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Yardage Book
Recommended Reading for September/October 2001
1. Gleanings from the Wayside
by A.W. Tillinghast
A Rosetta stone of architectural insight, this, the third in a lovingly assembled trilogy, honors his work and his generous spirit. Little escaped the Tilly eye, from the farce of par to the aesthetics of good design.
2. Fourteen Clubs and the Auld Claret Jug
by Norman Dabell
An equal number of caddies tell how "we" won The Open. Some rode their golfers like jockeys, others hung on for dear life. (With Seve, it was always a bit of both.)
3. Wry Stories on the Road Hole
by Sidney L. Matthew
The train no longer runs hard by the course. The perilous road itself has been paved, a travesty. Still the hole beguiles from tee to green.
4. Billy Boy
by Bud Shrake
In the match of his life, a caddie stands up, ever so politely, to Hogan. Around him swirl all the elements of good fun: the rich babe, the spoiled villain, her eccentric and filthy rich uncle, the missing love of a father - and John Bredemus, a legendary figure in Texas golf who ran with Jim Thorpe and traveled Texas, designing courses, with little more than a bag of checkers.
5. A Golfer's Education
by Darren Kilfara
Study abroad takes on several meanings for young Mr. Kilfara, a visiting Harvard scholar and Golf Digest staffer with the good sense to take his junior year at the University of St. Andrews. The siren calls of romance and The Old Course commingle. Best of all he learns to love and honor the ground game.
6. 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 fits of personal melodrama.
7. Sir Walter & Mr. Jones
by Stephen Lowe
Scholarly treatment of Bob (as he preferred) Jones and Walter Hagen: polar opposites, friends, competitors, natty dressers and chain smokers. Until Tiger gets his ride up Broadway (even after), the Haig and Bobby epitomize golf decorum and style.
8. Only Golf Spoken Here
by Ivan Morris
An eventful golfing life enthusiastically recalled by a top amateur from the West of Ireland, a member at Lahinch and Ballybunion for decades.
9. 2001 Golf Equipment Almanac
by The Darrell Survey
Second annual serving of deep equipment dish from the folks who keep the "count" on tour, from shirts and hats to shafts and drivers.
10. The Toronto Terror
by James Barclay
Canada's gift to the game is the larger than life Stanley Thompson. His courses are magnificent, if understated (and very Canadian) monuments to the simple pleasures of golf in the splendor of the natural world. They belong on the short list of the game's most special addresses.
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
Swing Thoughts - Volume XII
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