5 comments about How I Play Golf.

1. Excellent book. Not a how to of golf but rather a how Tiger plays. Helped my game immensely. Espcially my putting. I would recommend this book golfers of all levels.



2. An exceptional book with good illustrations & bought at a very good price. Postage time was VERY DISAPPOINTING - expected to receive within 3-4 weeks (standard Air Freight) but took 6 weeks!!! This was our 1st purchase on Amazon & we were concerned and had almost given up on it! Expect DELAYS on overseas purchases.



3. If you enjoy golf and spend enough time to beat balls at the driving range, this book will give you a lot of tips how to improve your skills.



4. great book that help us to improve our golf...
   and also give us a little taste of what is like been tiger



5. much bigger and better than i realised. he is gonna LOVE this one (It's being kept for christmas)

5 comments about The Seventh at St. Andrews: How Scotsman David McLay Kidd and His Ragtag Band Built the First New Course onGolf's Holy Soil in Nearly a Century.

1. the book suits my tastes well. i'm always interested in how passionate people come together to develop ideas, overcome obstacles, and get things done. double-bonus that the theme is golf.
   
   i hope to play "the Seventh" someday and experience, first hand, whether the intense passion and unusual approach of the team and its leaders actually produced a good result.



2. I purchased this book as a favor for my great-aunt who wanted this book as a gift for her son. She was told by a friend this would be a great book for my cousin as he is an avid golfer.



3. Hi, I'm David McLay Kidd and I wanted you to know what fun is was working with Scott on this book, he captured both the artistic and social level of what I and my team do and MOST importantly WHY we do it. I have been amazed at the positive comments I have received from those that have read the book, it reallys seems to capture the imagination of golfers. I hope you enjoy it. David...



4. As a non golfer who has never even walked a course I enjoyed this book immensely. Mr. Gummer brings the entire process of course building to life and his book is populated with larger than life characters. A great read and a perfect present for any golfer.



5. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RKVOPY91Y776E Believe it or not, golf architecture is one of the hottest topics in sports right now. Gummer's book brings this topic alive.

5 comments about Down the Fairway.

1. Purchased after a program on XM radio's golf station mentioned this book. Excellent, easy read on the master of golf. What a guy in a different era. You can visualize the time and some of the matches. Highly recommend.



2. Terrific insight to Bobby Jones - while O.B. Keeler must have "dressed" up the final product, the sense that so much came directly from a young man barely out of his teens coming to grips with the realization that he was the most famous golfer in the world... Just compelling reading!



3. Great read, one all golfers will want to make, as Nicklaus suggests in the modern edition foreward.

   Why return to an outdated time of wood shafts and limitef flight balls? One finds it in this read, the character and strength of this great amateur.

   What impressed this reviewer was Jones' humbleness, and love for the game. He wasn't really into all the winning, which in fact caused him anxiety. Moreover he was into the challenge against Ole Man Par and himself. He relished the comradre with his fellow competitors and is most quick to give them praise rather than discuss what he didn't have in his game that round.

   Neat to realize that his prized trophy was the first, which he thought was improperly awarded to him, while Alexa Sterling should have won it, no question. This is what golf is about, not slugging it 300+ yds. to screaming fans playing for millions.

   Takes us back to what the game is and should remain. It's become far too commercialized.

   Will take a honored position in my growing golf book collection to be fondly recalled and reread.




4. Bobby Jones shares his perspective on winning, losing, and his life-long battle against "Old Man Par". This is a must read for any serious student of golf history and tradition.



5. If you not only enjoy playing golf but also cherish the game's traditions and values, and if you could purchase only one book about golf, this is it. Whether or not Jones is the greatest golfer ever is a judgment I eagerly entrust to those foolish enough to debate it. Suffice to say that he was among the greatest players and among the finest gentlemen ever associated with golf. Published in 1927 when Jones was just 25, three years before he won what has since been designated "The Grand Slam", this is a book in which Jones (in collaboration with Keeler) invites his reader to accompany him "down the fairway" of a life as well as a game. The first eleven chapters review the competitive process until what he characterizes as his "Biggest Year." In the final chapter of Part One, Jones observes that, "I started the year 1926 with one glorious licking and closed it with another. And it was the biggest golf-year I'll ever have." Or so he then thought. In that year, we're told, "Walter Hagen gave me the first drubbing, and of all the workmanlike washings-up I have experienced, this was far and away the most complete" and later, "George [von Elm] was too much for me....He simply outplayed me. It was coming to him....It was George's turn. So the biggest Year ended, as it began, with a beating. Still, I'll always feel kindly toward 1926."

