The Bogey Man

by George Plimpton

"Plimpton will interest even the man who can't tell a pitching wedge from a putter.... This is really a book about a kind of madness with rules, and anyone can appreciate the appeal of that." -Newsweek

THE BOGEY MAN remains arguably the funniest book on golf ever written.
George Plimpton here joins the pro golf circuit for a month of self-imposed torture in the name of bringing professional sport to the sphere of the average man. Arnold Palmer, Dow Finsterwald, Wlater Hagan, and others populate this intriguing, classic, candid view from the first tee.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Humor, Biography, Journalism

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, actor, and gamesman. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.

He was the grandson of George A. Plimpton.

Reviews

[Xavier Coburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finishing the book, I thought it was a pretty solid read when it comes to factual information about playing as an amateur on the PGA tour. It alleviated to the lifestyles of the professional caddies, which I never thought about but was cool to have some insight into their lives. From my understanding it takes a lot of time and effort to get to that level of the golf world, and I have huge amounts of respect for the players in the LPGA/PGA leagues. Would’ve loved to see Arnold Palmer play a round but it makes me appreciate the people who play rn and make an effort to go see them! Also a wholesome book, because it was a gift from the gf’s parents, so it was fun to talk shop for a quick min about it with them and I look forward to many more of those moments!

[theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyed this AGAIN! since i'm of a certain age i can remember hearing plimpton's voice and his very dry sense of humor whan he'd be a guest on a show like mike douglas or merve griffin so as i read it was plimpton's voice rattling around in my head. completely hilarious look at what it's like to golf with some fun behind the scenes scoop on "old-timey" tournaments like the ones that bing crosby and bob hope were running back in the day.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Plimpton at his best. Funny stories and quips about and from the greatest players.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, at least, the fifth best golf book I've ever read! Fantastic writing.

[Tolkien InMySleep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming enough collection of golfing anecdotes and bonhomie, but lacks a cohesive narrative to make it more readable

[David Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book deals with the psychology of golf, especially the ways a struggling player thinks about the challenges of the game. I am a new, struggling player, and so Plimpton's description of the golfer's body as "a monstrous, manned colossus poised high over the golf ball" and his mind filled with "an unsteady group of Japanese navymen" speaks to me.

Plimpton, editor of the tony Paris Review, brought the "New Journalism" of Didion and Gay Talese into the world of sports. His story of a month on the PGA tour is mainly a story of his own mind; fitting, since in what sport is one more wrapped up in one's own thoughts and demons than in golf? He tells us very little about the sport per se—his climactic interview with Arnold Palmer is a study in what not to ask an athlete—but volumes about the mental texture of whacking the ball around the course.

[Pecker · Rating 3 out of 5]

50 years later after the events, this was an interesting read. Plimpton's confessions of his bookish approach to the history of golf added some fun comments. However, It felt a little behind the leading edge in his treatment of the caddy pros, mostly black men. He wanted to portray them colorfully, and he did, but one still felt the superiority his background created in his mind. I really had trouble with that, and, as a participant in those times in the Civil Rights movement, I would have felt that way even back then. So that part was hard reading for me, and he let me down there.

The story of the left-behind golfer, tho, was hilarious!

It is worth reading for insights into those big name golfers who dominated the game in the 1970s.

[Tom Anstett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plimpton shoots more birdies than bogeys with his writing, his anecdotes, and his ability to purse the nuances of the game such as the "yips," caddy yore, the dissection of bad shots, and the personalities of the game. In the meantime, readers sympathize with the author's own limitations in playing the game, supporting the statement of why golf retains popularity: it is so easy to be bad at it. Plimpton's candor that weaves among the narratives is most compelling, and this factor elevates the dry humor saturating the book. At times some of the stories stray a bit from the author's actual play among the pros in various tournaments, but overall, the book holds attention.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not as interesting as the other two Plimpton books I've read, The Bogey Man was another humorous adventure for the professional amateur as he takes on the world of the pro-am and, by extension, that of the professional golfer. He seemed to delve less deeply into the world of big stars of golf, although amusing sidebars about golf writing and a fanciful short story add color and liveliness to this book.

[Doug Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plimpton had a self-deprecating style that is endearing, however in this book its painful, quite honestly. But his brief encounters with the greats of the game are worth the read. Palmer, Nicklaus and others in their prime almost 50 years ago. Plimpton had a world of courage to do all the sports exploits he attempted, and this was perhaps his most vulnerable project.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but not enough for a book.

