A Course Called Ireland

There is no coincidence that we have chosen to review A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee on this date. What could be more appropriate?

Walking a golf course is not unusual, well, perhaps a bit more unusual in 2010 than say 50 years ago. But thinking an entire country is a golf course and walking around it creates a completely new perception. Tom Coyne’s adventure as he walked through Ireland determined to play each and every golf course in his path and dive into every pub that he stumbled across is a gem from start to finish. A Course Called Ireland is less of a golf travelogue and more of a historical and geographical stroll across Ireland with golf courses luring the magnetic point of the compass.Yes, there are tales of the courses he plays, but it is also a human interest saga and a cultural odyssey. Occasionally Coyne blends the golf and the cultural and cleverly instructs us on the missing element in American golf. This is readily seen when he relays to us a pub scene where,”Kids came into the bar and bought Cokes..., heading out to play twilight golf in their sneakers with a handful of clubs between them. He tackles this subject again on page 79 with this precise statement, “While greatness for an American golf course was granted according to how many people you could keep off it, a course's quality in Europe was determined by how many people wanted on.”

As he begins his hike from the southeast coast in a counterclockwise route, we learn of his personal physical struggles to walk the entire coast of Ireland and one man’s search for his Irish roots. The characters, the countryside and the politics are all here.

Coyne is the author of two previous books A Gentleman's Game and Paper Tiger, both volumes intimately involved with golf. His style is easy to read and incorporates a humorous self-deprecating sense of humor. A Course Called Ireland was originally published in hardcover in February 2009 and had now just been released in paperback.

Golfers will find this book interesting and non-golfers will read with fascination of Coyne’s encounters with all that Ireland has to offer. It will make golfers want to book the next flight to Ireland and set out on their own Irish golf odyssey. It will compel non-golfers to discover the rich cultural phenomenon that is Ireland.

Editor's Note: And on this St. Patrick's Day for another great Irish golf adventure you might consider Ancestral Links by John Garrity reviewed here or here.

The Seven Personalities of Golf

(Editor's Note: Originally published Nov. 11, 2008)

Your personality on the course affects your score.

What is your golf personality?

Do you think your golf personality affects the way you play the game? According to Darrin Gee, founder of the Spirit of Golf Academy in Hawaii, the answer is, “Yes.” To back up his claim he has authored The Seven Personalities of Golf: Discover Your Inner Golfer to Play Your Best Game. This volume is a logical progression from his previous work, The Seven Principles of Golf. Gee is one of the leading “mental” gurus that the professional game has developed over the last ten to fifteen years. Those of us that began the game before the intervention of psychology knew that we hit bad shots. We blamed it on our swing. Now we know differently.

So, if you want to investigate more than the bad swing theory, I suggest you get your hands on a copy of Gee’s book. But don’t be put off by the psychology, this is a fun book. Whether or not you think it will be beneficial to psycho-analyze your golf game, I guarantee you will enjoy examining the seven personality types that Gee has identified and then applying those traits to yourself and your golf game.

That’s the engaging part of this book. (And it doesn’t hurt that this is a physically attractive volume with a bright maroon cover, curved edges and a ribbon maker.) That is the sole purpose of this publication and that’s how he concludes his introductory section.

The seven chapters are the seven personalities – Intimidator, Swashbuckler, Methodologist, Gamesman, Steady Eddie, Laid-Back, and Artist. Each chapter is arranged exactly the same. There is a description of the personality that points to one or more of the applicable professional golfers (Guess who is the Intimidator?) and that is followed by a “Golf Profiler.” This is a ten-part questionnaire which will help you to determine your golfing personality. The “Golf Profiler” is succeeded by a section designed to help you apply the particular personality to your golf game whether or not it is your dominant personality. The theory is that disciplined application of the proper personality should improve your game - at least from the mental standpoint. And we all know that golf is 50% physical and 90% mental.

Enjoy this book. It is great fun and a welcome diversion from all the other golf books that try to improve your game.