   In Part Two, Jones shares just about everything he has learned (to that point) about the mental as well as physical skills needed to play golf well. What struck me, throughout the book, is Jones's candor. For example, "There are times when I feel I know less about what I am doing than anybody else in the world." He discusses putting ("a game within a game"), the pitch shot ("a mystery"), iron play ("I like it"), "the heavy artillery" (woods), miscellaneous shots ("and trouble"), and in the final chapter "Tournament Golf." The reader is provided with a generous selection of photographs, many of which I (at least) had not seen previously. "Early in this little book I made the statement that there were two kinds of golf -- golf, and tournament golf; and that they were not at all the same." When concluding this book, Jones acknowledges that he's been "awfully lucky. Maybe I'll win another championship, some day. I love championship competition, after all -- win or lose." What will it feel like when he days of tournament competition have ended? "It's going to be queer." Then he confides, as his "little book" ends: "But there's always one thing to look forward to -- the round with Dad and [other kindred spirits]; the Sunday morning round at old East Lake, with nothing to worry about, when championships are done." Three years after sharing these thoughts and feelings, Jones won the Grand Slam and then retired from tournament competition. Some people have expressed their preferences for those with whom they would like to share a "fantasy dinner." Were it possible, I would like to share a "fantasy round of golf" with Bob Jones, Walter Hagen, and Harvey Penick. Given the impossibility of that, I must seek their companionship in books such as this.

5 comments about Discovering Donald Ross: The Architect and his Golf Courses.

1. I live in North Carolina, where Ross made his home--at least in the fall, winter, and spring. There's almost a holy reverence for the man around here but there's a lot of bluster and phoney-ness too. For example, there are plenty of clubs that say they have a Ross course when they have anything but. I remember a guy at a country club here telling me how fortunate they were to have an original Ross course. At the time, I didn't know any better and so I believed the dafty. I soon discovered that little of the original routing remained. Why? Because Trent Jones came in at some stage and pretty much blew the place to smithereens plus the large oak trees of which members are so fond had changed the original routing beyond recognition. And if you cut down those trees at that club, you're dead. Dead. The original course had a handful of trees.
   
   The beauty of Brad Klein's book is that it demystifies Ross while providing those with Ross courses a blueprint for renovation or restoration. It's a coffee table tome but it's much more than pretty pictures on coated paper. It's a thoroughly-researched thesis from someone with an advanced degree. It's also very well written and even passionate. Klein also resists the temptation to go PC, sensibly preferring to place Ross within the context of his time and place. Ross wasn't the greatest golf course architect (that's HS Colt) but Ross was a brilliant router; he understood the value of a golf course that everyone from the weekend hacker to the scratch man or woman could enjoy. Modern golf course architects need to make their courses easier, not harder. Take a look at one of the few remaining relatively untouched Ross courses. Which living golf course architect could make it better, or, more importantly, more enjoyable? On the 'real' Ross courses I've played, apart from Pinehurst #2, you have to work very hard to bag a lot of big numbers.
   
   Klein's book features details about the man and also discusses several of his courses. There's also a useful directory in the back. The book is also the story of one man's version of The American Dream. Ross arrived here pretty much penniless but managed to build a useful empire through hard work and some smart thinking. The book shows that Ross was a "Canny Scot" who knew how to promote himself and satisfy his clients. Nothing wrong with that. It's a happy story.
   
   It might have been tempting for Klein to get all cuddly with the group that calls itself The Donald Ross Society. I've met some members of said conglomerate, including one of its officers, and they are all a bit full of themselves. Klein mentions the society but it's very much his book, his thoughts, and his ideas. I like books with opinions and character. The book is respectful without being gushy and authoritative without being pompous.
   
   I hope that my buddy at the Donald Ross/Robert Trent Jones golf course that's currently under renovation reads Klein's book. He needs to. So too should anyone who is interested in golf course architecture and wants to know what a real Ross golf course looks like. Hint: it's rarely like Pinehurst #2.



2. Whereas Bahto in the Evangelist of Golf is focused on the National more and how it came to define C.B. MacDonald, Brad Klein produces a broad overview of Donald Ross and is less focused on any one aspect of his life and career as a golf designer.
   
   Donald Ross was the Henry Ford of golf design. Some 400 courses confirmed to his credit with, of course, Pinehurst being his crown achievement.
   
   I think this is a solid overview of Donald Ross in general, but I was hoping to really appreciate "why" his courses were so special. We get to understand that for Donald Ross, his routings and greens were some of his strong points. However, the Ross hole and green diagrams along with the course plans only convey so much about this. Yes, they're great but the text I feel isn't in depth enough to really bring out what's buried in the diagrams, plans and pics. Instead, we are exposed to tid bits of some of the more popular courses he's produced. There's an attempt to explain Ross strategies and golf design philosophy in chapter 7, but it's high level and general. I also don't quite grasp why chapter 7 wasn't placed sooner in this book. Maybe I was expecting too much on this. Indeed, this is not a "Confidential Guide" of Ross courses as John Conley states in his earlier review.
   
   At any rate, I think the strengths of this book lie within the quality production, tremendously thorough research (especially when it comes to how Ross did things), very good photographs (especially when it comes to before and after course pictures), and the historical perspective.
   
   The Pinehurst section is very interesting from a background and historical perspective, but you won't learn much about why the course is great.
   
   The renovation / restoration segment is also very informative. Some great pictures illustrate what can happen when proper care is given to a renovation / restoration effort.
   
   There's a nice comprehensive compilation list of Ross's courses, but unfortunately it won't help you figure out which one's you can play. Maybe in the next revision, Klein can indicate which courses are public vs. private. Even tracking back some of the courses within the book won't help either, as you're never too sure which one's are public or private.
   
   Overall, I'd recommend this volume in a heartbeat. Just don't have grand expectations about understanding what makes such and such a Ross course so great. Rather, view this work as a very good and thorough review of what was involved in being Ross the person, family man, hard working course designer, and creator of many great golf courses.



3. Brad Klein has done a superb job in this lavishly illustrarted story of Donald Ross,long recognized as one the original "founding fathers" of the golden era of golf architecture. While it shows dozens of courses in detail,it is much more than a picture book, since it tells the story of Ross right from his earliest days in Scotland. Klein weaves a very readable and interesting picture of the life and accomplishments of Donald Ross.

   The book is well named since it a wonderful journey of discovery. There are all kinds of new insights for even the Ross fans who thought they read everything about DJR. But it will hold the interest of any reader who loves to read about a rich, full life told well. About a man who left Scotland for America without enough money to buy his second meal but who worked so hard he became one of the best paid individuals in all of sports.

   And it is about a man who never forgot the meaning of family and his employees.

   Brad Klein's book is throughly researched, well written and shows a genuine love for golf and for one of the men who made it great. Mr Klein is on his way to join that list.

   John Purcell




4. There is little doubt of the time and effort it took to reasearch this phenominal book on one of Golf's Great Heroes.

   Author Brad Klein gives the reader a inside view of not only who Donald Ross was, what he represents to the game of Golf today, as well as a revealing throwback to an age gone by.

   Aerial photos, course diagrams, and other pertinent data show the reader just how much the game's playing grounds have changed, and the effort to hold on to their design critieria as was intended by this soft spoken man from the North of Scotland.

   I would highly suggest this book to all who love the game of Golf itself, as well as the courses of Donald Ross; and for those who love golf courses, in general.




5. In "Discovering Donald Ross," Bradley S. Klein has written a book which can be thumbed through and enjoyed as visual entertainment by the casual golfer/reader or closely studied by the ardent student of the old game. Left on the coffee table or the night stand to be used to fill precious spare minutes with golf-related dreaming, the photos and captions alone will captivate and enlighten the reader. Dr. Klein has revealed himself as a talented photo-journalist, equally comfortable telling the story of Donald Ross with pictures or with words. Be prepared to be educated while being entertained. Using wise delineation of chapter headings, Klein walks us through Ross' childhood, family life, and career to the ultimate reason for the book: the author's knowledge of and desire for preservation of classical, especially Donald Ross, golf courses. Anyone who has the blessing of playing one of Klein's cited courses will understand his devotion. Lovers of biography will be fascinated by Klein's stories of Ross' background and personality. History buffs will learn through clearly written text and old black-and-white photos the problems encountered in golf course constuction as well as the societal and economic limitations that Ross faced. Those who get caught up in beautifully photographed golf landscapes will be captivated by the visual journey from windswept Scottish links where Ross was weaned to America's varying terrain where Ross was to be so successful. Klein's book, like a Ross course, represents a value and pleasure for the user, whether casually approached or closely scrutinized.

3 comments about Playing Through: Straight Talk on Hard Work, Big Dreams, and Adventures with Tiger.

1. (...)
   9th English
   24 March 2006
   "Playing Through"
   In the book "Playing Through" written by Earl Woods telling how to play through life's challenges, to dream big, and to work hard.
   "Playing Through means getting down to business, not letting anything get in your way, dealing with the task at hand, and accomplishing your goals." Tiger had to go through lots of racial discrimination when he first became a pro golfer. His father Earl Woods went through some of the same things when he was a young man. His father was the first African-American to play in the Big Eight Conference, Which is a Baseball League. So he also had to play through all of the racial discrimination.
   Dream Big, that is what Tiger Woods has been doing seen he was a little boy. Earl wanted him to be a baseball player like himself, but Tiger had other plans. Tiger wanted to be a golfer; he has been playing golf since he was around the age of three, when he was hitting balls in his garage. Then at the age of eleven he beat his dad for the first time 71 to 72.
   Work Hard, even though Tiger is a pro at what he does he still has to practice at his game. He really had to work hard at his game when he was younger or he would not be as good as he is now. Working hard also goes into playing through if he could not focus on his own game he could not play as good as he does.



2. Who was the man who was behind Tiger Woods to mold and shape him into the champion that he is today? The answer is Earl Woods, Tiger's father, friend and confidant. Playing Through is Earl Woods' own biography of what it is like to be the father of one of golf's greatest stars. One would expect a cohesive and comprehensive story about Earl's life and that of his son. Instead you are presented with a man who is uncapable of seperating himself from the persona of his son. Earl Woods spends the majority of the time speaking about his son rather than himself. How strange, since the book is supposed to be about Earl Woods. Unfortunately it ends up as a promotional text about Tiger.

   Earl Woods is a man who dealt with many obstacles in his life. As a teenager he lost his parents, struggled with a career choice, dealt with the racism in the Army and a failed marriage. Then after his divorce and remarriage a child was born and Earl devotes his life to him even at the expense of his own marriage. At this juncture we hear no more about Earl. Tiger becomes the focus which is a shame since Earl's life is far more interesting.

   Throughout the work Earl tends to put people on a pedestle to the point where they become unreal ( his mother, his brother-in-law, and the orignial Tiger, his friend). He is defensive about any criticism about his son and doesn't tell us much about his relationship with his other children. Earl is so emeshed in his youngest son's identity that he becomes a bore. Surely he could have told us more about himself rather than going on and on and on about Tiger.

   Despite his faults Earl Woods raises some interesting questions regarding the role of the NCAA on student athletes. He intimates that the NCAA controls the athletes who make money for their schools but receive nothing in return. Earl also shows the impact that Tiger's status has made on the game. Tiger's presence has made the game more accessible to people, raised the purses, tightened security and inspired more minority children as well as their parents to take up the game. Tiger's impact is immeasurable as he continues his career.

   If you can tolerate Earl's egotistical meanderings and defensive posture, the book is a good lesson in how not to make the mistakes Earl made and become a better parent. It is filled with Tiger's triumphs and challenges. Earl comes across as your controlling parent of an exceptional and talented player. It is worth the read for those who are Tiger fans and collectors of books written about thim.




3. From this book, I get the feeling that Earl Woods is one of the most egotistical people I have ever come across. He does nothing but talk about how good he is at this, how good he is at that, what he did to bring up Tiger, etc. He even says his separation from his wife Tida is due to affluence, not that they are simply separated. Also, he takes no responsibility for anything that has ever happened to him. Every negative experience in his life was due to him being a minority. Give me a break.

   He also feels the NCAA was out to get he and his precious Tiger. NCAA rules are rules, just like in golf. Get over it. Tiger was not treated any differently than any other college athlete. Tiger was offered a country club membership at the Olympic Club while he was at Stanford, and Earl can't figure out why the NCAA wouldn't let him take it. Because, believe it, or not...Tiger has to live under the same rules as everyone else on this planet.

   I do have to say the book is an easy read, and keeps you interested, but only because Earl's "thumb on my back" mentality keeps you laughing.

2 comments about Golf's Golden Age: Bobby Jones and the Legendary Players of the 10, 20's and 30's.

1. I highly recommend Geoff Shackelford's book, The Golden Age of Golf Course Architecture. It's one of the great books of our generation.
   
   Inside you will find the best source of photographic detail, excellent writing and great resource in the study of our great American courses and their now famous designers.



2. This is an excellent book for lovers of golf both young and old. The book contains great photographs from the USGA museum archives. Most of all it gives a very interesting look at golfs history, its legenday players and how the game has evolved.
   If you have a set of clubs, love the game and its history - get this book.

5 comments about To the Linksland: A Golfing Adventure.

1. Before he undertook the real world of work and marriage, Michael Bamberger embarked on his own golfing journey, first signing on as caddy for an idiosyncratic European Tour journeyman, then pursuing his own golfing muse in Scotland. In a relatively slim volume, Bamberger captures and conveys the feel of the European Tour and its personalities, from the literate caddy's point of view; and his own experience with a legendary teacher is no less than a love letter to the birthplace of golf. You will reread it often to remind yourself why golf is a wonderful game, like any love affair equal measures of rapture and despair. And you will make gifts of it to your friends, because Bamberger says it all as we wish we could.



2. The best book I've ever read -- not just the best golf book. If you're a hardcore golfer, this book will touch your soul and give you the chills -- and leave you burning to play more golf.



3. Go ESPN, Golfweek, Golfdigest, Golf Channel website and see for yourself what this slimy so-called reporter did to 16 years old kid.



4. I am a woman and a beginning golfer, but I am married to someone who has played since he was ten. We just returned from a trip to Scotland. I took this book to read since I saw that it had chapters on several courses that my husband planned to play.
   I was quite literally swept away by the beautiful writing, something I had not expected in such a book. I found myself reading passages aloud to my husband because I wanted to share Bamberger's insights. He touches on the psychological, and, dare I say, mystical underpinnings of golf. He yearns to find lessons for living a more fulfilling life through the search for excellence. I found myself rooting for Michael as he leaves his caddy job on the European tour to pursue his dream.
   Who hasn't yearned to follow a dream? Bamberger does just that for seven months and he lets us tag along.
   This is a book for anyone who aspires to improve, whether it be a golf swing or a craft. It uses golf to show us a way to approach life.
   Highly recommended.



5. This is a solid book for the hardcore golf reader. The author takes a leave of absence from his regular journalism job to "search for the primal heart of golf," combining the two common "golf road book" genera in one slim volume: (1) my life as a pro tour caddy; and (2) how I found religion playing the links courses of Scotland. Fortunately, Bamberger is an excellent writer and storyteller, and the pages fly by.

4 comments about The Vardon Invasion: Harry's Triumphant 1900 American Tour.

1. A favorite topic for discussion among golfers is how cross-generational matches would turn out. Would Tiger beat Jack Nicklaus? How would he fare against Ben Hogan? or Bobbie Jones? After reading The Vardon Invasion by Bob Labbance and Brian Siplo, I'd like to throw Harry Vardon's name into the mix.
   
   The book tells the tale of how Vardon came to America in 1900 and energized the game in this country. He not only won the U.S. Open that year, but played 90 matches against the best amateur and professional golfers from Maine to Florida and west to Colorado. The book recounts many of those matches and is filled with interesting sidebars about his opponents and the courses they played.
   
   I found descriptions of the courses themselves fascinating. Instead of the billiard-table greens and manicured fairways we play today, Harry and the boys teed it up on nine-hole tracks where irrigation was unheard of and greens might be "browns" of oiled and rolled sand rather than grass.
   
   Vardon, of course, is best known here for his defeat in the 1913 U.S. Open at Brookline by Francis Ouimet. He won the British Open, though, six times--a record that stands to this day. He won 75 of the 90 matches in the 1900 tour covered in this book--most of them played against the best ball of two top amateurs or pros. A record like that would be envied by golfers of any generation.
   
   Bob Labbance and Brian Siplo compiled The Vardon Invasion through countless hours of pouring through newspaper accounts and club records. Their work has paid off with a highly readable tribute to the man against whom all future champions should be measured.
   
   Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo



2. This is a long overdue addition to the library of golf.
   Harry Vardon's tour of America in 1900 did as much to promote the game of golf in the early part of the century as did Francis Ouimet's win at the U.S.Open in 1913. This is a must have for those who know that golf didn't start in 1998 when Elderick Woods started to play.



