Product Description

When exactly is a ball considered "lost"?
When is a "drop" allowed?
How does one define "slow play"?

These are just a few of the common -- and not-so-common -- questions answered by golfing legend Arnold Palmer in this comprehensive illustrated guide to the rules of the game. Despite the fact that golf has fewer rules than sports like baseball or football, it is a contest of honor, and all players, from tour professionals to weekend hackers, respect the rules. But, as Palmer points out, sometimes the rules are a little confusing -- and from time to time, even the pros are puzzled.

Here, in easy-to-follow language, one of golf's greats explains exactly what every golfer should know about the way the game should be played. Also included are anecdotes Palmer has culled from his own career, as well as the infamous moments in golf history that have helped define and test each rule.

If you're one of the millions of avid golfers who take to the links every year, need a clear explanation of all the rules of the game you love, and don't want to be left speechless when an argument over the "coefficient of restitution" pops up, then Playing by the Rules is an invaluable guide you'll refer to time and again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

solid contact
A terribly dull subject made truly exciting and amusing. The best book on
the rules of golf ever.

Rules entertaining?
This book is a fun way to lookat the rules of golf. The stories also help clear things up. I really like this book and highly recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
Here is a rollicking, anecdotal history of golf's PGA tour--from one of golf's best writers. ... Read more

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The late 1920's and early 1930's were the Golden Age of American golf, when many of the greatest amateurs and professionals to play the game were at the peak of their careers. Most notably, there was Bobby Jones, the legendary amateur from Atlanta, Georgia. In 1930, Bobby Jones captured golf's greatest achievement, the Grand Slam, by winning the U.S. Amateur, British Amateur, U.S. Open and British Open Championships in a single season, an unprecedented and unmatched feat in the history of the game. Golf's Golden Age celebrates Bobby Jones and 61 of the premier players he competed against, including Chick Evans, Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour, Walter Travis and Gene Sarazen, in his quest to win the Grand Slam through a series of never before seen vintage photographs from Jones' private collection. A biographic sketch of each golfer accompanies the photographs, taken by legendary golf photographer George Pietzcker. The profiles will provide an overview of each player's career, their contribution to the game's history and a contemporary quote (preferably from Jones) drawn from the rich archives of the USGA library.Introductory essays will set the tone for the book discussing the Golden Era of American Golf and the significance of the Grand Slam, as well as providing an overview on the life, career and contributions of George Pletzcker. A concluding essay will detail Jones' rich history and contribution to the game of golf. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Geoff Shackelford's Classic on America's Great Golf Courses and their Architects
I highly recommend Geoff Shackelford's book, The Golden Age of Golf Course Architecture. It's one of the great books of our generation.

Inside you will find the best source of photographic detail, excellent writing and great resource in the study of our great American courses and their now famous designers.

If You Love Golf - Get This Book!
This is an excellent book for lovers of golf both young and old.The book contains great photographs from the USGA museum archives.Most of all it gives a very interesting look at golfs history, its legenday players and how the game has evolved.
If you have a set of clubs, love the game and its history - get this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Here are the five hundred most beautiful, difficult, exotic, thrilling, and notorious golf holes in the world, complete with the fairways and greens, bunkers and hazards, that have thwarted Tiger Woods and David Duval, Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino, Ben Hogan and Bobby Jones-and those they have conquered.

Now available for the first time in paperback, this definitive collection of golf holes, complete with more than 600 color photographs and 18 schematics, is the ultimate dream book for golf enthusiasts worldwide.

This lavish book is filled with anecdotal "biographies" and vital statistics of the holes deemed the best in the world by the magazine's editors and their panel of international experts. Readers will find out if their favorite holes made the cut by first turning to The Eighteen, representing the most respected and challenging holes-holes like the thirteenth at Augusta National. Next, they discover the top one hundred (the eleventh at St. Andrews Old Course and the fifty at Pinehurst, for example). Finally, there is an all-inclusive gazetteer of all five hundred. A special section offers the Best of the Best-lists of holes by category, such as the most scenic, longest, best in Europe, hardest-to-putt greens, and so on.Amazon.com Review
The 500 World's Greatest Golf Holes succeeds in hitting precisely the two targets any book purporting to present golf's greatest anything must aim for: it'll have golfers both arguing with and dreaming about its contents. Simultaneously.

