A Disorderly Compendium of Golf
Wisdom, Folly, Rules, Truths, Trivia, and More
- Publisher
- McClelland & Stewart
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2006
- Category
- Golf, Business Aspects, Sociology of Sports
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780771078569
- Publish Date
- Oct 2006
- List Price
- $19.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
The ideal gift for every golfer — pros and duffers alike.
The obsessive book about the obsessive game, and more fun to read than a green at Ballybunion. Written by two authors who have misspent their lives in thrall to the sport, A Disorderly Compendium of Golf digs into the odd, the fascinating, the historical, the random, the unexpected, and the curmudgeonly, and serves up hundreds of pages of lists, anecdotes, humour, surprises, and the sheer compelling minutiae of a game whose pleasure lies in the details.
It’s all here, including history (the oldest courses, top five money-winners at ten-year intervals), odd rules (did you know you may take a free drop from a fire-ant hill but not from poison ivy?), helpful tips and golf instruction (how to hit Phil Mickelson’s trademark flop shot), the lexicon (professional caddie nicknames, terms for an ugly shot, names of golf balls), gambling games, the grasses used in greens, unusual patents, Shakespearean quotes on golf, longest and shortest holes . . . and more, much more.
About the authors
Contributor Notes
Lorne Rubenstein is an award-winning golf writer, columnist for the Globe and Mail, and author of eight books, most recently, Mike Weir: The Road to the Masters. Rubenstein lives with his wife in Toronto and Jupiter, Florida.
Jeff Neuman has worked on golf books with, among others, Jack Nicklaus, Davis Love III, Butch Harmon, and Alan Shipbuck. He was the editor of Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book and has written about golf for the New York Times, Links Magazine, and Private Clubs.
Excerpt: A Disorderly Compendium of Golf: Wisdom, Folly, Rules, Truths, Trivia, and More (by (author) Lorne Rubenstein & Jeff Neuman)
TOP TEN GOLFER/CADDIE EXCHANGES
GOLFER: I think I’m going to drown myself in the lake.
CADDIE: Do you think you can keep your head down that long?
GOLFER: I’d move heaven and earth to break 100 on this course.
CADDIE: Try heaven; you’ve already moved most of the earth.
GOLFER: Do you think my game is improving?
CADDIE: Yes sir, you miss the ball much closer now.
GOLFER: Do you think I can get there with a five-iron?
CADDIE: Eventually.
GOLFER: You’ve got to be the worst caddie in the world.
CADDIE: I don’t think so, sir. That would be too much of a coincidence.
GOLFER: Please stop checking your watch all the time. It’s too much of a distraction.
CADDIE: It’s not a watch. It’s a compass.
GOLFER: How do you like my game?
CADDIE: Very good, sir, but personally, I prefer golf.
GOLFER: Do you think it’s a sin to play on Sunday?
CADDIE: The way you play, sir, it’s a sin on any day.
GOLFER: This is the worst course I’ve ever played on.
CADDIE: This isn’t the golf course. We left that an hour ago.
And the # 1 best golfer/caddie exchange:
GOLFER: That can’t be my ball. It’s too old.
CADDIE: It’s been a long time since we teed off, sir.
Editorial Reviews
"Golf is full of quirky bits and pieces along with stories and information. There’s something on every page of this entertaining book to interest and amuse every golfer. Not surprising with Lorne Rubenstein involved — one of the best."
—Arnold Palmer
"A must-read for golf obsessives."
—Nick Price
"Don’t open this book! It’s far too addictive."
—Alan Shipnuck, author of Bud, Sweat, & Tees
"With A Season in Dornoch, Lorne Rubenstein, one of golf’s gifted modern writers, has done every fan of the game a great and entertaining service. . . . This tale of discovery will linger in the mind of any lover of the auld sod long after it’s finished."
–James Dodson, author of Final Rounds