Hole By Hole
It's about golf.
Hole By Hole
It's about golf.
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Review
Breaking The Slump I can pinpoint exactly when my worst golfing slump began, as well as the date when I finally escaped the wrenching cycle of ever-worsening performances out on the course. It began shortly after I was elected to be the president of my club, and it ended shortly after my second term of office came to a merciful close. If you can’t play a round of golf without someone coming up to you and volunteering some new and different complaint about the way things are, it can’t help but affect your concentration and enjoyment of the game. Several past club presidents I know, from not only my club but also a few others, readily agreed that they have also experienced similar slumps in their game from the same causes. Sometimes, however, it’s not so easy to figure out why your golf game went south on you. It’s even harder to find your way back to a better game. That’s why Jimmy Roberts has done the golfing world a nice favor, by focusing on a topic most of us would just as soon put behind us. Slumps happen. What are you going to do about it? Roberts decided to ask a wide-ranging group of golfing greats, as well as a few others known well from other endeavors, to see how they managed to recover from the bouts of badness that can plague us all. It’s a nice addition to the psychological literature of golf, not least of which because the twenty or so stories in the book touch on a wide variety of potential solutions, any one of which may help the readers. For some, such as Paul Azinger, there is more than one source of the downturn. The popular PGA Champion and Ryder Cup captain faced down cancer and other life challenges, such as the loss of his good friend Payne Stewart, but also had trouble coming back from a steep decline in his playing skills. Azinger describes how hard it was to recover his confidence, and outlines some of the steps he took to do so. He also notes that in his case and for others, an equipment change can also be one of the unsuspected reasons for a slump. Scott Verplank has a daunting history of injuries and physical challenges that have knocked him down on several occasions. Nonetheless, for Roberts he’s also one of the great examples of resilience that should help the rest of us recover from our own difficulties. Verplank says we should believe that whatever we once did, we can do again. That light at the end of the tunnel may be farther away than we’d like, but it’s not going to go out unless we let it. I especially liked the Davis Love III chapter, because it may prove to be the most useful. Davis Love, Jr., was a great golf teacher, and many of the lessons he gave his son are detailed in another fine book, Every Shot I Take. His best playing advice to his now-famous son was to “Try less hard” while out on the golf course, while continuing to work very hard when on the practice range. Pressing while playing will keep you tense, and there are few things worse for your game than the inability to relax. Roberts also describes a bit of his own golfing history, which includes a slump that he describes with more good humor than many golfers might bring to the subject. As he says, in his position as a sports broadcaster he plays more than most, and less than he’d like. Despite working diligently to achieve a sterling low handicap, however, Roberts' own awful moments eventually inspired him to write this book. In other words, something good can come from something bad. Thank you, Jimmy, and good luck with your slump. It won’t be forever. Review Date: May 18, 2009 |
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Warm-hearted character study, just in time for The Masters When it comes to selling golf books, there are three specific seasons on which publishers pin their hopes. There’s Christmas time, of course. There’s also Father’s Day in June, when dads can sit in their recliners, browsing through a new coffee table book while watching the U.S. Open. However, the year’s first really big push for golf books is underway right now. With only a few weeks to go before The Masters Tournament, bookstore shelves are beginning to fill up with new offerings aimed at those who enjoy reading about the greenest sport in the world. Some of us bookish types are perfectly fine with this arrangement, and especially when someone writes a book that relates to this particular tournament, the first men’s major of the new season. This year’s Masters entry is deeply personal, extremely warmhearted, and just a delight to read: Freddie and Me: Life Lessons from Freddie Barnett, Augusta National’s Legendary Caddy Master, (Skyhorse Publishing; $19.95 SRP). Tripp Bowden is an Augusta, Georgia native, whose doctor father just happened to include Augusta National’s caddy master among his many patients. Dr. Bowden was a very good amateur player in his prime, but the ten-year-old Tripp had no interest in golf—only fishing. In fact, the time his father spends playing golf seems to inspire deep resentment in the young boy. But one day, Barnett appears at the Bowden residence, and invites the suddenly star-struck boy to join him on a fishing expedition to the nearby cathedral of golf. After landing umpteen bream from the ponds with a pair of bamboo rods, the gentle giant suggests to Tripp that golf is a lot like fishing, at least in how