As we get closer and closer to the holiday season, we find ourselves with just three more weekends of Christmas shopping before the big day on Dec. 25. Every year at about this time I like to review the best of the new golf books of 2007. I”ve always felt that having a little more knowledge about the game just might inspire you to play better. In the end, a really good book is also a whole lot less expensive than that new Nike driver or those new Callaway irons.
Two Years in St. Andrews: At Home on the 18th Hole (Simon and Schuster, $25) is written by longtime editor of Golf Magazine, George Peper. Peper retired from his day job in 2004 and he and his wife bought a fixer-upper flat adjacent to the 18th fairway at world famous St. Andrews Golf Links in Scotland, long acknowledged as the birthplace of golf.
Peper, who has authored 17 books, got totally involved in the golfing scene at St. Andrews, joining the Royal and Ancient, competing in club tourneys and participating in the club”s social scene. The 2005 British Open came to St. Andrews during his stay, the one that was a runaway win for Tiger Woods as wells Jack Nicklaus” farewell from the game. At the book”s conclusion, the Pepers did the unexpected, selling their New York house. They continue to live alongside St. Andrews to this day. This book is a great read, especially if you”ve ever played the hallowed grounds of golf”s beginnings.
In Paper Tiger: An Obsessed Golfer”s Quest to Play with the Pros (Gotham Books, $26), Tom Coyne, a long-hitting 15-handicapper decides to go on an 18-month quest to reach the PGA Tour. He moves from Philadelphia to Coral Springs in Florida. He connects with top instructor Dr. Jim Suttie for lessons. He plays and practices every day, even Thanksgiving and Christmas. He sees a fitness guru and his weight drops from 225 pounds to 185. After four months, his handicap drops from 15 to 0.
At that point Coyne turns pro and starts to compete. He shoots 81 and misses qualifying for the U.S. Open. He plays well for 15 holes at Pennsylvania Open qualifying but then takes a 13 on the 16th hole to go from under par to way over par. He comes in dead last at Canadian Tour qualifying, carding rounds of 92 and 79. He flunks out badly at Australian Tour Q School. The PGA Tour rejects his application and sends back his $4,500 check because of “insufficient tournament results.” An interesting book, Coyne can shoot under par playing casual golf, but cannot repeat the feat in tournament play. Most golfers are familiar with this plight and this book is a very good story about the pressure-packed world of competitive golf.
John Feinstein writes great golf books and his latest, Tales from Q School: Inside Golf”s Fifth Major (Little Brown & Co., $26.99) is no exception. Feinstein goes to all three stages of Q School following the new kids on the block like Bill Haas, J.B. Holmes and Brett Wetterich. He checks out the lifetime journeymen such as Michael Allen and B.J. Staten as well as the once greats such as Larry Mize and Steve Stricker.
Feinstein tells stories from past Q Schools, including a new one on me about an irate rules violator who pulled a gun on a young Peter Jacobsen. He also follows around Dillard Pruitt, a former pro who is a top-notch rules official. This book is well researched and very well written and is a must-buy for the serious golfer on your shopping list.
Chris Lewis of Sports Illustrated chronicles his year of reporting on the 2006 PGA Tour in his latest book, The Scorecard Always Lies: A Year Behind the Scenes on the PGA Tour (Free Press, $26). Lewis” book covers a diverse set of topics, including John Cook and Mark O”Meara”s mentorship of Tiger Woods, the mugging of Chris Couch at a bar in New Orleans five days before his first tour win, the golf gurus of the PGA Tour, and the career demise of well-known professionals such as David Duval and Chris Riley.
Lewis gives us an inside look at tour life and his connections with the game”s biggest names makes for an easy and interesting read. If nothing else comes from this book, it”s the knowledge that the tour is not all that glamorous for most of its members.
If you”re an old-time rock ”n” roller who likes the game of golf, then a most interesting read is Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: My 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict (Random House, $27.95). It is an autobiography by the shock rocker best known for the song “School”s Out.” Cooper writes about his childhood in Tucson, the hard rock club scene in Los Angeles and Detroit, his band”s big break into the world of arena rock, his struggles with alcohol and multiple efforts at detox, and finally his lifesaving experience with golf as an alternative to addition. It”s not often that you can read about playing golf with Bob Hope and partying with Jimi Hendrix. Cooper”s autobiography covers all of that and more and is a fun read for those who remember the music scene of the 1960s and 1970s.
Finally, a great coffee table book is Martin Davis” Jack Nicklaus: Simply the Best (The American Golfer, $60). This beautifully produced book features articles by Dan Jenkins, Arnold Palmer, Jack Whitaker, Lee Trevino and others of note. The pictures are great, the historical perspectives are very well done, and some of the chapters are very colorful such as Dave Anderson”s “He Always Made the Putt ? Well, Almost Always.” Special thanks to Art Carson and the Ingram Book Company for the heads up on this book. It is a must -read for those golfers passionate about all of the accomplishments of the greatest golfer ever, Jack Nicklaus.
So there you have it, our annual review of the top golf books of 2007. I”ve mentioned some great reading selections for that golfer on your Christmas shopping list. Just be sure to tell them that a little bit of golfing knowledge will go a long way toward improving his/her game in 2008.
