Moment of Glory

This was an interesting and in depth look at four golf players who went from being virtually unknown to overnight big winners by winning the four majors in one year. Tiger Woods was out of the picture as he tinkered with his swing and tried to "improve," his changes pretty much removed him from the competition and allowed rookies to step up to the plate and have remarkable years with him out of the picture. John Feinstein highlights these four player's back-stories as well as documents the year leading up to their big years. It was really fascinating and interesting to learn about how four players were able to get at the top of their game and take home the biggest golf prizes in the world. Feinstein also covers how the players dealt with their newfound fame and how it ultimately affected their golf game. Interesting, but VERY detail focused and a bit overwhelming at times. Recommended only for big time golf lovers and not the average Joe.

Open

I really wanted to give this book 3.5 stars - but that's not an option on here. I didn't dislike the book, there were just A LOT of players to remember and keep track of and at times it got overwhelming. Other than that, this book is a good read not just for golfers, but for event planners. It's the play by play account of all the blood sweat and tears that went into making the Black Course at Bethpage a US Open site. It took years or work, negotiations, contracts, money, and hard work to transform the old public golf course into a masterpiece worthy of hosting a major golf championship there. Many thought it could never be done because traditionally all championships are played at ritzy private courses. But one man's dream became reality and Open is the story of hard work, perseverance, and the love of golf.

Commander in Cheat

I couldn't put this book down. Amazon delivered it yesterday afternoon and I spent all evening at my local watering hole devouring this book. I've never picked up a golf club or been a fan of Donald Trump but I've read books on both topics and this book takes the cake. Rick Reilly uses golf's Trump techniques (cheating and lying) to explain his terrible practices in office. Trump has been a notorious cheater in golf for decades, something he can't argue against; it's on film, hundreds of athletes, celebrities, and politicians will attest to it, he's admitted it, and his caddies joke that "Trump doesn't cheat... because we do it for him." Trump boasts that he's won 18 golf tournaments, although not ONE can be verified (16 are easy to disprove). He usually bullies course managers to put his name up on the trophy plaques because he "plays better than most other players all the time (most tournaments he never even played in!). Reilly then elaborates on Trump's business practices: specifically with his golf courses (lawsuits galore), his fight against paying contractors in full, and his failure to ban any Muslim countries that he had golf interests in. The book also discusses all presidents and their attachment (or lack thereof) to golf and how it influenced their presidential terms. "Obama wound up playing 306 rounds in office, or once every 9.5 days. Trump is on pace to, over eight years, to obliterate Obama's number - 759 rounds, which goes to show you that bone spurs do heal very nicely." The humor, the insight, the golfing parallels, and the writing make this book a showstopper. It was eye opening and golf was the perfect lens to view Trump and his "ethics" through. "In life, we're defined by the obstacles we overcome. That's the stuff we hang on our inner wall. But if you cheat to get around those obstacles, you never know the thrill of actually beating them. It's like buying a trophy in a pawn shop. You can shine it up and show it off and pretend you won it, but when you get close to it, it only reflects the face of a loser." make this book your most read political/sports book of 2019!

Men in Green

For someone with little golf knowledge, this book was at times tedious. That being said, I still learned a lot about many different players, feuds, has beens, legends, caddies and more. It was like taking a peak into a boys club and discovering they're gossiping just as much as the women! At times it felt a little gossipy, who was flirty with women, who had the most sex appeal, who refused to let go of a grudge, who didn't take care of his ex-wife, who didn't like Tiger Woods (a lot more people than I thought). Sports author, Michael Bamberger made a list of the 18 greatest golf legends and set out to drive around and interview them all. The front nine were living legends (Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Mickey Wright, etc.) and the back nine were "secret" legends (caddies, writers, aficionados, no pros). He road-trips along with his good friend Mike Donald (a golf pro and one of the living legends on his list) and they hobnob with the old golf crowd. Lies, legends, humor, and memories are shared and pieced together throughout the book. Interesting read, but not my favorite golf book.

Born on the Links

This may come as a shock to some of you, but I have never picked up a golf club in my life. Ever. I am not what you would call... athletically inclined. Hell, I can barely manage bowling. Despite not playing golf and knowing virtually nothing about it, I enjoyed this book immensely. My boyfriend is an AVID golfer. Not only does he love playing eighteen in the morning, he actually wants to watch golf on TV. Now that is a true fan. I partly wanted to read this book to see what the appeal is, but realistically, I love sports books and I knew if anything could me into golf, it would be reading about it. John Williamson did a great job outlining the early history of the sport in Scotland while detailing how it changed and evolved over the years. The book really takes off however, when golfing is introduced to the United States. America helped streamline golf and slowly began to dominate the sport. It took off like wildfire and soon thousands of golf courses were sprouting up all over the country. Honestly it was all very fascinating how different players, equipment and even policies affected the game. The author didn't shy away from early controversies though involving the clash between amateurs and pros, the limitations facing women, and the racist attitude towards African Americans. The only "golf history" left out that I could tell was information about schools incorporating it and the push to get more youth involved. Other than that, this book did a great job outlining the history of American golf. The author covers the different courses, players, tournaments, and even goes play by play in some crucial matches. There are even nice appendixes at the end outlining all the winners and locations. A must buy for any golf aficionado.