grow, we will add to the compilation of book reviews from our collection of previous reviews written over the past few years and published at Eye On Golf. They will be reprinted in reverse chronological order.

From October 2009

Beginning life in the world of golf is often a daunting task. Not only must the aspiring golfer learn how to hit the ball (and all beginners should learn from a qualified professional, not two buddies), he or she must also ingest a myriad of information concerning the game itself. The game is just not that simple. But what if there was a book that could assist beginners with the basics of the game?

Such is Scott Martin's latest volume The Golf Bag Book published by Burford Books, Inc. The volume is quite appropriately named. It contains a condensation of useful information for the beginner in a size that fits perfectly into a golf bag (unless, of course, you have a small Sunday carry bag). The volume measures out a 5x8 inches, just the size of a large index card. And that is just what it is, 140 pages of heavy duty, yet light-in-weight, basic information for the beginning golfer. It's a ready reference guide to the game of game – short and sweet, down and dirty.
Hardcore golf fans may be familiar with a previous Martin golf writing exploit The Book of Caddyshack. And naturally The Golf Bag Book contains a couple of short chapters on that iconic movie which helps to serve as part of the beginners golf education.

Martin begins the book with instructional information on the actual playing of the game giving short, precise tips that you would (and should) get from a specific lesson. For example, under the chapter on “Practicing.” he emphasizes that attention should be placed on the short game (warming the heart of every instructor who tries to lower the scores of his students). In Part II he focuses on playing with other golfers covering such topics as etiquette, dealing with unsolicited advice, and fun games to play. He wraps up the volume in Part III with notes on famous architects, notable golf writers and well-known courses, basic knowledge that serves to round out the golfer's development.

We highly recommend the The Golf Bag Book to all beginners as part of their initial education to the game and every experienced golfer who wants a little fun and light reading.

SI The GOLF BOOK

It's big and it's beautiful. Weighing in at nearly five pounds and possessing an eye-catching cover, Sports Illustrated's latest addition to its sports pictorial series has entered the world of golf. And it has taken it on in spectacular fashion. SI's THE GOLF BOOK is a heavyweight in the world of golf books – literally and figuratively. As it sits in our library it is second in dimension just lagging behind Jack Nicklaus Simply the Best, but first in quality. As it rest in our mind it's on the top rung of our fun ladder.

THE GOLF BOOK is the ultimate coollection (no misspelling here) of golf photographs. It is pure fascination to leaf through the pages and encounter photographic bliss with every turn of the page. There are photographs from virtually every era of golf. It is certain that on numerous occasions you will find yourself asking the question, “Where did they get that?”

A certain amount of text and facts are involved but that is at a minimum. But don't skip the text. The articles, all by SI staff and contributors, are timely to the period and absorbing today. There is a enchanting essay by Bernard Darwin on Francis Ouimet's victory in the 1913 U.S. Open that is highlighted by a photograph of Ouimet's scorecard which was kept by Darwin. Lots of history on that page. And don't forget to read the forward by Roy Blount, Jr. It's cleverly done and a fun read and gets you into the spirit of the book.

However, in the end this volume is a photographic essay of the history of golf. The publication is separated into seven chronological sections categorized generally by historical significance. The pictures and text included in each division are pertinent to the era.

Our favorite was the Centerfold - yes, a centerfold. In a poll with a panel of fifteen judges, each was asked to name his or her favorite golfers of all time. The final list and a masterful pictorial montage make up the centerfold. Once you get passed the centerfold, don't hastily pass by the pictures of equipment, clubs and balls in particular. You'll get an appreciation as to how the game has changed.

If there is a golfer in your life who has the the slightest interest in the history of the game, this is the perfect book to place in his or her library. While the game of golf can always be a great topic of conversation, this volume itself will generate great quantities of verbal communication. It is a must have for every golfer.

We could go on and on and on and … extolling the virtues of this book. Just get it!

Welcome to Golf Book Review

Golf Book Review has been established to provide a vehicle for golf writers and golf enthusiasts to evaluate the myriad of golf books that have been published over the past 400+ years.
Golf and the written word just seem to go together. It is certain that no one has a precise figure concerning the quantity of golf books that have been written through the years. And we certainly don not want to contemplate any mathematical computation as to the quantity of periodicals and the like. Any guess at such numbers would be strictly in keeping with the most rigorous sense of the word – total speculation.

The game of golf lends itself to a wide variety of subject matter: History, Biography, Reference, Instruction, Fiction, Architecture, Inspiration, Humor, Travel, and Anthology. (There are perhaps more.) Within this wide array of subject matter, golf scribes fervently produce an astonishing volume of golf literature each year.

One of the most endearing aspects of golf books is that they do not have to be freshly published in hardcover volumes with the dust-jackets perfectly in tact. In fact the most beloved volumes are those that are dogeared with soft bindings and thumbed though hundreds of times. It's the constant wear and tear that makes each and every volume so special. Let's fact it, there is nothing quite so exhilarating as finding a hidden gem in a used bookstore and then claiming it for your own. (Well, except maybe draining a twenty-footer to win the weekend nassau.)

Golf books take us on a journey traveling the complicated network of literary highways through time and space. We cannot get lost but it is sometimes difficult to stay on the right thoroughfare. There are an infinite number of highways in the world of golf journalism all intersecting at some point. The world of golf literature is like a wagon wheel with the game itself as the hub.

It is with this appreciation of golf literature that we have conceived Golf Book Review.
Anyone wishing to contribute to this site may do so by providing a review to golfbookreviews@yahoo.com. Please include text and a photo of the front of the book if possible. Also helpful would be the reviewers name and a one-two sentence bio. Unfortunately, there is no compensation for anyone contributing to this effort.

Join us on this literary journey.