Golf Courses of the World 365 Days

If you're a fan of golf literature containing lavish photographs and light reading, Robert Sidorsky's latest volume Golf Courses of the World: 365 Days will have great appeal. And, if this title may has a familiar ring, your right. Sidorksy did a similar version with the same title published in 2005. The 2010 version is revised and updated and includes over 200 new courses many of which have opened since the original version was published.

Working on the assumption that you are familiar with Abrams Books, the leader in dynamic, visually appealing golf volumes, and Robert Sidorsky, you can fully expect that this latest volume will be a picturesque edition to your library. Sidorsky has also written Golf 365 Days: A History and Golf's Greatest Moments (title self explanatory). The book is designed as a “golf devotional” – 365 days of the year each one separately dedicated to a golf course. In fact each page has a date assigned to a golf course. That's one of the entertaining elements of the volume; you don't have to attempt a complete reading in a short period of time. One day at a time will get you through the entire book in a year. In fact, if you want to find a particular golf course, you must go to the index which refers you to a date, not a page number.

For a little fun go to February 14 featuring the Green Monkey Golf course at the Sandy Lane Hotel – Barbados and look at the accompanying picture. You'll know why it's call the Green Monkey.

My only complaint with books of this ilk is that they all contain the same core golf courses. Yes, there are a few that you may have not seen before, but you can make a safe wager that a large selection of someone's top 100 courses or famous courses will be included. We still waiting for a book of golf courses that does not include Pebble Beach or St. Andrews.

Golf Courses of the World: 365 Days is an enjoyable read and needs to be in the library of every golf enthusiast who must get his golf fix every day.

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.

Golf in America

As we have stated in the past golf literature takes us down many paths. One of those magical, mystery tours is the history of the game. Often, when we think of the history of the game, we are drawn to the players and the tournaments. A quick glance at the history books in our library reveals such titles as The Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost and The Majors by John Feinstein. Both are historical works that focus on the players and the tournaments.

But there are many exits off the history highway. And recently a historical volume has been published that approaches the history of the game from a different angle – Golf in America by George B. Kirsch. Kirsch is a professor of history at Manhattan College and the author of several other historical sports book. This present volume focuses directly on the development of the game in the United States from 1888 to the present. If we were to more accurately title this book, it would be The Story of Golf in America for it is a history of the game but not in the sense of name, dates and tournament results. There is biographical information and there is tournament information, but it is woven into the text when it is applicable to the period being discussed. Golf in America is primarily a socio-economic history of golf in the U.S. with the proper infusion of human interest. Kirsch gives us just enough human interest information to peak our interest for further research.

It is not the purpose of this book to provide total in depth fact and analysis on the growth of the game we love in the United States. Rather, by reading Golf in America you will come to understand why the game has become so popular despite economic downturns and various forms of segregation. Kirsch helps us to understand how golf survived two major wars and the Great Depression and how it became the game of the business world. The volume is all encompassing of the game including the development of public golf courses, African-American and female involvement in the game. Beginning of page 79 the author provides an excellent six-page expository on the development of golf in the African-American community.

Kirsch's chapter on “The Americanization of Golf” is well documented and makes for fascinating reading as he traces the growth of the game at the turn of the 20th century and the reasons for it. We also learn how golf course construction provided vast unemployment relief early in the Great Depression.

Despite the fact that this volume barely touches the surface of golf's impact on the American society, there is much to learn from a careful reading. Serious students of the game will also enjoy Kirsch's detailed Bibliography. We highly recommend that any golfer with a sense of history for the game, read Golf in America.

Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects

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

I would imagine most golfers think that the life of a golf course architect is essentially all drawing boards, draft paper and Golf Channel interviews. Few would suspect that there is the possibility of an encounter with angry Mexican squatters. Some enlightened golfers might realize that an occasional, unplanned appointment with a wild animal, whether it walks on four legs or slithers on its belly, is a sure thing. Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects confirms all this and more.

The “Secrets” are short, pithy tales from the lives of 118 golf course architects. Don’t think you’re going to be let in on a myriad of confidential information that details the thought process of developing a golf course. Rather you will read about some unusual, some oddball, and some unavoidable incidents that have occurred during the work hours of these architects. Some of the tales are interesting, some funny, and, unfortunately, a few are flat boring.

This compilation was put together by radio host and author Michael Patrick Shiels with the assistance of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Outwardly the book is visually appealing and physically challenging – it’s heavy and obviously designed to be place on the coffee table. The volume is beautifully illustrated with over 150 full-color photographs, blueprints and drawings, drawings that are fascinating and put you into the mind of the architect. You will read of incidents from the highly visible architects – Nicklaus, Palmer, Fazio, the Dye’s, and the Jones boys, but you will also hear from a host of talented, but less well-known architects who provide their adventures as well.

One of my personal favorites is from Jack Nicklaus II, the son of THE Jack Nicklaus. Jack II gives us just a glimpse of what it is like to be the son of perhaps the greatest golfer to have played the game to date. [On a personal note over twenty years ago I had the pleasure of playing a round of golf with Jack II. He is a true gentleman of the game.]