3. Good book if you are a golf historian, a good look at golf at the turn of the century and how little Americans knew about the actual rules.



4. I just finished reading the book "The Vardon Invasion: Harry's Trimphant !900 American Tour" and can highly recommend this offering. I really enjoyed the effort the book's author obviously made to track the little known information regarding this piece of American Golf History. There are so many ties between Vardon's trip and our own golfing past that were unknown until now. Anyone interested in golf history and superb writing will love this book and its' value to their golf library. A good solid book from a good solid author.

5 comments about The Majors-In Pursuit of Golf's Holy Grail.

1. Good read, especially good at giving an inside view of the golfers themselves, who they are, what they value, how they interact with each other and how they, individually and as a group, view the Majors. Very good read, especially about the golfers, how they they encourage and compete with one another--Lee Janzen's exchange with Scott Stricker is particularly memorable--and about how they approach and play the Majors. Readers may have a concern about this book being dated, and from a historical standpoint, it may be---But it is also like the old television series from long ago--"You Are There"--which effectively recreated great moments in history as if we, the viewers, were in deed there when it was happening. So it is with this book. Yes, we know who won the tournament, but when the final putts fall on these pages, there is still a sense of wonder, pride and accomplishment for the golfer. Feinstein has done his job well. Reading this book makes us feel like we are there when it happened, even though it happened several years ago. The "you are there" part is what makes this book a must read for golfers, for would-be golfers and for those who love and appreciate the game and those who play or try to play it.
   
   One thought: You might want to consider reading this book in parts, reading about the Masters before and during Masters Week, the U.S. Open before and during Open Week, and the same for "The" Open and for the PGA. That was my plan and it was a good play, but the book was so engrossing, I read is straight through...either way it is a book to be enjoyed and a book golfers should read. Don't hesitate. Go for it!



2. Feinstein's book chronicles the 1998 PGA Tour Season highlighting the Majors which are the Masters, the US Open, the British Open and the PGA.
   
   This book avoids becoming the run-of-the-mill 1998 PGA Tour Season review by providing us with information on the Major tournaments we cannot get in magazines [tidbits on the US Open "unfair" hole locations, champions' locker rooms(Masters), payment for trophy replicas etc...]
   
   Interesting backgrounders on major protagonists such as Mark O'Meara, Fred Couples, Vijay Singh, Tom Watson etc are provided as well as stories of golfers at the lower rung of the pecking order whose names we may never see again in the entry list.
   
   In short, this book tells us of life in the PGA Tour in the context of the 1998 season. I'm reading this in 2004 and still found it to be quite a good read.
   
   And oh, Colin Montgomerie does have a sense of humor.



3. The year was 1998 and the winners were Mark O'Meara (The Masters at Augusta National and The British Open at Royal Birkdale), Lee Janzen (The U.S. Open at the Olympic Club), and Vijay Singh (The P.G.A. Championship at Sahalee Country Club). Although all four Majors are conducted under the collaborative supervision of the U.S.G.A. and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club organizations, each has its own terms and conditions for participation as well as stages of qualification to compete with those who, for various reasons, are automatically eligible. For me, one of this book's most fascinating subjects is the qualifying process to which many are called but few are eventually chosen. Perhaps only the annual process to earn a P.G.A card creates greater tension and frustration for those involved.

   To the extent that space allows, Feinstein examines wannabes as well as perennial and promising contenders for each of the championships in 1998. He includes hundreds of vignettes and anecdotes about them, thus giving human significance to the names on the scoreboard. I also appreciate having historical information which creates a context for each Major, three of which have a different course location each year. Only the Masters has a permanent site.

   P.G.A. golf competition is unique among professional sports in that players are essentially self-regulated, personally assume all costs of participation (travel, accommodations, caddy, etc.), and earn nothing if they fail to make the 36-hole cut. It is not uncommon for one player to prevent another from inadvertently breaking a rule as Tom Kite once did near the end of the final round when he was in contention. Later, Kite was astonished that anyone was surprised by his initiative which probably denied him victory in that tournament. (The player he assisted won it.) Feinstein skillfully captures the flavor and nuances of what can be ferocious competition but also the fact that it is (with rare exceptions) conducted with dignity, style, and grace as well as with exceptional skill.

