What do you think?
Rate this book
Why Golf?: The Mystery of the Game Revisited
In the grand tradition of such classics as Golf in the Kingdom and Final Rounds comes a brilliant consideration of golf's inimitable and ever-growing popularity.
In 1908, Arnold Haultain wrote a delightful book with a deceptively simple The Mystery of Golf. It explores the love affair golfers have with their sport and has been a favorite ever since among connoisseurs and students of the game. Now, more than ninety years later, in a thematic continuation of Haultain's enduring treatise, Bob Cullen has crafted a literate and thoughtful book that chronicles his own quest to uncover the secrets to the spell that golf has cast on millions.
Why golf? Beginning with that essential question, Cullen's fascinating explorations lead readers to a range of exotic and unexpected places of mind, spirit, and geography. Cleverly establishing entirely credible links between seemingly unrelated items -- from the breathtaking prowess of Tiger Woods to the Iranian government's near banning of golf to how a baby's smile is related to our love of golf -- Cullen weaves a rich and amusing tapestry, discussing suck unexpected subjects as Platonic philosophy and the nature of faith. As whimsical and picaresque as it is earnest and intensely personal, Why Golf? does for America's favorite weekend pastime what Peter Mayle did for the south of France and what George Will did for baseball.
In 1908, Arnold Haultain wrote a delightful book with a deceptively simple The Mystery of Golf. It explores the love affair golfers have with their sport and has been a favorite ever since among connoisseurs and students of the game. Now, more than ninety years later, in a thematic continuation of Haultain's enduring treatise, Bob Cullen has crafted a literate and thoughtful book that chronicles his own quest to uncover the secrets to the spell that golf has cast on millions.
Why golf? Beginning with that essential question, Cullen's fascinating explorations lead readers to a range of exotic and unexpected places of mind, spirit, and geography. Cleverly establishing entirely credible links between seemingly unrelated items -- from the breathtaking prowess of Tiger Woods to the Iranian government's near banning of golf to how a baby's smile is related to our love of golf -- Cullen weaves a rich and amusing tapestry, discussing suck unexpected subjects as Platonic philosophy and the nature of faith. As whimsical and picaresque as it is earnest and intensely personal, Why Golf? does for America's favorite weekend pastime what Peter Mayle did for the south of France and what George Will did for baseball.
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 6, 2000
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 8, 2012
If you really love to play golf, this is a great book to read. The author attempts to unravel why the game has such appeal to so many people, despite being difficult to play well and impossible to master. He draws on Darwin, Freud, and the science of "evolutionary psychology" (who knew?) to explain our compulsion to play a game that creates way more frustration than happy success.
September 22, 2015
I didn't expect I would like this book but found myself amused by the "mind of the golfer". I understood after reading this book why the game is so psychological and not as much about athletic skill. We all can win if the goal is right. So glad I took the time to read it.
April 18, 2014
Just a very enjoyable book. Every golf enthusiast should read this. It gives a real perspective of the game for the duffer, like me. Very entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews