The fascinating history of a grand old game

REVIEWS BY MARTIN BRADY

More than ever, golf is an ardent pastime for millions of amateurs and a fascination for armchair fans. This spring's publishing season exploded with top-flight books on the subject. Here are the ones at the head of the leader board.

Held annually in April at Georgia's Augusta National Golf Club, the Masters is a hallowed sporting event. But Curt Sampson's The Lost Masters: Grace and Disgrace in '68 chronicles one of the most controversial of Masters outings. In 1968, with national racial tensions running high in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the Masters convened—with no African-American competitors, and everyone expecting Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus to win the Green Jacket. Instead, blue-collar Illinoisan Bob Goalby and dapper Argentinean Roberto De Vicenzo, two respected if not spectacular golfers, matched each other shot for shot to finish in a tie after 72 holes. With a playoff looming, it came to light that De Vicenzo had incorrectly scored his final round, and he lost the title on a technicality, thus focusing negative attention on seemingly stodgy Masters officials and bringing unwarranted grief upon poor Goalby, who had played the game of his life. Sampson's journalism goes well beyond mere reportage of tournament play, covering in equal measure the fascinating personalities involved in the furor, their lives both before and after the tournament and the general tenor of those turbulent times.

At the 2004 Masters, fan favorite Phil Mickelson won the green jacket while finally capturing his first (and long-overdue) major tournament. In One Magical Sunday (But Winning Isn't Everything), Mickelson teams up with veteran journalist Donald T. Phillips to provide a chatty hole-by-hole analysis of his unforgettable final round. Interspersed throughout are anecdotes confirming Mickelson's wholesome, all-American persona, in addition to warm testimonials from family and friends. A nice selection of photos follows the trail of Mickelson's life, from birth through early success as a young golf champion, into marriage and fatherhood, and on to national acclaim.


The early years

At the turn of the 20th century, Brits ruled the game, amateurism held high status and few actually pursued golf for a living. Walter Hagen, a talented dandy from Rochester, New York, changed all that in the 1910s and '20s. Tom Clavin's bio, Sir Walter: Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf, offers salient details on the man's humble origins and occasionally stormy personal life, yet also effectively relates how Hagen's indomitable golf skills and flamboyant personal style propelled him into the public arena. Winning 11 major tournaments (including an unparalleled streak of four consecutive PGA Championships), Hagen was the Babe Ruth of his sport. "I never wanted to be a millionaire, I just wanted to live like one," he once said. Hagen avidly took his game on the road, often overseas, and played innumerable paid exhibition matches, which, when combined with his official winnings, showed how excellence and showmanship could be parlayed into a big-money, full-time occupation.

Hagen wasn't the only good golfer of his time, of course, and Golf's Golden Age: Robert T. Jones, Jr. and the Legendary Players of the '10s, '20s and '30s is a fascinating volume that blends archival photos and informative text to shine light on the less-heralded players of the game's formative, early modern era. Rand Jerris, director of the United States Golf Association Museum and Archives, oversaw the compilation of the amazing black-and-white portraits, which were snapped by the late, great George Pietzcker (1885-1971) and came to the USGA by way of a 1980 donation from the estate of the legendary Bobby Jones. Each of the 52 photos—Chick Evans, Johnny McDermott, Tommy Armour, Leo Diegel, et al.—is accompanied by a biographical sketch. In addition, David Normoyle contributes an extended essay on Jones and his heroic 1930 achievement of golf's Grand Slam.


Rules of the game

Golf, an entry in DK's Eyewitness Companions series, is a must-have volume for both casual and committed fans. It's an elegant, compact handbook that glistens with sparkling color photos and offers astute coverage of every aspect of the game. Seven stylishly organized chapters discuss the history of the sport, modern-day equipment, basics for newcomers, rules, shot analysis, a rundown of the major tournaments and a guided tour of some of the world's best courses. It looks a tad pricey, but this book, chock-full of essential facts and figures, should become a treasured addition to anyone's sports shelf.


Around the world in 1,001 holes

Many golfers have their favorite regular playing fields, but who hasn't dreamed of taking on the world's exclusive and historic venues? Stoking this sense of unbridled wish fulfillment is 1001 Golf Holes You Must Play Before You Die, which offers a hearty tour of the game's most glorious (and notorious) individual holes. Besides overseeing the assemblage of gorgeous color photos, general editor Jeff Barr supervised a team of writers who passionately describe each hole's beauty, as well as the challenge it poses to the ambitious golfer. Coverage is international—U.S., U.K., Australia, Spain, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada, Thailand, etc.—with various courses represented a lot more than once. For example, Pebble Beach, Augusta National and Royal Troon (Old Course) each have five memorable holes featured. Arrangement is by hole number (1-18) and, within that, by par (3-4-5); handy indexes spur easy navigation within sections. This is simply a stunner of a book, which will sit nicely on a coffee table—that is, when it's not being thumbed eagerly by a dreamy duffer.


© 2005 ProMotion, inc.
www@bookpage.com