Title/Author:
“Trials and Triumphs
of Golf’s Greatest Champions” by Lyle Slovick
Tags:
Golf, professional,
history, race
Publish date:
May 19, 2016
Length:
318 pages
Rating:
3 ½ of 5 stars (good)
Review:
Those who play golf
know that it can be a cruel game – not only for the difficulty involved but
also there are no teammates who can pick up for a mistake made or no
encouragement from others to shake off a slump.
It is just the golfer and his or her thoughts and emotions.
The individualism of
the game makes the stories of the six golfers and one caddie in this book who
overcame physical and mental struggles to excel in the game even more inspiring.
Lyle Slovick, a historian and golf enthusiast, has researched various sources
to craft the stories of many golf legends from their beginnings to their
courage through injury (Ben Hogan, Ken Venturi), fighting illness (Harry
Vardon, Bobby Jones, Babe Didrikson Zaharis, caddy Bruce Edwards) or social
stigmas such as racism and sexism (Zaharis, Charlie Sifford). Their stories are
inspiring and shows the talent and devotion they had to the game.
For each golfer (or in
the case of Edwards, caddie), Slovick writes about their devotion to God for
helping them overcome their difficulties as well as their talent and physical
strength. Many of the golfers are legendary for their comebacks, such as Jones’
1930 Grand Slam achievement, Hogan’s victory in nine majors despite near
constant pain after his car accident or Sifford’s courage and dignity when
confronted with racial taunts and slurs. Slovick’s writing about their golf as
well as their courage is well researched and will inspire the reader.
Readers who have an
extensive golf library may see information referenced in the book that sounds
familiar. This is because Slovick obtained much of his material from secondary
sources and conducted his research in this manner instead of interviews or first-hand
accounts. It can result in a reader re-reading information he or she read
before. An example of this for me occurred in the chapter about Edwards. Having
read “Caddy for Life” by John Feinstein, I was already familiar with Edwards’
story. Then I read passages and information that I had seen before in Feinstein’s
book. Checking the footnotes, there were over 20 notes from Feinstein’s book.
So, personally, I was disappointed that I did not learn much new about
Edwards. But that was offset by the
stories I enjoyed and learned new information on golfers I had never read about
before such as Vardon and Sifford. In the case of the latter, that is a story
that everyone should read and realize how difficult it was for black players to
be accepted in the golfing community.
Overall, this is a decent book that readers who are not familiar with any or all of the legends will enjoy as their stories will inform and inspire the readers. A solid three-and-a-half-star rating, rounded up to four for Goodreads and Amazon.
I wish to thank Mr. Slovick for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
Hardcover
Buying links:
About Lyle Slovick
Lyle Slovick is a historian and golf enthusiast, having played and studied the game for over 40 years. He has an M.A. degree in American History and is a former Assistant University Archivist at the George Washington University, where he worked for 13 years amongst the rare books and manuscripts in the Gelman Library Special Collections Department. Lyle enjoys telling stories that shed new light and offer new perspective on often well-trod subjects – what he describes as “augmented interpretation.” This book is an expression of his passion for the game of golf, which has taken him to various major championships around the world, including the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland, the home of golf. Lyle enjoys travelling, reading (especially biographies), and resides in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he currently works as a consultant for the United States Golf Association.
My son is just learning to golf from his grandpa. This might make a very good thank you gift from my son to his grandpa for the lessons!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a pat of the tour.
Thank you Lance for your fair and thoughtful review of my book. You are correct about my chapter on Bruce Edwards, it relied perhaps too heavily on Feinstein's book, and I wish I could have conducted interviews, but the only people to respond to me were Ken Venturi, Jim Nantz, and Charlie Sifford's son. I corresponded with Mr. Venturi three months before he died and Mr. Sifford wss considering commenting on his chapter when he fell ill and passed away. I did try to find new nuggets of information, however, for those readers who know the stories well, while hoping the book would be inspirational for non-golf fans as well. I appreciate your time in reading my book and your constructive words. Thank you again. Lyle Slovick
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a lot of inspiring stories! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDelete