Golf Books

Long Island has some of the greatest golf courses in the world and Mr. Quirin as done a fabulous job of detailing many of these gems. The book is filled with breath-taking photography and excellent histories of the clubs and several of it's more famous members, along with historical matches played over these links the past 100 years. If you like golf course architecture, nature, and/or history...you will definitely enjoy this book. My dream has been to play many of these courses some summer, but I'm afraid that dream just became more expensive after reading this book!

This book of true golf stories contains sections on such notables as Tommy Armour, Seve Ballesteros, Patty Berg, Julius Boros, Roberto de Vincenzo, Ben Hogan, Bernhard Langer, Nancy Lopez, Dave Marr, Byron Nelson, Jose Maria Olazabel, Francis Ouimet, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Nick Price, Sam Snead, Lee Trevino, and Tiger Woods (among others). The sections are humorously illustrated with caricatures by Pulitzer-prize winning cartoonist, Paul Szep.

While not all of the stories were new to me, they are in the great tradition of those who love the game. This is a great book to have and to give as a gift.

My favorite story from the book was one that I had already known, but I was glad to be reminded of it. On Christmas Eve while visiting friends in Fort Worth shortly before her death, Babe Zaharias asked to be taken to Colonial. Once there, she got out weakly wearing pajamas and a bathrobe. She walked over to the green on number two, and lay down. She touched the grass, and said, "I just wanted to see a golf course one more time."

Many of the stories are quite light, and will make for good telling during your next round. Bob Hope asked Jimmy Demaret, "Jimmy, with my game, what do I have to do to be a consistent winner?" "Cheat," said Demaret.

Some of the stories just plain make sense. The short, 107 yard par 3 seventh hole at Pebble Beach can be tough when you have to tee off into a gale. After his companions lost ball after ball in these conditions during an exhibition round, Walter Hagen pulled out his putter and rolled the ball downhill near the green. He got up and down in two from there to make his par.

When the greats meet the greats, interesting things happen. John Jacobs was a fine touring pro who became an even better teacher. One day Peter Thomson (five time winner of the British Open) asked Jacobs to come give him a lesson. Jacobs waited while Thomson got a club. Thomson got into address position, and asked Jacobs what he thought. Jacobs approved, and the lesson was over.

Having known people who threw clubs, I was interested in the firm line that Arnold Palmer's father took when Arnie lofted one over a tree while a youngster. Nancy Lopez's father did the same.

A beautiful moment in the book comes when Arnie tells Tiger to wear the mantle of leadership with pride, passing on his own heritage as a great champion.

After you have finished reading and enjoying the stories, think about how you could share these stories with others to help them enjoy golf and life more. Most of us learn better through stories, and these are very good ones. Be sure to pick your time and place. Many of the stories relate to famous holes, and could be nicely combined with a pleasant round (at say, Augusta). That would be a wonderful use for this fine book.

The Apple Approach to Golf is the A to Z of golf instruction in a neatly laid out and photographed book. A quick read, the Apple Approach to Golf offers advice for the first time golfer all the way up to pros looking to sharpen their edge. Author Stephen Glazer breaks the game down to its simplest elements and teaches basics that will aid golfers of all ages and abilities. His secret in a nutshell is: if you can toss a ball, you can play golf. The better your toss, the better your golf game. Glazer takes the basic techniques of tossing and translates the experience into swinging and connecting with the golf ball. It's an amazing little book (and inexpensive!) that you'll pick up time and time again. I know I have.

For anyone who is interested in golf course architecture, this book is a must for your library. Contains a complete index (a continuous work-in-process) of architects and their courses. Essentially every course in the world (including those which are no longer in existance), is listed including its location, date of orgin and the architects who created it also the provider of any known substantial (professional) renovation work. It must take a tremendous effort for the authors to keep this book up to date. I hope the fact that this book is no longer in print indicates that the authors are hard at work. If you do not have a copy find one, if you have to go the the library and photocopy theirs (but bring a stack of dimes its very long).

I only ever played one round of golf, persuaded to join a day out for the whole office. My equally incompetent opponent and I had a competitive match until he stopped counting his score so I won the match with a score of 270 although I might have won even if he'd kept his core till the end. My reward for this dubious victory was to be presented with the first edition of this book when I eventually left the company. It's not difficult to see why this book was chosen for me.

The author takes an amusing look at all the things that can and do go wrong on a golf course. The opening chapter describes an episode in which a wayward drive sends a ball on to the nearby road and into the window of a passing lorry, leading to a very amusing sequence of events.

There is a particularly funny, albeit politically incorrect, episode about two women golfers. The basis of this chapter is that bad golfers spend a lot of time in the rough but that while men just want to get their ball back into play, women can actually enjoy this aspect of the game as it gives them the chance to study the local wildlife. Sometimes a wayward drive takes them into a wood full of primroses or bluebells. At other holes, they have a chance to study nesting birds.

