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'Twice as Good': Bill Powell's story comes to a children's book

Thursday, April 12, 2012 Comments

William (Bill) Powell's story is an inspiring one, to be sure: The grandson of slaves who was raised in Minerva, Ohio, and found it difficult to pursue his love of golf because of discrimination. It prompted him to build his own golf course, Clearview Golf Club, which opened in 1948 in East Canton, Ohio, the only course designed, built, owned and operated by an African-American.

Now his story is told in a children's book, "Twice as Good," written by an award-winning children's book author Richard Michelson and illustrated by Eric Velasquez. The title is derived from a lesson taught him in childhood, that "if you are going to get ahead in this world, you can't be as good as the white children, you have to be twice as good."

The video above explains how the book came about and opens with a quote from President Obama: "Overcoming adversity, Bill has written his own chapter in our nation's history...and set an important example for succeeding generations." Clearview Golf Club has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The book can be ordered here at the Clearview Golf Club's website, proceeds to benefit the Clearview Legacy Foundation, which was established in 2001 to "preserve the course for future generations, to develop improved facilities for teaching the game of golf, and to expand turfgrass research."

Autographed copies of the book can be ordered here at Michelson's website.

The cost is $20, which includes shipping and handling.

Donations to the Clearview Legacy Foundation, meanwhile, can be made via mail to: Clearview Legacy Foundation, P.O. Box 30196, East Canton, Oh 44730.

-- John Strege

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'Golf's Unfolding Drama' an ebook worth looking at

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Comments

Golf's Unfolding Drama.jpg

Great photography displays spectacularly on an iPad, a discovery that golf photographer Evan Schiller made soon after Apple introduced it.

"I loved it because of the screen," Schiller said. "It's a great photo album. An expensive photo album, but a great one."

Schiller is a former professional golfer turned photographer who is one of the few photographers licensed by the Pebble Beach Company. His work has appeared in the Masters Journal, the U.S. Open and Ryder Cup programs, and a variety of golf and travel books.

He decided to meld his expertise with the iPad's exceptional display. The result is his new ebook, "Golf's Unfolding Drama: Rare Interplays of Light on Form." It's available from iBooks for $9.99.

It is a collection of Schiller's finest work from golf courses around the world. Each photograph is accompanied by a hidden caption and story that drops down by tapping the words "About this photo" just beneath the image. The stories explain the circumstances under which the photograph was taken. For instance, the story accompanying his photo of the 14th hole of the Doonbeg Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland, with the Atlantic Ocean in the background, says this:

"I knew the best, and really ony time, to capture this wonderful little par 3 was just before sunset because the sun would have moved far enough to the west to cast the appropriate light on the green...With clouds sitting heavily on the horizon, I waited for the sun to break through to capture my last shot of the day."

The title of the book derives from his experiences photographing courses at dawn and dusk, "when the sun peaks over the horizon or just before it dips below it...During these transitions between night and day, nature offers me some of her most dramatic performances: brief and rare interplays of light on form. Those fleeting moments are of breaktaking beauty and I am often left brimming with inspiration and awe."

In this book, he shares the results of that inspiration and awe.

-- John Strege

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Golf Books: Finding a putter that fits you

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 Comments

There are any number of books on putting, but here's one on putter fitting, called "Putter Perfection: The Groundbreaking Guide to Finding the Right Fit for Your Game."

It was written by Sean Weir, founder and editor of PutterZone.com. "Most recreational golfers...buy a putter right off the retail rack and try to make it work," he writes. "They fit their strokes to their putters, rather than the other way around. in other words, they set themselves up for failure without even knowing it."

Golf Digest's senior equipment editor Mike Stachura addressed the issue in this article, headlined, "Why Your Putter Hates You: If you haven't been fit right, you're asking for trouble." His story notes that maybe one in four golfers users a putter that fits his stroke, "and that's mostly by luck," Tom Morton, director of the Player Performance Studio at Haggin Oaks Golf Super Shop in Sacramento, Calif., said.

Weir has devoted an entire book (albeit a short one, 96 pages) to setting golfers on the right path. The heart of the book includes chapters on length, lie angle, loft, balance, alignment, weight, feel and grip.

Weir leaned on Pat O'Brien, putting instructor for Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink, among others, for his expertise to assist him in writing the book, which is available for $12.99 at Amazon.com.

-- John Strege

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Books: 'Four Days In July'

Wednesday, May 4, 2011 Comments

If you were watching, you'll never forget it. If you weren't watching, you should forever regret it. It was the 2009 British Open at Turnberry, when Tom Watson, at 59, delivered a performance for the ages. Or, pages, in this case.

TNT's Jim Huber, a veteran journalist renowned in golf circles for his essays on TNT's telecasts of the PGA Championship and British Open, has written a book recounting Watson's improbable run at a sixth Claret Jug. It's called "Four Days In July," goes on sale Tuesday and can be purchased here.

Here is an interview with Huber regarding his often poignant and always entertaining book:

Q. It's said that no one remembers who finished second. Isn't this book a refutation of that axiom?

Huber: This is one of those times when few remember who finished first. In a way, it resembled the 1999 Open Championship. Few remember Paul Lawrie. Everyone remembers Jean Van de Velde. No ridicule allowed this time, however.

Four Days in July.jpg

Q. You've been around sports a long time, covered countless compelling events. Where does this one rank?

Huber: This was a heartbreak of the first order. With one weak push of an 8-foot putt, the dreams of those of us who beg to chronicle history collapsed. Selfish, perhaps, but it is so rare to be allowed the privilege of being part of such a moment. Like the AP's Doug Ferguson said, he felt nervous before the final round because you only get one
crack at a story like this in your lifetime.

Q. Often books of this nature come out on milestone anniversaries -- five, 10, 20 or 25 years later. What was the impetus for your writing this book now?

Huber: I guess I wanted to get it down on paper before all us senior citizens passed on or forgot everything that happened.

Q. To what extent did Watson cooperate, and how would you assess his comfort level in rehashing the tournament?

Huber: Tom gave me one extensive interview four or five months after the tournament and he was more than helpful, adding bits and pieces that helped flesh out the narrative. I must say his caddie, Neil Oxman, was my best friend throughout the writing. We were in touch often and he allowed me a rare glimpse inside his relationship with Tom. He even sent me his Turnberry yardage book, which I guarded with my life.

Q. You quote Jack Nicklaus suggesting that Watson probably views the '09 British Open the same way Jack did the '77 Open, that he lost. Did you get that sense, that there are no moral victories for elite players?

Huber: I think that is how Tom views Turnberry but at the same time, because of all the surrounding noise and post analysis, I think he will forever be very proud of what he managed there.

Q. You delve into the love affair between Watson and the Scots. Can you give us a sense of how it played out at Turnberry, how it was enhanced, perhaps?

Huber: Like Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus, the Scots long-ago made Watson an honorary citizen in the most heartfelt of ways and you could see it, hear it, feel it through every step he took that week. Not only on the course but in the restaurants and along the streets, he was given a ceremonial lift that few others are allowed.

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