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Sports & Recreation Golf

This Round's On Me

Lorne Rubenstein On Golf

by (author) Lorne Rubenstein

Publisher
McClelland & Stewart
Initial publish date
Mar 2010
Category
Golf, Essays, Sociology of Sports
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780771078583
    Publish Date
    Mar 2010
    List Price
    $21.00

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Where to buy it

Description

Lorne Rubenstein is the preeminent figure in the world of Canadian golf journalism and a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. He has been reporting on golf for more than thirty years, and this is a collection of Rubenstein’s best and favourite pieces from 1993 to 2008, selected from thousands of newspaper, magazine, and Internet articles. In this book, readers will revel in the wide range of subjects, including course design; swing techniques (such as the stack and tilt); famous people, such as Moe Norman, Jack Nicklaus, Marlene Streit, Payne Stewart, and Ben Hogan; writers, such as Stephen Leacock; and reflections on the beauty and joy of the game. Two separate chapters are devoted to our most important golf heroes: the Canadian champion Mike Weir and the indomitable Tiger Woods.

Within these pages, golf enthusiasts of every age and skill level will find something new to delight them. This is as much a celebration of the sport as it is a celebration of one of our most esteemed and beloved golf writers.

About the author

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.

Excerpt: This Round's On Me: Lorne Rubenstein On Golf (by (author) Lorne Rubenstein)

Maybe it was the time I shot 67 at Uplands in Toronto, where I played as a teenager and into my twenties, that started my obsession with golf. How did I do that? Or equally, maybe it was when I shot 71—70—77 to lead the Uplands club championship after fifty-four holes, but then shot 78 in the last round. How did that happen? Or maybe watching Moe Norman drill golf balls one after the other without taking any time in between, his feet spread-eagled, his body stiff as a pole stuck in the ground, and hitting them dead straight, showed me that it’s possible to play the game in other than conventional ways. Moe played fast, spoke quickly, and broke course records and won tournaments with a swing so far from the norm as to make me want to question the norms; there was room for individuality and creativity in the game. Perhaps it was watching Jack Nicklaus hit a fat pitch shot from close to the seventeenth green at the Mississauga Golf and Country Club near Toronto, when he was contending in the last round for the 1965 Canadian Open, that helped me realize golf is one confounding game. Nicklaus? Come on. That didn’t happen, did it? Gene Littler won the tournament, and Nicklaus never did win the Canadian Open, although he finished second seven times.

Then again, maybe golf grabbed me because I enjoyed the hours my dad and I shared in our dawn games at the Don Valley Golf Course around the corner from my home. I still live nearby and I still feel the pull of that course and play there from time to time. What was it about golf and courses and the people who play the game that captured me and wouldn’t let go? I started to write about golf professionally in the mid-1970s, and I still ask those questions and try to come up with responses in print. The song “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” wasn’t about golf, but in my case, it might as well have been. Golf has had a hold on me and hasn’t released its grip. Hmmm. Speaking of the grip, which works better, interlocking or overlapping?

There’s so much to write about, because there’s always something happening in the game. This means that certain subjects and events demand consideration. This was the case when Mike Weir defeated Tiger Woods in their singles match at the 2007 Presidents Cup, and when Woods’s father, Earl, died. Then there’s the endless quest for improvement, a staple of golf magazines, golf books, and my own writing. I admit to a sometimes unhealthy fascination with the swing and the mental side of the game — unhealthy because I’ve probably thought so much about related subjects that my game has suffered. But so what? It’s what I do. It’s who I am. Golf also happens to be a worldwide sport. It’s a culture, and so the game provides opportunities for us to think about other matters. The game is played on a huge landscape, and sometimes it seems almost too manicured; is that a good thing, or does rough, rugged golf engage us more? An eighteen-hole round takes about four hours, when things are moving along reasonably well, and so we have time to slow down. That’s useful in a fast-paced Blackberry world, isn’t it? I walk a course and I consider whether I’m running myself ragged in other parts of my life. Friends and I discuss politics, film, music — whatever comes up. Sure, we could do this over dinner, but it’s somehow more satisfying to talk things over and think things through in the fresh air on the course as we follow our shots around the landscape.

Editorial Reviews

“Every page of this wonderful collection of golfing stories will remind you why you love the game, and why, no matter how you play it, you will always find a certain peace in what will surely be another ‘fine spring.’”
— Peter Mansbridge

“Lorne Rubenstein writes about golf the way Byron Nelson played the game. It seems so effortless, so relaxed — but it goes the distance and always, always, holds the element of surprise. This is a real pro at the top of his game. Sit back, tee these small gems up and enjoy.”
— Roy MacGregor

“[Lorne Rubenstein is] one of the great contemporary names in golf journalism.”
— John McPhee, in The New Yorker
Praise for A Disorderly Compendium of Golf:

“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

Praise for Mike Weir: The Road to the Masters:

“When you finish reading this book, you'll feel as if you've slipped the Green Jacket on yourself.”
ScoreGolf