Books about Golfers from Amazon.com

Ever wonder how to retrieve a sunken golf cart from a snake-infested lake? Or which club in your bag is best suited for combat against a horde of rats? If these and other sporting questions are gnawing at you, The Downhill Lie, Carl Hiaasen’s hilarious confessional about returning to the fairways after a thirty-two-year absence, is definitely the book for you.

Originally drawn to the game by his father, Carl wisely quit golfing in 1973, when “Richard Nixon was hunkered down like a meth-crazed badger in the White House, Hank Aaron was one dinger shy of Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, and The Who had just released Quadrophenia.” But some ambitions refuse to die, and as the years—and memories of shanked 7-irons—faded, it dawned on Carl that there might be one thing in life he could do better in middle age than he could as a youth. So gradually he ventured back to the dreaded driving range, this time as the father of a five-year-old son—and also as a grandfather.

“What possesses a man to return in midlife to a game at which he’d never excelled in his prime, and which in fact had dealt him mostly failure, angst and exasperation? Here’s why I did it: I’m one sick bastard.”

And thus we have Carl’s foray into a world of baffling titanium technology, high-priced golf gurus, bizarre infomercial gimmicks and the mind-bending phenomenon of Tiger Woods; a maddening universe of hooks and slices where Carl ultimately—and foolishly—agrees to compete in a country-club tournament against players who can actually hit the ball. “That’s the secret of the sport’s infernal seduction,” he writes. “It surrenders just enough good shots to let you talk yourself out of quitting.”

Hiaasen’s chronicle of his shaky return to this bedeviling pastime and the ensuing demolition of his self-esteem—culminating with the savage 45-hole tournament—will have you rolling with laughter. Yet the bittersweet memories of playing with his own father and the glow he feels when watching his own young son belt the ball down the fairway will also touch your heart. Forget Tiger, Phil and Ernie. If you want to understand the true lure of golf, turn to Carl Hiaasen, who has written an extraordinary book for the ordinary hacker.

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Price: $12.90 [Notify me when price goes down.]

With his career at a standstill and his golf game a shadow of its former mediocrity, TV writer and ESPN.com contributor Bob Smiley decided the time had come to turn to the one person who might be able to help: Tiger Woods. So, in January of 2008, Smiley set out to follow the game's greatest player from the gallery for every hole of an entire season and to absorb all that he could.

Smiley traveled from the seaside cliffs of San Diego to the deserts of Dubai, through the hallowed gates of Augusta National, and on to arguably the greatest U.S. Open of all time back at Torrey Pines, where, in a legendary duel with charismatic journeyman Rocco Mediate, Woods won his fourteenth major -- on one leg.

Smiley chronicles every dramatic and often hysterical moment of his journey with Tiger, including his off-course run-ins with Arabian sandstorms, ex-con ticket scalpers, and the motley assortment of strangers who became friends along the way.

Told from the perspective of a true golf fan, Follow the Roar is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure through the most spectacular and inspiring season in Tiger Woods's celebrated career. In addition to the thrill of witnessing all 604 holes Woods played in '08, Smiley found in Tiger both inspiration and the gutsy embodiment of what it really means to be an athlete -- and a man..
Price: $14.57 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Short Game. Hard Cover.
Price: $18.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Hard Cover. Ian O'Connor. Palmer, Nicklaus, and Golf's Greatest Rivalry.
Price: $12.94 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Hard Cover. Leigh Montville. A True Tale of Hollywood, Golf and Armed Robbery.
Price: $12.87 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In the tradition of Seabiscuit, the riveting tale of twoproud Scotsmen who beat all comers to become the heroesof a golden age—the dawn of professional golf

Bringing to life golf’s founding father and son, Tommy’s Honor is a stirring tribute to two legendary players and a vivid evocation of their colorful, rip-roaring times.

The Morrises were towering figures in their day. Old Tom, born in 1821,began life as a nobody— he was the son of a weaver and a maid. But he was born in St. Andrews, Scotland, the cradle of golf, and the game was in his blood. He became the Champion Golfer of Scotland, a national hero who won tournaments (and huge bets) while his young son looked on. As "Keeper of the Green" at the town’s ancient links, Tom deployed golf’s first lawnmower and banished sheep from the fairways.

Then Young Tommy’s career took off. Handsome Tommy Morris, the Tiger Woods of the nineteenth century, was a more daring player than his father. Soon he surpassed Old Tom and dominated the game. But just as he reached his peak—with spectators flocking to see him play— Tommy’s life took a tragic turn, leading to his death at the age of twenty-four. That shock is at the heart of Tommy’s Honor. It left Tom to pick up the pieces—to honor his son by keeping Tommy’s memory alive.

Like the New York Times bestseller The Greatest Game Ever Played, Tommy’s Honor is both fascinating history and a moving personal saga. Golfers will love it, but this book isn’t only for golfers. It’s for every son who has fought to escape a father’s shadow and for every father who had guided a son toward manhood, then found it hard to let him go..
Price: $5.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The acclaimed author of Back Rx and Arthritis Rx (more than 50,000 combined copies in print) returns with the first book fully devoted to improving your golf game and reducing pain.

Many recreational and professional golfers suffer from some form of lower back pain. Conventional wisdom suggests that the violent, twisting nature of the golf swing, which puts undue stress on the spine, is the sole culprit. But research conducted by sports-medicine specialist Vijay Vad, M.D., with PGA Tour pros, recently published in the prestigious American Journal of Sports Medicine, reveals that the swing is only one of several factors. Applying Dr. Vad’s winning combination of mind/body wisdom and medical expertise to the game of golf, Golf Rx shares his cutting-edge findings and addresses such topics as:

• The proper body mechanics for a stable golf swing
• Power tips to improve driving
• Eighteen essential stretches for eighteen holes
• Five-minute warm-up and cool-down routines
• Keeping an aging body in great shape
• Common golf injuries—and how to resume activity
• The Golf Rx exercise series

Combining the best of Pilates, golf-specific conditioning, and physical therapy, Dr. Vad’s easy to follow exercise program contains three series that will speed recovery from the most common golfers’ injuries, help reduce future injuries, and enhance performance by building swing specific flexibility, strength, stamina, and balance..
Price: $4.64 [Notify me when price goes down.]

General Interest. Paper Back.
Price: $7.52 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Novel. Paper Back.
Price: $5.64 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Mental Game. Hard Cover.
Price: $13.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]