   For those who love the game of golf and especially for golfers who are eager to know what it is like to compete in the Majors, this is the book to read. It reads more like a novel than an almanac. It reveals "the joy of victory" for some and the "agony of defeat for others" while celebrating certain values which seem to have become less common each day...except on a golf course. For whatever it may be worth, over the years I have played probably 500 rounds of golf on several dozen different golf courses (both public and private) and do not remember a single "ugly" encounter with another player. Having said that, I feel obliged to point out that "golf" is "flog" spelled backwards. On numerous occasions, it really has been for me "a good walk spoiled" but my passion for the game and my respect for those who play it so well remain undiminished.

   Beginning in 1960, Theodore H. White wrote several "The Making of the President" accounts. I was reminded of that as I read this book, wishing that Feinstein or another author of comparable talent would write an annual volume in (let's call it) "The Making of Majors' Champions" series. This would enable avid golfers such as I to return in time to memorable moments during past Majors competition. End-of-year DVDs featuring such moments plus commentaries among special features would also be much appreciated. Meanwhile, we have Feinstein's lively as well as informative book which recreates (to the extent a text can) stirring triumphs by O'Meara, Janzen, and Singh as well as dozens of other human subplots associated with those victories eight years ago.




4. John Feinstein reports the stories of the 1998 major golf championships through the lives of several players who were contending for one or more of them that year. The Majors are, of course, The Masters, The US Open, The Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship. Saying that Mark O'Meara won The Masters and the British Open, Lee Janzen the US Open, and Vijay Singh the PGA Championship says almost nothing about the character, history, and the dynamic nature of life and competition on the PGA tour.

   Mr. Feinstein helps us get to know some of these players as people. We learn some things about their health, how the got to the PGA tour, how qualifying for the various majors is done (and other tournaments, for that matter). Of course, the author reports actual competitions and how the leaders changed position and finally emerged victorious.

   All of this is told in a rather meandering and leisurely style. If you want crisp, concise, and beginning to end reporting this book really isn't for you. However, if love golfing anecdotes and enjoy reading about golfing events, I think you will enjoy this book as much as I did. I learned about players I didn't know and learned more about some that I did know. Certainly, I learned more about these events we call the Majors and my enjoyment of them has been enhanced because I have read this book. Thanks to Mr. Feinstein for that favor.




5. Is a book a book because an author says it is? Or is it a book because it is about something?

   John Feinstein seems to take the former "I write therefore it is" approach. As a result, I never quite got what "The Majors" was about. My fault? I don't think so. I not only "got" the point of Feinstein's previous golf book, "A Good Walk Spoiled," but enjoyed it. That book belongs on any sports lover's shelf, and is worth any novice's time as well.

   "A Good Walk Spoiled" is about the lives and trials of the pro golfer. "The Majors," despite the title, is about much the same thing, not so much the four events that make up the biggest trophies in pro golf but the elite PGA Tour pros who compete for these titles.

   Frankly, if you aren't hot for golf, you aren't going to relate to these millionaires and their quest to buck the dread acronym BPNTHWAM (best player never to have won a major) the way you will to the fringe folk and dewsweepers that made up the cast of "A Good Walk Spoiled," for whom making the cut was the difference between survival and doom.

   There are some decent profiles here, like that of Mark O'Meara, who won two of the four majors in 1998, the year of Feinstein's narrative. O'Meara seems affable, but I got no sense of hunger from the guy. Brad Faxon offers some revealing insights, but since he didn't contend for any majors, he seemed a waste of time in the ultimate scheme of the book. A lot of golfers Feinstein profiles are like that. Meanwhile, players who did contend in 1998 majors are skimmed over, like PGA Championship winner Vijay Singh, British Open runner-up Brian Watts, and most crucially, Tiger Woods. Feinstein probably couldn't get the same level of access to these guys he could to those he dotes on, but that shouldn't be the reader's problem, should it?

   Unlike "A Good Walk Spoiled," the writing feels tired. The humor is forced. He throws in some clunky metaphors. A caddy "studies the wind the way a political pollster studies trends." Tiger Woods' security entourage are "like the guys chasing Butch and Sundance: You could see them coming from miles away." This makes the rote approach to the subject all the more apparent, and enervating.

   Feinstein seemed to be trading in on the good will he engendered on the pro circuit with "A Good Walk Spoiled." That's great, if he gives the reader something for his new access. But whereas "Good Walk" was a candid and often blunt description of what went on inside the ropes, "The Majors" seems more an exercise in puffery and back-patting, never more egregious than with Fred Couples, a decent golfer and a good guy who Feinstein blows totally out of proportion in his narrative. Couples doesn't contend except at the Masters, but Feinstein can't let go of him for more than a chapter at a time.