to catch and land a big fish. Barnett shows him, and the boy quickly learns a proper grip. From that mesmerizing experience, it was short work to bring the boy around to learning how to play golf, eventually well enough to play on a Division I college team. Long before then, however, Tripp had much else to learn about golf and life from his new tutor. Barnett had a long and distinguished career as the caddy master at Augusta National. Based on Bowden’s account, he was a natural born diplomat, counselor, raconteur, protector of the weak, and general all-round good guy. Bowden tells story after story about Bennett and the Augusta caddies who worked for him, sprinkled with the occasional gossipy bit about the Tour players during Masters week, the giants of the business world who are the members of Augusta National, and some of the better-known guests of the members. Bowden witnessed many of these stories directly, because after finishing college he was, as they say, a bit unsettled about his future. Once again, Bennett came to his rescue, hiring Bowden as a caddy for several seasons. Bowden manages to befriend most of the other caddies, many of whom knew him since that long-ago fishing trip/golf lesson at Ike’s Pond. This child of privilege blended easily with men from less promising backgrounds, thanks in part to the relationship he already enjoyed with the caddy master. Portions of this part of the memoir are far less amusing, however, because of the heavy toll that life off the course sometimes took on some of Bowden’s fellow caddies. His caddy experience also put Bowden in touch with a wide variety of golfers, there to appreciate the rarified atmosphere of this famous place. It also helped him land his first real non-caddy job, which in turn led to his current career in advertising. The term "networking" comes to mind. This is a very quick read, almost breezy at times. Readers might want some parts of the memoir to include more than what’s here, but that’s not a large quibble. I can’t recall if I ever before read a golf book, or any other book for that matter, that kept a smile on my face for almost the entire time. It’s a fine memoir of a man who deserved one, and a good coming-of-age story as well. I highly recommend it. Review Date: March 20, 2009 |
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Cape Region connections noted in golf
architect book When reviewing a golf course architecture book appropriate for a coffee table, one doesn’t normally see too many references to the Cape Region’s golf courses. It’s not because there’s anything inherently shabby or uninteresting about the local layouts. It’s just that there are thousands of courses throughout the world. The golf course designers and those who write about golf tend to look elsewhere when discussing this particular branch of landscape artistry. It was all the more pleasant, therefore, to see at least a few passing references to Cape Region golf courses in a new book, Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects (Skyhorse Publishing; $40 SRP). Michael Patrick Shiels wrote the book in collaboration with the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Judging from the unusual format, Shiels obtained a short essay or anecdote from almost 120 designers about some aspect of their past experience in creating golf’s playgrounds all around the world. Each contributor was given their own mini-chapter, usually accompanied by a photograph from one of their courses, or a snippet of a design drawing or two, to help the reader understand and appreciate the many factors that go into this particular creative process. Those who enjoy looking at technical drawings, whether by an architect or engineer’s hand, will appreciate the dozens of these illustrations throughout the book. The chapters also include short biographies of the architects, including their education, golfing background, and a sample or two of the courses they’ve designed during their careers. Those mini-resumes are where the Cape Region references appeared, although unfortunately without any photographs or design sheets to help others appreciate how nice we have it here. John Cope’s page, for example, notes that he worked on The Peninsula golf course, near Millsboro, as part of the Nicklaus design team responsible for that gem. Bryan Ault’s extensive body of work throughout the Mid-Atlantic and elsewhere is summarized by only three layouts. Rehoboth Beach Country Club is one of them. Rick Jacobson’s biographical section lists several more courses in his career summary, and the third one noted in his collection is the Bear Trap Dunes Course in Ocean View. The only Delaware course to merit a photograph appears with David Whelchel’s chapter, a beautiful portrayal of the twelfth hole at Fieldstone Golf Club near Wilmington. There are a few other references to upstate courses, such as the DuPont Country Club, but otherwise that’s about it for the local angle. On the other hand, considering what the architects often wrote about, perhaps that’s a good thing. Many of these designers developed a keen and memorable aversion to poisonous snakes, a deadly hazard in other parts of the world, but a complete non-factor around here. After only a few of these anecdotes, the reader can certainly appreciate the need for the designers to put their boots on the ground as part of the initial stages of the design, as well as during