The author asserts that men interpret the rules (such as moving unplayable balls) to suit themselves. Of course, these players are never going to be good enough to play in an event with an official to enforce the rules correctly.

There are many other amusing events in this book covering water hazards, course etiquette (or lack thereof), golf handicap ratings and equipment. Some bad golf strokes are given names - the knurdle, the jobble and the rigor mortis among them.

While this is a fairly short book, it is hilarious from start to finish if you know anything about golf played by normal people - a world away from the professional stuff.

This is a beautiful book. An illustrated history of clubs, balls, and accessories. More than 100 full-color photographs from the USGA Museum, beautifully capturing the aesthetics of the sport and its' natural arena. A hit for any golf nut.

Reviewed by Michelle Anne Cox-Lomas for Reader Views (9/06)

"The Art of Martial Golf" by Michael J. Swanick will have you taking a good look at your life, your health, your relationships, your deepest passionate belief systems and most importantly your golf swing! Through a great true personal story line about how he came to understand the techniques that he now can teach you and through some easy to follow, step by step, martial arts exercises - pictures included - you will learn in a very short time just how you can get to the tee, focus, breathe, and truly improve your game by being able to achieve your perfect golf swing.

The key to a fantastic golf swing starts with the amount of passionate dedication that you want to make towards improving every aspect of your life. It's not as hard as it may sound, for Michael J. Swanick will take you step by step through some easy to learn techniques that he learned through his studies with his Martial Arts instructor Michael Leoni. The techniques you will learn will help you to improve your breathing, your focus, your self-confidence, your sense of balance, and of course...your golf swing! You are going to learn how to add all that you learn and all that you do, to your "Bank of Life." Mr. Swanick gives some very good examples of how his "Bank of Life" works and if you can follow his examples, you will be able to create that great golf swing and even become more financially abundant, (so that you will have more money to play golf,) in a very short time! I have been so much more aware of what I put into my "Bank of Life" each day since reading this fantastic book and I am very sure that you will want to read all about this very important part of your life too.

Throughout "The Art of Martial Golf" you will become so inspired that you will be able to have the confidence that you need to accomplish your goals. I truly loved the exercises and techniques.
I am only an amateur golfer, at best, but I love to play and I have been practicing the martial arts moves that he taught me each and every day...and I love it! Not only because I know that I am going to be able to be a better golfer, but also because I love the moves and how they make me "feel" and he does talk about how golf is really a game of "passionate feeling" which I totally agree with.

You will learn how to move your body, keep your calm and balance and have more confidence in every area of your life. Your focus is very important when you play golf. You can stand there at the tee and believe that you are not going to do well and guess what...you won't do well. But, you can focus with confidence, because you learned these great techniques and philosophies, and you will do better than you ever have before. Every golfer desires to have a better golf swing and to be able to repeatedly do well, over and over again. This is truly possibly now and all you have to do is get a copy of this great book, do some simple and very mind calming techniques, stretch your body, practice the moves - and practice does make creatively perfect - and soon you will see the improvements coming into your life - like magic - these techniques do work. My husband and I went golfing the other day and he was joking with me that if I beat him (and he has been playing longer than I have) that he would buy me dinner anywhere I wanted...well, guess what...I won! And the other "guys" that were out there playing with us were in awe and thought that I must have been taking private lessons that no one knew about. Well, in a way, I was! I pulled the book out of my golf bag and showed it to them. They were looking at it all together in a circle and were genuinely impressed. They wrote down the title and were all excited to get their own copies that very same day! I felt so confident and happy, because I had never beaten any of them before and I have to give all thanks to Michael J. Swanick for taking the time and making the effort to share his life experiences, wisdom, and techniques with me.

I really enjoyed Michael J. Swanick's writing style, sense of humor, and easy going ability to pull me right into his book, get me on my feet, and start practicing the exercises and techniques that he teaches so beautifully. From the first page to the last, "The Art of Martial Golf" is an excellent book! A+++

Mientras el detective Poirot y su ayudante Hastings desayunan en Londres, reciben una carta desde Francia firmada por un famoso millonario que les dice que vayan pronto, pues posee un secreto que le hace temer por su vida...pero cuando Poirot acude, ya es demasiado tarde, y el cadàver del millonario yace en el campo de golf pròximo a su finca....

The pictures are amazing! Anyone who wants pictures of Augusta this is the book.

Gail Braman tells an entertaining tale of what happens when her husband retires and she tells him not to come home for lunch. He takes Gail at her word, and instead buys a golf course in rural Vermont. Being a loyal spouse, Gail bravely ventures into the world of golf course ownership. Despite floods, llamas and unpredictable customers, husband and wife learn to function as a team. This book could be termed a survival course or even a how-not-to-do-it book. You'll laugh! And if your spouse retires, please make sure the lunch table is set for two.