A Passion for Golf: Fifty Years of the Best Golf Writing

A member of the editorial board of Sports Illustrated for 20 years, Bishop is well equipped to pick the most memorable golf writing. Included here are an astute analysis of the Masters by John Updike, reprinted from Hugging the Shore; a low-key but hilarious excerpt from J.P. Marquand's novel Life at Happy Knoll about retaining a pro who doesn't appear to be very competent; and a touching piece from Michael Murphy's Golf in the Kingdom about how deeply meaningful the game is to Scots. And there are some surprises--for instance, an excerpt from Sam Snead's Education of a Golfer on the importance of keeping one's temper on the course. Another article takes readers back to the 1960 U.S. Open when the young Arnold Palmer decided that boldness is the key to winning and so gave rise to the galleries' cry of ""Charge!"" whenever he played. Bishop also includes selections about prejudices that have impeded the game, from Gene Saraceni's name change in 1918 to Sarazen so that he would not be mistaken for an Italian to Marcia Chambers's analysis of 1995 in The Unplayable Lie, concluding that gender bias still exists at the country club. (June)