course construction. I just don’t think we needed to hear so many stories of essentially the same kind. The architects also touched on other themes common to their varied experiences, such as how often a promising project will be dropped, or the need to teach owners or developers some of the fundamentals of golf course creation. On the other hand, very few of these designers describe any significant details about how they go about meeting golfers’ needs for a challenging 18-hole layout. Gary Panks’ chapter, "How to Spot Good Golf Course Design," is a welcome exception. Panks explains why and how he comes up with a variety of lengths for his collections of par 3s, 4s, and 5s, and describes how the prevailing winds for a given property are worked into the design. For those whose previous interest in golf course architecture is nearly non-existent, this short essay is a very useful primer. Although the book suffers a bit from the repetition, it should help golfers better appreciate all the work that goes into making their sport’s playing facilities so frequently challenging and enjoyable. Review date: March 6, 2009 |
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Review Harry Vardon's Excellent Adventure Modern-day professional golfers have millions of reasons to be thankful for Tiger Woods. Ever since Woods announced that he was going professional a dozen years ago, the sponsorship money and tournament winnings for PGA Tour members has shot up to previously inconceivable heights. The current recession has had an impact, though not as much as one might think. The total official purse for 2009 is $100,000 more than last year, and that’s with one less tournament in the mix. The real hits on professional golfers’ incomes may be off the Tour, such as a sharp reduction in the corporate outings that have been a profitable sideline for being very good at making magic with a little white ball. In the early 1900s, on the other hand, professional golfers relied on exhibitions and only a few tournaments to supplement their regular income as club pros. British and U.S. Open winner Harry Vardon was among the first golfers to point the way toward separating the gifted players from the regular club pro, at least in terms of how he earned his money. In this respect, Tiger Woods owes his own debt of gratitude to Vardon. That story is masterfully described in a new book by Bob Labbance with Brian Siplo, The Vardon Invasion: Harry’s Triumphant 1900 American Tour, (Sports Media Group; $26.95 SRP). Vardon, a native of the Isle of Jersey, came to golf in the usual way for professional golfers of his time. A golf course was built near his home, and he began working as a caddie. He learned the game quickly, and his natural athleticism, shown in other sports, came through once again. His tournament success, including his 1899 British Open victory, brought him to the attention of the Spalding Company, an American sporting goods maker. Vardon and Spalding soon came to an endorsement agreement. These are now routine for sports professionals, but were nowhere near so prevalent at that time. The deal included a yearlong promotion trip through the United States, with a break in the middle to permit Vardon to attempt to defend his British Open title. Vardon sailed over and began his schedule of exhibition matches in mid-February 1900, at the now-gone Laurence Harbor CC in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. At most of these events, each drawing from a few hundred to a few thousand spectators, Vardon played a match against the better ball of two competitors—usually the club pro and a local amateur champion, but sometimes two pros. For each event, Vardon earned a reported $250, plus expenses. In today’s dollars, that translates to about $6,200 per match, not counting Spalding’s costs to put Vardon in a Pullman rail car and send him to Florida, New England, or Colorado. By the time Vardon finished the year, he’d played nearly 80 such matches, which made him a very rich man, especially at a time when there was no income tax. Labbance and Siplo include in their interesting little history a series of well-written sidebars about most of Vardon’s opponents, both pro and amateur. These pieces help the reader understand not only how well Vardon played against some very good competition, but also about the social milieu for golf at the time, so different from today. The book also minces few words in describing the occasionally wretched conditions of some of the places Vardon played. Golf was in its relative infancy in America at that time, and Vardon’s diplomatic skills were surely tested after playing on the raw, unfinished courses that hosted him. At nearly every one of these matches, both the local and major newspapers were there to cover his play, helping to increase the level of public interest in golf at a level not yet seen in America. The fact that Vardon won the 1900 U.S. Open that fall didn’t hurt his marketability, either. The Spalding folks must have been pleased. Vardon’s special tour turned out to be a highly successful experiment in marketing for the company’s golf balls and clubs. For the rest of us, this history of Vardon’s 1900 adventure provides an intriguing glimpse at one of the early stages of the advancement of professional golf toward what we enjoy today. Review Date: January 16, 2009 |
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