I enjoyed the personal trials and tribulations that plimpton went through on the golf course. A few too many diversions into dreams and fantasies.

[Matt Godfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite sports books of all time. Plimpton is an exceptional writer.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but dragged towards the end a bit for me.

[Chuck]

Great writer, funny stories about golf and famous golfers, very entertaining

[Kenneth Brachfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Funny and well-observed. Plimpton really captures the allure of golf... The stories, the ups and downs.

[Chuck Mercik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the line "Your neareast point of relief is Hawaii" come on that is just funny!!! My Dad had read this ions ago and my good friend sent it to me. I had to read... Great Story Mr. Plimpton.

[Ron Barker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really a golf non-fiction book. Too many random stories and Plimpton's vocabulary is too advanced for my simple mind.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle is a touch misleading as this is not really a book about playing golf, but a book about the sport in general, with the stories told by the people Plimpton meets as he plays in a few pro-am tournaments. It is timeless and doesn't really suffer from age, rather that there is quite a lot of filler.

The idea was that Plimpton would play in 3 PGA events after a warm-up invitational, to give a first-person account of a novice golfer playing in tournaments. His own experience actually took up quite a small proportion of the book, and clearly a round of golf (or 12) does not provide much material, hinted at when he writes of a previous round with a pro which yielded no copy whatsoever. There is a lot more about caddies, bar conversations and an odd creative writing exercise about a golfer stranded near a railroad crossing - I could have done without this fairly dull passage.

I did wonder at first whether his caddy was going to be the subject of cruel jokes, but this was generally a good-natured, humorous book rather than a caustic one, and it is Plimpton himself who is the butt of jokes. He is bad at golf, but only describes about 10 of his shots in detail and it is instead the minutiae of gift shop tat, translation misunderstandings in hotels and anecdotes pinched from his mobile library that provides the comic foil. It does give some insight into the sport and its characters, but the retelling of stories was disappointing as they tended to be rattled off one after another rather than woven into the narrative when appropriate.

Yet I did find myself smiling at a few of them. This was a readable book and despite some of the passages leaving me cold, it didn't feel as though it was far too long. Ultimately, it felt like Plimpton need not have bothered playing himself at all but instead hung around a few clubhouses to interview caddies and players. He is not a bad writer but nor was the book what I'd expected and there was limited value to the social history elements of a sixties book, and the compilation of golf anecdotes from others.

[Amanda Pettit · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is short but it was hard for me to get through. Let me preface by saying I grew up playing competitive golf; I played in college. I know the history of the game and I’ve read a lot of golf books. I admit I earmarked some pages because there were some good one-liners and thoughtful comments in there. But it was surrounded by a string of stories that didn’t really feel cohesive other than the fact that they were (mostly) in chronological order. There didn’t seem to be a point to the book.

[Matt Moran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funnier than Paper Lion.

Plimpton had stretched the 'participation journalism in sports' idea already. In this book he really just plays in a few pro Ams in California - it is not the same as say, playing QB for the Detroit Lions. The book is part golf experience, part PGA observation and part the odd ramblings of the author's brain. There are moment where he is definitely stretching his material to create a full length book.

There is nothing at all necessary about this book - but it's still very funny at times.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hadn't read Plimpton in decades. He was a favorite decades ago. I dug out this old one and it did not age well. I likely would have liked it more had it been read closer to when it was written. It captured some of PGA Tour life well, and missed a lot (like his golf game). Glad I read it, would not recommend it.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

George is great

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not a golfer and found this only slightly amusing. Seems a bit dated - sexist language, a bit good old boyish.

[Paul McCormack · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Plimpton book and was a bit underwhelmed

[Brettsinclair70 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging round through 60's pro golf and the hacker's mind...

[Sayak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous, relatable and totally delightful. One of the best sports books I’ve read.

[Jake Goldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the finest books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

[Dick Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although somewhat dated, Plimpton tells the story of playing in three PGA tour events, with his 18 handicap, while providing stories and insights on the experience. Well worth reading.

[Joseph Kratz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really funny and very fanciful, but, and maybe this goes without saying, don’t read it if you don’t care about golf (or maybe do and it’ll make you interested?)

[Grace Bosley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t really care about golf. I thought this might make me care but it didn’t.