The Loop
A little New Year's golf reading for you
So, you got a gift card to a book store during the holidays and you're trying to figure out what to do with it. Early January isn't necessarily peak season for new golf books, but there are a trio of offerings available that approach the game from different angles that might catch your attention:
The Story of Golf in Fifty Holes, Tony Dear, Firefly Books, $29.95, 224 pages
This book breaks the pattern of golf history told in the typical progression from Scottish roots to the modern game. The author picked 50 holes that have seen enough golf histrionics to provide an educational overview of the game in a unique and lively manner.
Getting to Scratch, Lewis M. Greer, Do Good Books, 14.99, 168 pages
A light, conversational advice book on how you can lower your golf score with mental tips.
Golf Is No Ordinary Game, G. Guilford Barton, Booktrope Editions, $19.95, 332 pages
Billed as “14 extraordinary tales of golf, life, death … and everything in-between,” this fiction effort was previously published in 2001 as On the Fringe and Other Uncommon Tales of Golf by Triple Tree Press.
And looking forward:
Kindle versions of several of Herbert Warren Wind’s writings are available Jan. 26, among them The Story of American Golf; Following Through; On the Tour with Harry Sprague; America’s Gift to Golf, and Herbert Warren Wind’s Golf Book.
And proving the Golden Age greats have plenty to offer instructionally in our time, coming in a March release is Legendary Lessons: One-Hundred Golf Teachings from Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Grantland Rice, Harry Vardon and More, by Claudia Mazzucco (Skyhorse Publishing, $19.99). The author writes in the preface: “The time between world wars was the most exciting and creative period in the whole history of golf.” This book helps you discover the lessons the greats taught anew.