Book description
Weather, hazards, poor coordination, erratic biorhythms, hangovers, an
unruly mind and statistical improbability - these are just a few of the
obstacles to hitting a pure golf shot. Che Guevara, Alice Cooper, Dennis
Hopper, and Tiger Woods have all struggled with the above to a greater
or lesser degree. And, since being initiated as a child into the arcane
mysteries of the game of golf, Timothy O'Grady too has carried in his
mind an obsession with the sport, shrugging off its social
unacceptability and embracing its history, its literature and his own
private battle with the club. For O'Grady, the obsession has, at times,
been all-consuming and On Golf is structured around a personal history -
how his father played and taught him, how the game dominated his teenage
years, and how father and son continued to talk manically about the game
even as the older man lay fading away in the bed in which he would die.
But O'Grady also discusses the rich literature of golf, from Tobias
Smollett to P. G. Wodehouse, and tells us of the terrifying and glorious
occasion when he got to play a round with Arnold Palmer. On Golf is the
work of a great writer and a good golfer. Timothy O'Grady still dreams
that he may one day become a truly fine player but in the meantime he
has given us a book which beautifully describes his love affair with the
game and goes to the root of the obsession that captivates so many.
Timothy O'Grady is the author of two novels and two works of
non-fiction. He lives in Valencia.
