Hooked: An Amateur's Guide to the Golf Courses of Ireland


Book Description

What makes playing a golf course a great experience? Kevin Markham travelled 6,800 miles in a 20-year-old camper van, walked 2,100 miles, lost countless balls, and wore out three pairs of golf shoes to find out. He played and rated every 18-hole course - all 350 of them. The result is the most comprehensive, best-researched guide to Irish golfs, from expensive, well-known courses to affordable little gems. Kevin assesses each course in a detailed review and from a novel perspective, rating the golfing experience using the same criteria for all courses. Courses are ranked out of 100, across 8 criteria, such as design, appeal and value for money. This concise, detailed book is for golfing tourists looking for great value courses; for golfing societies that want to go beyond their local area; and for Irish golfers searching for excellent but unsung courses in Ireland. Written from an amateur's perspective, reviews focus on the energy and excitement of playing each course to give a true representation of the golf experience, and provides all the information necessary to book your round.




An American Caddie in St. Andrews


Book Description

A caddie since he was twelve and a golfer sporting a 1.8 handicap, Ollie decides to spend his gap year, pre Harvard, in St. Andrews: a town with the U.K.'s highest number of pubs per capita and home to the Old Course, golf's most famous eighteen holes, where he enrolls in the St. Andrews Links Trust caddie trainee program. Initially, the notoriously brusque veteran caddies treat Ollie like a pest. But after a year of waking up at 4:30 A.M. every morning and looping two rounds a day, Ollie earns their grudging respect. A charming coming-of-age memoir.




Hooked on Autographs


Book Description

Hooked on Autographs by Joe Galiardi is an unforgettable collection of anecdotes and yarns that highlight what it took for the author to obtain over 425 celebrity signed golf balls over the past 30 years. In this unusual memoir, the author describes many of his favorite stories in garnering and gathering autographed golf balls from golfers, entertainers, sports figures, and U.S. presidents. With a wonderfully engaging and colloquial driven prose, golf lovers will revel and non-golfers will delight. Beginning with how he became an autograph seeker, in 16 spirited chapters, Galiardi shares the best parts. With titles such as "Jack Lemmon - A 'Cut' Above," "Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitation," "Presidents of the United States," and "In a Class by Themselves," he shares an infectious passion for the hobby of collecting autographs.




Golf is a Four-letter Word


Book Description

Purporting to be an account of Armour's lifelong love-hate affair with the game of golf, this is a marvellously pointed and hilarious testament to the ability of golf to humiliate its devotees and make them come back for more. Whether Armour is adjusting his stance to allow for a new-found curvature in his clubs, or finds the secret of the perfect swing in a long-billed cap, this book never fails to amuse and, perhaps too often, reflect something very close to the truth. Golfers everywhere will treasure it.




Hooked


Book Description

When Native American Fredericka 'Fred' Oday is invited to become the only girl on the school's golf team, she can't say no. This is an opportunity to shine, win a scholarship and go to university, something no one in her family has done. But Fred's presence on the team isn't exactly welcome – especially not to rich golden boy Ryan Berenger, whose best friend was kicked off the team to make a spot for Fred. But there's no denying that things are happening between the girl with the killer swing and the boy with the killer smile...