Then there is a heart-tugging incident revealed by Rick Robbins. Robbins was scheduled to be on the ill-fated plane flight with Payne Stewart in October 1999, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from making the flight. It is a memoir that is a bit painful to read but worth absorbing.

If you are an ardent golfer who enjoys discovering more about the game, you should be in possession of this revealing literary work.

Or, if you are looking for a special gift for the golfer in your life, Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects will do the job.

999 Questions on the Rules of Golf

So how much fun can learning the Rules of Golf be? If you have played just a little bit of golf, surely someone has ungraciously shoved the Rule Book in front of your face and with proper golf snobbery and exclaimed, “You need to read this!” You faithfully march into the Golf Shop, plop down your two bucks for the USGA's The Rules of Golf and head onto the patio for a beer and a little light reading. At first glance the task of reading through this somewhat diminutive book (182 pages) does not seem so daunting. But after you get past the section on Etiquette (pages 1-4) and begin to go through the pages on Definitions your suspicions begin to be aroused that this may not be the most reader-friendly book you have ever encountered.

You quickly discover that just reading through this book will not gain you a working knowledge of the rules. There must be another way. Surely golfers know some trick to attaining a knowledge of the rules that are actually applicable on the golf course.

Well, there's good news and bad news.

First the bad news: there is no gimmick. The book that contains the Rules of Golf is a conundrum, the ultimate brain-teaser. You learn by study and experience.

Now the good news: Eye On Golf is able to recommend one of the best volumes on the Rules of Golf – 999 Questions On the Rules of Golf by Barry Rhodes – for your rules meditative pleasure. We know the title will not make you think it's a page turner. It's hard to make the title of any rules book sound dynamic or exciting. But once you open this gem you will have some fun with the rules.

Mr. Rhodes has divided his book into three sections of 333 questions (hence the number 999 in the title) separated primarily by difficulty. Each of the three sections contains a mix of True/False, Open Answer and Multiple Choice. The structure of this volume makes the learning easy. Each of the 999 questions is followed immediately by the answer AND a note of explanation which reinforces the correct ruling and enhances the learning experience.

As you might expect, when you move from section to section, the questions become more difficult. Section 1 contains simple questions that should be general knowledge for every golfer. In Section 2 the questions become a bit more involved and difficult. Mr. Rhodes calls these “...questions relevant to both casual golfers and Golf Club members. The final section hits you with the big rules hammer – questions for those seeking to expand their knowledge of the Rules. These questions will not only have you reaching for that Rules of Golf, but also the gigantic Decisions of the Rules of Golf.

Rhodes is a trained accountant who has become a rules junkie. He is the first person to attain a score of 100% on the public Advanced Rules of Golf Course exam sponsored by the European PGA. Mr. Rhodes addiction to the rules of our game has become our blessing.

Get this one and put a little fun into learning the Rules of Golf.

For copies of this book visit his website – http://www.barryrhodes.com/recommends.

Dave Pelz's Damage Control

When we play the game, the game we love so much, yet tortures us unmercifully, we manage (albeit unintentionally) to get our ball into trouble, some of us more than others. No doubt it is a bit disheartening to put the ball into unintended and precarious situations, but the real frustration comes when we are unable to extricate the little white object back to safety. Thus begins the slog toward the green and ultimately a disastrous score for the hole.

Fortunately the solution for that disastrous hole or two that many of us encounter each round may have arrived. Short game guru Dave Pelz has a new offering for our golfing dilemma – Dave Pelz's Damage Control: How to eliminate up to 5 shots per round using all-new, scientifically proven techniques for playing out of trouble lies. (we're going with Damage Control as the title.) It is 328 pages of text, pictures and diagrams on how to escape from trouble after an errant shot has landed you butt-deep in a vexatious situation.

Pelz, as you may know, is a former NASA scientist who turned his statistical and analytical talents to golf. He has written two of the premier instruction books on the short game – the Short Game Bible and the Putting Bible. He has dedicated his life to improving the world's short game through scientific research and an analysis of statistics and has become the short game guru to the stars. Now he has ventured into the realm of helping us get out of trouble.

Are you not familiar with Damage Control? Pelz answers the question in his introduction, “...it's new. We just covered and named it.” Well maybe. But you will learn all you need to know about how to get out of dire straits. And why do we need Damage Control? He argues the following: Should we learn to hit the ball better so we can avoid trouble? No! “The inadequacies in our normal game are the reason we need Damage Control.”

Pelz categorizes the process of Damage Control into five skills – Setupology, Swing Shaping, Hand-Fire Feel, Red-Flag Touch, Damage Control Mentality - and dedicates a detailed and thorough chapter to each one. In typical Pelz style the book is filled with wonderful, full-color photos of situations and techniques. He concludes the volume with a 50-page chapter on drills that will assist you on accomplishing the goal. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

Overall I am a big fan Pelz. He has done marvelous research in this area in particular tracking thousands of rounds from the Myrtle Beach World Amateur Championship. The statistical analysis of all these numbers led to his system of Damage Control. If you are truly committed to lowering your score, then a dedicated adherence to this book will certainly be of great assistance. It is not a volume to read through and put back on the shelf. It must be studied and practiced and get dogeared and dirty. I highly recommend this for instructors and low handicappers.