This is an altogether magnificent volume, big in size, big in contents, visually rich, and thoroughly engaging. Peper's opening essay explains how he and his editors identified the ultimate one-tenth of 1 percent of the 500,000 or so holes on the planet, and explores the question of what exactly makes a great golf hole. Challenge and difficulty, certainly, but also beauty, fairness, reputation, history, and the way it begins to eat into a golfer's mind as he or she takes it in from the tee box. It's all in the mix. Then the fun really starts, with a comprehensive look at the best 18--the 15th at Cypress Point (but not the more terrifying 16th), the 18th at Pebble, the 16th at Merion, the 17th at St. Andrews, the 6th at Royal Melbourne, and the 13th at Augusta among them--complete with lush photography and an artist's depiction of each. The next 100 are then rolled out in somewhat less depth, with the remainder of the 500 receiving a thumbnail sketch and photo, along with either appreciation or curses from golfers everywhere.

And then a different kind of fun starts. The last section of the volume is devoted to lists: the most scenic holes, the most difficult, the most strategic, most penal, best ocean, best mountain, best American, best European, best links, best Ross, best Tillinghast, the holes that have produced historic moments. If, as a golfer, you can't dispute or defend the choices that make up these lists, it might be about time to hang up the clubs. --Jeff Silverman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

For the avid golfer and great reference guide
I have had the opportunity to play some great courses.Before I go to a well known course, I go to this book and review the holes I am going to play.The pictures are fantastic and the history is great.Lastly, before I took a trip to France, I took out this book and reviewed the potential courses.It was a great starting point to put the itinerary together and we played some beautiful courses.This is a great gift for any avid golfer.

golf
I got this book as a gift for my dad. It has beautiful pictures. Every golf lover should have this in their collection

Great coffee table book or gift
If you are looking for a gorgeous book for your coffee table or a perfect gift for the golfer in your life than you should consider this book.I bought a copy of this and then created a new list of all the places I wanted to go play golf.The photos are amazing.

Winter Dreams of Summer Drives and Approaches
This book is one of the most complete looks at top golf holes around the world that most golfers can hope to have. Since most of us cannot be scratch golfers, play on the pro tour, or get access to the world's most exclusive clubs, one of the top joys of being a golfer is playing on any great hole. The next best thing is to imagine or to remember playing such a hole. For 100 of 500 top holes, this book will help provide this indirect enjoyment by putting you visually on either the tee and the green of many outstanding holes with a decent-sized color photograph. For 18 of 500 top holes, you are able to do both.

If you live in the parts of the world where golf is not available all year around, this book can also keep the spark alive (when you are not watching the Golf Channel).

The book contains four main sections. The first looks at 18 great holes (par 72). In this section, you see the view from the tee and from the green, plus enjoy a drawing of the hole's topography and layout. An excellent essay describes the hole to flesh out the photographs.

The second section examines 100 holes (25 par 3s, 50 par 4s, and 25 par 5s). Each hole contains a one page photograph and a one page essay. I was disappointed that some of the holes did not have the best photographic angle available. I suspect that the editors relied on whatever photograph worked best in this layout, rather than the photograph that best represented the hole. I graded the book down one star for this weakness.

The third section is like a catalog, for it contains four holes per page with a tiny picture and a brief paragraph. I'm not sure what else could have been done, but perhaps it would have been better to feature fewer holes and done more with each one.

The fourth section was my favorite, because it had lots of "bests" lists. These included the most difficult, heroic, penal, longest, mountain, water, hard to putt, and scenic. I especially liked the ranking of best holes by designer, those holes that are easiest to play on for the average person, and the ones that are hardest to get on to play.

The editors have a pretty reasonable view of what they have accomplished here.

"Is our World's Greatest list definitive? We doubt it."

"Is it controversial? We hope so."

"Is it defensible? You bet it is. Have a look."

Anyone who sees the book will have quibbles. The jacket cover has the 7th hole at Pebble Beach on it. Now that is a very scenic hole (and is the signature of Pebble Beach). The hole is very tough in a high wind. But on a calm day, it is one of the easiest holes in the world. I certainly wouldn't have put it on the jacket cover. The 18th at Pebble Beach would have been a better choice if you wanted to do one hole from that course.

The process used was pretty exhaustive, but hardly definitive. For the United States, readers of Golf Magazine and its web site could make nominations. Editors of top publications around the world proposed the other holes. In the end 40 countries and territories are represented. The U.S. does seem overrepresented though. A lot of the holes are in here just because they are long. That's not so defensible these days when long hitters can conquer almost any hole in 2 shots to the green. The final choices were made at Carnoustie in 1999 during the British Open by the Golf Magazine editors, the 11 non-U.S. publication editors who had made the nominations, plus a representative each from St. Andrews and the U.S.G.A. Naturally, you have St. Andrews overrepresented in the book.