   The biggest problem about this book is it isn't about the title subject. He doesn't give equal time to the four majors, doesn't really relate any of the day-to-day drama, and offers little insight as to the courses or the final-day fields. He reports the winners, and some key shots, but that's it. If you want majors excitement, read Herbert Warren Wind or "Massacre At Winged Foot."

   "The Majors" won't interest people who don't care much about golf, and though it has some interesting insights that made it more than a one-star read for me, it's not something that knowledgeable golf readers are going to find that illuminating.

5 comments about Caddy for Life: The Bruce Edwards Story.

1. I've read several of John Feinstein's books, and have never been disappointed. This was one of his better efforts. It's the story of Bruce Edwards and Tom Watson. Edwards was a caddy, and was lucky enough to hook up with Watson back in 1973. He spent most of the next 30 years caddying for one of the best golfers and best people in the game.
   
   The book tells the story of these two remarkable individuals, and shows how well-liked they both were on the PGA tour. The last part of the book describes the 2003 season, and how tough it was for both of them. Edwards was diagnosed with ALS at the beginnig of the year, and struggled to make it through one final season as Watson's caddy.
   
   Watson is portrayed in the book as a great friend and boss. He realized how lucky he was to have Edwards as his caddy and friend for all those years, and Edwards was just as aware of how lucky he had been. It's just a shame they didn't have a few more years together.



2. On several occassions, I found myself getting choked up while reading this book. It is intensly personal and we're lucky to be provided with an up close view of what Bruce Edwards and those who loved and worked with him went threw. Experience is a hard thing to acquire, unless you actually have it. This book offers a rare exception to its reader.



3. Perhaps my only mistake was choosing to start reading this book the same night I had finished John Feinstein's most recent effort, "Let Me Tell You a Story," his book about the legendary Celtics figure, Red Auerbach. For that reason and that reason only, it took me a little longer to get into this one. After all, following that one is almost impossible.
   
   But this one does. It is at times funny and sad and as a result, there are times this book brings out a smile, but many times it brings out a tear. But through it all, Feinstien's gift for telling a story makes this book one of the best books I have read. It is a story about a caddy with ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Bruce Edwards, the long-time caddy to golf great Tom Watson, was diagnosed with the fatal illness in January of 2003, a little more than two years ago. The book chronicles his life on the PGA Tour with, not only his brother-like relationship with Watson, but with everyone who ever came into his life. It is apparent that he touched a lot of lives during his 30+ year career on tour.
   
   Through it all, until the end, Edwards was a picture of perservearance, bravery and courage. He refused to let the illness get the better of him. If memory serves, Edwards passed away shortly after this book was published. May he rest in peace.



4. Being an Avid Golfer, I was drawn by this story of courage under the face of the biggest adversity a person could ever face, knowing you are going to die. This story is a touching tribute to Bruce Edwards, the long time caddy to PGA tour vetran Tom Watson and a tribute to Bruce as not only a great caddy but a great person as well. It is a story of two men who forged a freindship over the years that brought them "Closer than Brothers" and a tribute to the class and dignity in which Bruce displayed in facing ALS or "Lou Gehrigs" disease.
   We never know if and when something devestating will hit us or someone we love, but Bruce Edwards shows that you can have dignity in dying and that the Human Spirit prevails in the worse of conditions. A must read right there with Tuesdays with Morrie!



5. Never quitting what he was passionate about, that was Bruce Edwards. Certainly he was passionate about caddying, about caddying for Tom Watson, passionate about always being upbeat and humorous. "AT least Lou Gehrig was a great athlete. I'd rather tell people I have Gehrig's disease than Liberace's disease."
   
   He set standard for pro caddies before finding out he had this dreaded killer.
   
   This consumate team which had been through so much thrilled the sporting world at Olympia Fields. Watson's passion for his friend and his plight.
   
   Feinstein's wordsmithing of this unique relationship and its unfurling from a fateful incident where hhe missed out caddying for veteran Dale Douglass only to chance upon a new upstart yound college grad from Stanford.
   
   The rest is golfing history and told so well in this engaging and emotionally charged book.
   
   May it inspire much good in the game and for this dreaded killer of a disease.