January 31, 2010 in GoGolf News

It’s a mighty good read.

My wife bought it for me for Christmas, and even with family stuff swirling around, I’d read the 275-page tome by Dec. 27. It’s that captivating and, incidentally, that much fun.

Although I remain a hacker, I’ve been playing golf for about 10 years and thought I knew all that an experienced amateur needed. I picked up some useful stuff, like how the slope (the numerical rating of a golf course) is calculated, how much to tip the folks who help you, various gambling games (that, with my skills, I’d best abstain from), even how to dress at private clubs (on the off-off-chance that someone will eventually invite me to play on one).

Greg Rowley, is a great golfer (handicap of zero) and at the relatively tender age of 35 an experienced teacher and former director of golf at Black Rock, labeled by Golf Digest in 2003 as “America’s Best New Private Golf Course”.

He’s proved to be a pretty darned good writer too: self-effacing in confessing a gaggle of errors he’s made, providing the inside scoop on what every golfer, regardless of ability, should know from the perspective of a professional, and laying out the many small forms of etiquette that should be de rigueur for anyone who plays.

It’s a great book for the relatively new golfer, but would be a fine addition to the library of all who take part. My only criticism is that the book should include an index so a reader can easily return to a section for a refresher.

Finally, inside the cover and on the dust jacket of the hardback edition and on the back cover of the soft cover are endorsements by a bunch of golf professionals and other professional athletes from sports as diverse as professional hockey and skiing.

But the most endearing endorsement is by Sandra Rowley: “Greg is a decent son. His book is better than I expected.”

A mother wouldn’t fib, would she?