I found that the list seemed overweighted toward the well-known holes (such as the 7th at Pebble Beach and the 17th at the Old Course in St. Andrews), but that makes it more interesting to the people who want to know more about those holes. Although the book has some material about famous moments on the holes, it would have been improved by doing much more of this. When I have played any of the holes in the book, it is the stories about competitive experiences by great golfers that have enriched the pleasure for me the most.

On the other hand, Cypress Point is a course I am unlikely to ever play and the book has several holes from that club. I was very happy to see them beautifully laid out and described. I had the same reaction to many non-U.S. courses that I did not know about before.

If you have the chance to travel, I think the best use of this book is to help you organize some golf vacations where you can access the courses. I have had it in my mind to play Pinehurst #2 for many years, and seeing the great holes from that classic Donald Ross course reminded me to do something about that desire.

However you decide to enjoy this book, I am sure that it will expand your joy in the game . . . even if only as a spectator on a televised tournament.

I suggest that you make a promise to yourself to play at least one of the holes though. That will make your journey through its pages much more fun!

Have a great experience with these great holes! As the editors point out, "In the end, we don't play the great holes -- they play us." "They thrill, frighten, embolden, confound, contort, support, and cajole us."

Go for the pin!

A Wonderful Book
This book is very informative. The courses mentioned are the world's best. The author writes with real affection. Each chapter is well researched. I highly reccommend this book. ... Read more

Product Description
A celebration of one of the most beautiful places on earth, Pebble Beach Golf Links chronicles over 80 years of spectacular golf at the greatest meeting of land and water.Amazon.com Review
When one thinks of Pebble Beach, two images immediately pop into view: the daunting dogleg 18th with the Pacific Ocean roaring on the left, and a gaggleful of celebrity hackers tearing up the place in the annual Pro-Am that first teed off as the Crosby Clambake. Both are important pieces of the Pebble Beach story, but they're just that--pieces. In celebrating the site of the 2000 U.S. Open, The Official History uncovers much more. The result is part chronicle and part large-format photo album that beautifully traces the saga of this spectacular venue from its pre-golf beginnings to its evolution into the mecca that Jack Nicklaus insists is the one course he'd opt to play if he could play only one course for the rest of his life. --Jeff Silverman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Misleading Title for Golfers
This is not the book for you if you want a history of golf tournaments at Pebble Beach.Who won the Pro-Am in 1991?Who finished in the Top 10 at the 1992 Open?When did Juli Inkster beat all the men Pros at the SpaulingInvitation at Pebble Beach?If you want any Almanac info forget this book. If you want a book about Golf at Pebble Beach this is not your book. Also, there are far too pictures of Pebble Beach for the price of thisbook.

I have played Pebble Beach and wanted a little more information onthe Players that have played there not just the biography of the dirt.

IfI could return the book I would.

Beautiful photos, Fascinating Facts
Here is the story of one of America's most beautiful, historic & legendary golf courses. Backed by long hidden files and photos from The Pebble Beach Co. archives, this book is the definitive history of thecourse.

The origin, development and fascination business aspects of thecourse are covered in detail. Among the multitude of historical photos arebrilliant color shots showing the beauty of the course today.

All thevariety and glamour of Pebble Beach are here. Professional and amateurchampionships, women's golf and the Bing Crosby years with celebritiesgalore are documented with more wonderful photos.

Pebble Beach is morethan golf, it is a rich piece of Americana. This book makes that apparentand is fascinating reading for anyone interested in the sport or thepersonalities that make up Pebble Beach lore.

You can't judge a book by its cover...
Except here....this books cover is the most stunning photograph, The Lone Cypress with the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop, but the insides are as good as the cover...maybe better.Great stories, rare photographs, Hollywoodcelebrities, championships with Nicklaus, Palmer, Bobby Jones....maybe thebest coffe table book I've seen, and I have most of them. ... Read more