The Single Plane Golf Swing


Book Description

“Through this wonderful book, frustrated golfers can learn to swing like Moe [Norman] and improve their games.” —Anthony Robbins, #1 New York Times–bestselling author The mysterious and reclusive genius Moe Norman is acknowledged as the best ball-striker in the history of golf by many of the game’s greats. The Single Plane Golf Swing: Play Better Golf the Moe Norman Way reveals the secrets of the swing that enabled him to hit the ball solidly with unerring accuracy and consistency—every time. Norman’s simple, efficient, and easily understood Single Plane Swing has improved the games of thousands of golfers. Golf professional Todd Graves, known as “Little Moe” and regarded as the world authority on Norman’s swing, comprehensively teaches readers the mechanics, drills, and feelings of the Single Plane Swing that Moe called “The Feeling of Greatness.” Graves shares Norman’s brilliant insights and liberating approach to the game and demonstrates why the conventional “tour” swing is too complex and frustrating for the majority of amateurs. Illustrated with more than 300 photographs and written with Tim O’Connor, Norman’s biographer, the book also engagingly tells Norman’s bittersweet life story and explores the teacher-student bond forged between Norman and his protégé Graves. “One of golf’s greatest untold stories, Moe Norman’s life illustrated a simple and powerful truth: greatness is built from practicing the right swing in the right way. In this book, Todd Graves has given us a blueprint for that swing, for those practice habits, and most of all for a process that builds success.” —Dan Coyle, New York Times-bestselling author of The Culture Code




Golf


Book Description

Golf is one of the most popular hobby sports among men and women of all ages, but if you've never picked up a club before, it's hard to know where to begin. Geared for the absolute beginner, Idiot's Guides: Golf teaches all of the basics in a series of "lessons" using full-color, baby-step-by-baby-step instructions. Every lesson is accompanied by helpful golf pro advice on common mistakes and how to avoid them. Dozens of practice drills and "Practice This!" images remind players of swing technique. In addition, this easy-to-use guide features detailed information on golf rules, lingo, and etiquette.




A Course Called Scotland


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “One of the best golf books this century.” —Golf Digest Tom Coyne’s A Course Called Scotland is a heartfelt and humorous celebration of his quest to play golf on every links course in Scotland, the birthplace of the game he loves. For much of his adult life, bestselling author Tom Coyne has been chasing a golf ball around the globe. When he was in college, studying abroad in London, he entered the lottery for a prized tee time in Scotland, grabbing his clubs and jumping the train to St. Andrews as his friends partied in Amsterdam; later, he golfed the entirety of Ireland’s coastline, chased pros through the mini-tours, and attended grueling Qualifying Schools in Australia, Canada, and Latin America. Yet, as he watched the greats compete, he felt something was missing. Then one day a friend suggested he attempt to play every links course in Scotland and qualify for the greatest championship in golf. The result is A Course Called Scotland, “a fast-moving, insightful, often funny travelogue encompassing the width of much of the British Isles” (GolfWeek), including St. Andrews, Turnberry, Dornoch, Prestwick, Troon, and Carnoustie. With his signature blend of storytelling, humor, history, and insight, Coyne weaves together his “witty and charming” (Publishers Weekly) journey to more than 100 legendary courses in Scotland with compelling threads of golf history and insights into the contemporary home of golf. As he journeys Scotland in search of the game’s secrets, he discovers new and old friends, rediscovers the peace and power of the sport, and, most importantly, reaffirms the ultimate connection between the game and the soul. It is “a must-read” (Golf Advisor) rollicking love letter to Scotland and golf as no one has attempted it before.




Golf Course of Rhymes


Book Description

Written with the help of golfing poets such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, Charles “Chick” Evans, Grantland Rice and Billy Collins. Laid out as a golf course with Holes (chapters) such as “St. Andrews,” “Agonies and Frustrations,” “Advice,” “Politics and War,” “Links with the Devil” and “The Women’s Game.” Illustrated with pictures, cartoons and photographs. The text and poems include humorous tales, historical dramas and personal accounts that will touch the hearts of golfers universally. Much of the material comes from inaccessible books and magazines published in the U.S., England and Scotland before 1930.




Power Golf


Book Description

Master golfer Ben Hogan (1912-1997) is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, most notably for his legendary ball-striking ability. There are numerous theories as to what made Hogan's swing so effective and in Power Golf, now available in a trade paperback format, he shares a lifetime of championship secrets for improving every phase of the game. Regardless of their level of golfing expertise, readers are guaranteed to see a difference the next time they pick up their club!