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Yardage Book
Recommended Reading for July/Aug 2001
1. Wry Stories on the Road Hole by Sidney L. Matthew
A superlative and fitting tribute to one of the game's most memorable and imposing "card wreckers." Here, once, the Great Jones, was poised to shoot the first round on the Old Course without a five on the card. He missed a two-footer. New chapters will undoubtedly be written to include Duval's more recent debacle in the bunker and Notah Begay's playing out of the burn, a feat no one could ever recall.
2. Bud, Sweat & Tees by Alan Shipnuck
The courtesy car surrealism of the PGA Tour as seen through the wide-eyed sincerity of upstart Rich Beem and intense caddie Steve Duplantis. They may be good. They're also engaging, high-strung and prone to fits of cloying personal melodrama.
3. Sir Walter & Mr. Jones by Stephen Lowe
Scholarly comparative profile of Jones and Hagen: polar opposites, friends, competitors and seminal figures. Decades after death, their influence
is still palpable. Until Tiger gets his ride up Broadway, (and, likely, ever after) the Haig and Bobby remain standard bearers of decorum and style.
4. Why Golf? by Bob Cullen
A round in post-revolutionary Tehran, Jack Fleck revisited, a scientific rationale for modern Man's instinctive longing for the prehistoric savannah as provided by the fairway, Dr. Bob Rotella's coauthor adopts a wry tone in considering golf's higher ground.
5. Into the Bear Pit by Mark James
Engaging battlefield account from the maverick Ryder Cup captain. The storm of protest over the book was unwarranted, if a not wholly uncharacteristic result for the ever unconventional 'Jesse.' He can be quite funny - and telling. Of Justin Leonard's penultimate putt at Brookline, he writes:
"I suppose I was semi-stunned, and I was not really sure where to go or what to do. I had never previously experienced anything like it. I could cope with the disappointment of defeat, having had plenty of practice at it, but to be so closely involved in something which was so alien to my sport, so degrading and intolerable, left me drained and empty inside."
6. Uneven Lies by Pete McDaniel
Lovingly definitive, lavishly illustrated, account of the African-American experience in golf. From the Augusta National wine cellar to the muny fairways of the United Golf Association, complete with corporate sponsors and Ellington's orchestra - all that was missing was respect, wider recognition and real money. Pinehurst's army of caddies, the PGA's insidious Article III, Section I, the Wake Robins, an all black women's golf group from the late 1930's, the discoveries are memorable and evocative. One of the year's best.
7. A Feel for the Game by Ben Crenshaw
The Ryder Cup hero and Masters champion reflects, explains, counters, works to remember (but makes no apologies), while counting his blessings and marveling at fate and his good fortune. Who can blame him?
8. The Golden Era of Golf by Al Barkow
The American century, largely explained by juxtaposing two words - professional and golf. The winding, revealing and ever more lucrative path from golf professional to professional golfer leaves the game, as the new century dawns, with a boffo TV deal, the world's most recognizable athlete, and pro tourists having fresh fruit peeled for them at the turn.
9. The Bio of Walter J. Travis by Bob Labbance
An early 20th century archetype of American moxie, The Old Man was ahead of his time, a pioneer: skilled player, editor, course architect; put it this way: the young Bob Jones turned to him to fix his putting. Progressive and unabashedly irascible, no one was a bigger advocate or luminary for golf as it took root. He liked his cigars and his whiskey and is a delight getting to know. Lord knows what he would make of the world he helped foster.
10. Fore! Play by Bill Geist
Having dealt with the big 5-0 and Little League, the humorist turns (perhaps inevitably) to Suburbia's last bastion. He gives it his best shot ("Dave hits one of those drives that sort of reminds you of Challenger, as it rises majestically, higher and higher, farther and farther, like a rocket, and you go "ooooo" - until you begin to get this sick feeling in your stomach that something is going terribly wrong.") but he largely goes down swinging.
NOTE: Yardage Book © appears monthly, exclusively on THR. All books listed have been reviewed elsewhere on THR in greater depth. They are informally ranked at the editor's discretion and are not based on sales, date of publication, hype, the stars, financial inducement (Ho! Ho!) or anything other than his own personal preference. Only books that have been reviewed on THR are included.
Swing Thoughts - Volume I
Swing Thoughts - Volume II
Swing Thoughts - Volume III
Swing Thoughts - Volume IV
Swing Thoughts - Volume V
Swing Thoughts - Volume VI
Swing Thoughts - Volume VII
Swing Thoughts - Volume VIII
Swing Thoughts - Volume IX
Swing Thoughts - Volume X
Swing Thoughts - Volume XI
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