GOLF BIBLIOGRAPHY - NONFICTION

Prepared by Lawrence Martin

Other golf books - by category
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A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour, by John Feinstein
A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour, by John Feinstein: Audio Cassette
The title is an oft-repeated quote attributed to Mark Twain. Feinstein traveled with the pros (Nick Price, Greg Norman, et. al.) in the mid 1990s, and wrote this engrossing account. Published in 1996, the book was a New York Times bestseller.

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The Majors: In Pursuit of Golf's Holy Grail, by John Feinstein
Another in-depth account of professional golf by John Feinstein, author of A Good Walk Spoiled. With its detailed emphasis on the 1998 major championships (Masters, US & British Opens, and the PGA), the book will become more dated each year. However, you probably won't find as much detail about the players and these 4 tournaments anywhere else. One criticism - there is too much emphasis on specific scores and not enough on personalities, especially in his account of the '98 Masters (won by Mark O'Meara on his last shot on Sunday). In spite of this (or perhaps because of it), this is a book most golf nuts won't be able to lay aside.

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My Usual Game, by David Owen
An absolutely delightful book, by one of the two best writers of the game today (the other is John Feinstein). If you enjoy golf, you will find yourself nodding, 'Yes, I understand what you mean, I agree, I understand...' and so forth.

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Lure of the Links: Great Golf Stories, edited by David Owen and Joan Bingham
A superb collection of both fiction and non-fiction pieces, by the famous (Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Bernard Darwin, Michael Murphy, John Updike, George Plimpton, among others) and the not so famous. David Owen, the book's principal editor, wrote My Usual Game (see above).

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The Making of the Masters: Clifford Roberts, Augusta National and Golf's Most Prestigious Tournament, by David Owen
On my reading list. The reviews all emphasize how Owen tries to rehabilitate the image of Clifford Roberts, deceased co-founder(along with Bobby Jones) of the Masters. Over the years Roberts received a lot of flak for the club's prohibition against black players.

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Golf Dreams, by John Updike
One of the top fiction writers of the late 20th century, Updike is also an avid golfer; these essays show his love of the game.

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Golf My Way, by Jack Nicklaus
We will NEVER golf Jack's way, but hey, he had to come up with a title. And this book is a standard among works by the golf's all time greats.

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A Golfer's Life, by Arnold Palmer
Arnold Palmer: A Golfer's Life: Audio cassette

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The Soul of Golf, by William Hallberg
"Memoir of a golfing odyssey in which Hallberg circled the country, playing the game in all varieties of venues and musing throughout on its transcendental essence." I have not read this book.

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Golf and the Spirit: Golf Lessons for the Journey, by M. Scott Peck
Peck is a psychiatrist and best selling author of books dealing with mysticism, religion and psychology (The Road Less Traveled was on the NYTimes bestseller list for 10 years). Books of this nature dealing with golf all have similar themes: 'Golf is a metaphor for life/spirituality/self knowledge/ finding God/finding inner peace/finding the meaning of life.' It is hard to argue with such works, since there is this kernal of truth about golf - how one handles the ups and downs of the game is revealing of one's character. However, most golfers would do better learning how to position the ball, line up shots and swing the club then reading books about spirituality, mysticism and psychology.

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Every Shot I Take : Lessons Learned About Golf, Life, and a Father's Love, by Davis Love III
Love's father was a top teaching pro who died tragically in a plane crash.

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Just a Range Ball in a Box of Titleists: On & Off the Tour with Gary McCord, by Gary McCord
A former PGA player who won his first ever tournament as a senior in 1999, McCord also has been an announcer with CBS for over a decade. He is known for his humor and 'pull no punches' comments. Author of Golf for Dummies.

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No golf bibliography would be complete without books by, or about, Golf's No. 1. Below are 5 good Tiger books.

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Training a Tiger: A Father's Guide to Raising a Winner in Both Golf and Life, by Earl Woods

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The Chosen One: Tiger Woods and The Dilemma of Greatness, by David Owen

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How I Play Golf, by Tiger Woods and Golf Digest Editors

This book is also listed in the Instruction section. The blurb for this book states: "...How I Play Golf is not only a first rate instructional guide, it also communicates a passion and respect for the game that beginners, hackers, and low handicappers should find inspiring..."

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How Tiger Does It, by Brad Kearns

A motivational-style book based on all the outstanding attributes of Tiger Woods. It's subtitle is "Put the success formula of a champion into everything you do." And why not Tiger as example? As the author says right off the bat: "I believe there is a strong case for Tiger Woods being considered the greatest athlete of all time."

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Follow the Roar, by Bob Smiley

TV writer and ESPN.com contributor Bob Smiley followed Tiger's 2008 career - all 604 holes through the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where Woods won his 14th major.

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Other golf books - by category

Rare and Hard to Find Golf Books
Golfpast.com / Abe Books.com

Annotated book categories
FICTION / GENERAL NONFICTION / INSTRUCTION / PERSONAL ACCOUNTS: TRIALS AND TRAVAILS / TRIVIA, QUOTE BOOKS, AND OTHER GOLF MISCELLANY

Other golf sites by Lawrence Martin
Why Are You STILL a Hacker? - 9 Steps to Escape Hacker-dom / Secrets of the Best Golfers: From a Professional...Golfer

e-mail to Lawrence Martin

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