Product Description
JFK hid it from the public.Reagan practiced it on Air Force One.Bush did it in record time.Taft was surprisingly good at it despite his girth.Harding liked a nip before he did it, and scheduled his presidency around it.Passion for golf has infused the Oval Office over the past century.In fact, thirteen of our last sixteen presidents have devoted untold hours to the pursuit of the perfect swing.In Presidential Lies, little-known stories and facts reveal our chief executives love of the game in a collection that combines history, gossip, and golf, and the new paperback edition includes the Bill-Clinton-falling-down-the-steps-at-Greg-Normans-house episode and its aftermath.Shepherd Campbell, a vice president at Golf Digest/Tennis Inc. and editor of Tennis Magazine for 14 years, lives in North Carolina.Peter Landau, a longtime golfer and collector of golf literature, is the Historian of the St. Andrews Golf Club in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, where he resides. Amazon.com Review
There is a saying among golfers that if a man cheats in life,he may or may not cheat on the golf course, but if he cheats on thecourse, it's a gimme that he cheats everywhere. It thus behooves us tocheck into the golfing etiquette--or lack thereof--of the gentlemenelected to lead the United States, which is precisely what ShepherdCampbell and Peter Landau have done. With the exception of HerbertHoover, Harry Truman, and Jimmy Carter, every president since WilliamTaft has at least taken a shot at the game, and the way they'veapproached it reveals much about their character, competence, andability to maintain a semblance of grace under pressure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the best titles since "Atlas Shrugged"!
An enjoyable, enlightening read, Presidential Lies is great fun.It also makes a terrific gift for business contacts as well as that large body of people who are otherwise impossible to buy for.The book weaves its way through a picaresque landscape of 20th century American history and the game loved by many, but mastered by few.It's nice to learn how much we have in common with so many Presidents.. ... Read more

Product Description

Despite the thirst for more information about women's golf, very little exists about its history outside of books about the legendary Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Hudson fills this void, offering a complete history of women in golf. He focuses on the fascinating development of women's golf, the creation of the women's tour, star athletes of the past, the astronomical rise of the present-day tour greats, and the future of the sport.

Golf may well have replaced baseball as America's pastime, and the sport enjoys incredible popularity across the globe. At the professional level, women's golf continues to escalate in popularity and media attention, particularly with the dominance of LPGA champion Annika Sorenstam and the interest surrounding teenage phenom Michelle Wie.

Despite the thirst for more information about women's golf, very little exists about its history outside of books about the legendary Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Hudson's new book fills this void, focusing on the fascinating development of women's golf, the creation of the women's tour, star athletes of the past, and the astronomical rise of the present-day tour greats. In addition, Hudson examines women's golf in the context of the country's history of discrimination against women. Women's golf grew in popularity after the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, granting the right of suffrage. Unfortunately, gender discrimination remains a reality in the world of golf in certain locales of country club golf. Nonetheless, women's golf has never been more popular. For example, the Futures Tour, where girls and young women hone their skills on the way to the LPGA, has grown to more than 300 players from 27 countries, making it the largest international developmental tour in the world. And the 2006 LPGA Tour featured 34 events with prize money nearing $50 million, the highest ever in LPGA history. In 1890, Hudson writes, the Washington Post reported that some girls are anxious to learn golf, because they are really fond of sport and exercise; others, because it gives them a chance to show off a natty suit. Those girls are now acknowledged as women—and this book shows how very far they, and their sport, have come.

Product Description
St. Mulligan and The History of Golf is a beautiful and inspiring picture book.It introduces Mulligan MacTavish, an old Scot, who brings the game of golf to earth when he discovers a club left by angels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Magical Story about Golf -- and Life!
There are two kinds of inventiveness at work in this magical tale of old Scotsman Mully MacTavish who learns of golf from the angels and goes on to teach mankind the joy of this sport.

Author Chaz Henry has created 3-D figures to bring alive a tale that takes the reader from earth to heaven and back again as Mully discovers and refines the game (complete with ball and hole) so that humanity can savor its challenges and mysteries.

The mystery is the second part of the charm in this book, for golf is shown to be "more than a game, much more than a walk" as people discover the beauties of nature outside themselves and the mysteries of their own hearts as they revel in the sport.

Would that this book had been written when my children first learned golf years ago!But now its pleasures await a new generation.

It would be a joy to see this book adapted into a film version or even a television series to enthrall young and old alike!

Special and Unique
Anyone who loves the game of golf knew it had to be true -- golf came from the heavens.This book is an excellent light reading storybook.An endearing tale of the early beginnings of golf on earth.A truly unique gift for the young and young at heart on your list.A beautiful book with awesome graphics and an introduction to Old Mully MacTavish, a character I hope we hear more from.I would recommend this book to anyone.

Great Gift Book
This book is beautifully written and illustrated.I don't know how the graphics are done but they look three dimensional.It's a story of how the angels played the game of golf on the earth and accidentally leave a club which leads to the creation of golf on earth.I've bought copies for both of my grandchildren and they love it.I recommend it. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A great book on golf antiques...
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. ... Read more

Product Description

A classic of golf literature is now fully illustrated for the first time with photographs, drawings, and memorabilia.

Originally released in 1948 and revised in 1956 and 1975, Wind's work is the most graceful and thorough history ever published of professional and amateur men's and women's golf in America. From John Reid, the man who introduced the game to this country with three holes carved out of a cow pasture on his New York estate in 1888, to Francis Ouimet's memorable victory in the 1913 U.S. Open, to Bobby Jones' "impregnable quadrilateral" in 1930, to the dawn of the era of Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, and Ben Hogan, Wind covers it all: the personalities, the competition, even swing analyses. This volume introduces the game's first star players, including Bobby Jones, Glenna Collett, Gene Sarazen, and Walter Hagen. The second volume, planned for release in 2001, will continue where the first leaves off.Amazon.com Review
There's a reason Herbert Warren Wind earned the appellation "the dean of American golf writers." The only scribe ever honored by the United States Golf Association for distinguished contributions to the game, the long-time New Yorker staffer related to the royal and ancient endeavor both intimately and encyclopedically, analyzing and reporting on the players, personalities, events, highlights, lowlights, and advances in technique with a fluid mix of style and grace, insight and understanding. In the late 1940s, he compiled this monumental history of the game, from its touchdown on American shores in the 1880s to the outbreak of World War II. It remains the single most comprehensive and authoritative chronicle of golf west of the Atlantic through those formative and colorful years.

Twice updated and long out of print, The Story of American Golf now gets the literary equivalent of a well-struck mulligan. As part of an elegant new series called The Callaway Golfer, this splendid edition raids golf's photo archives--the book was text only in its earlier incarnations--to add faces to a marvelous cast of characters. C.B. MacDonald, Walter Hagen, Walter Travis, Francis Ouimet, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Glenna Collett Vare, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, and Sam Snead are just a few of the heavy hitters whose stories and accomplishments Wind puts into perspective with fine detail and sophisticated analysis. A must-have for any serious student of the game, The Story of American Golf is so beckoningly attractive, it's likely to spend far more time on the coffee table inspiring dreams than on the shelf. --Jeff Silverman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Pleased parent
I bought this for my father and he loves it. ... Read more

Product Description
Byron Nelson:The Most Remarkable Year in the History of Golf provides a detailed narative of Nelson's accomplishments during 1945. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fascinating
Very nostalgic book by a greta storyteller.They didn't mark their balls back then!

Interesting facts, not much of a read though.
The book is an interesting chronicle of Byron's 1945 season, however the writing is rather dry. I think it could have been much more interesting if the author had more of a flair. I have read a lot of golf books, and this just left me slightly underwhelmed. ... Read more

Product Description
Over 350 photographs, many in full color, illustrate the history of this fascinating and beloved sport, from its beginnings in the 15th century to today, when it is second only to football as the most televised game on earth.Special focus on such American golf legends as Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods makes this the perfect gift book for the real or armchair golf enthusiast. ... Read more

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This is an eclectic pictoral stroll through the annals of the world's greatest game--a book to be treasured by any golfer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Papago Park hits the mark.
"The rich history of golf in the United States is greatly owed to public golf which has produced the majority of America's avid golfers. The game's full libretto of triumph, passion, error, comedy and comradeship is played out daily upon the affordable grounds of the public venue.

Papago Park is a classic example of all that's good about municipal golf and Will Godfrey's wonderful book captures the story, the humanism and the feel of Papago's past, present and future. Great reading for any lover of the game."


Peter Longo
PGA Life Member and Golf Historian

... Read more

Product Description
Explores the origins of golf in Ireland, including the legendary courses and players of this hugely popular sport. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Beautiful courses & a intriging history
This is a fine book for the golf enthusiast anywhere. It is a fascinating history and celebration of the game played by those who love it. Beginning with the origins of golf in Ireland this is a story of dynamic personalities who helped popularize the game. The evolution of the tools ofthe game is included with many great photos of early equipment andmemorabilia. The stories of the great local and international golfers ofIreland are told in detail with some great action photos. Contributions ofothers such as Arnold Palmer are included, as is extensive coverage ofladies' golf, which has always been popular in Ireland. One of my favoritethings about golf is the beauty of the courses and the Irish ones shownhere are among the world's most exciting and varied, carved into thenatural landscape. Any golfer will find something of joy in this book.

Beautiful courses & a intriging history
This is a fine book for the golf enthusiast anywhere. It is a fascinating history and celebration of the game played by those who love it. Beginning with the origins of golf in Ireland this is a story of dynamic personalities who helped popularize the game. The evolution of the tools ofthe game is included with many great photos of early equipment andmemorabilia. The stories of the great local and international golfers ofIreland are told in detail with some great action photos. Contributions ofothers such as Arnold Palmer are included, as is extensive coverage ofladies' golf, which has always been popular in Ireland. One of my favoritethings about golf is the beauty of the courses and the Irish ones shownhere are among the world's most exciting and varied, carved into thenatural landscape. Any golfer will find something of joy in this book. ... Read more

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