Around the World in 18 Holes

The authors, both contributors to Golf Digest , set out in the summer of 1993 to play 18 holes of golf on 18 very different courses throughout the world. They began in Northern Ireland and finished in Augusta, Ga., site of the Masters that year. Along the way, they played in such unlikely spots at Akureyri in Iceland, where players tee off at midnight on the longest day of the year; Sun City in Bophuthatswana, not entirely isolated from the killings in South Africa; Mauritius; Kathmandu in Nepal; and Singapore, where chewing gum is a felony. Yet, even though they describe each of the holes, their book is travel writing at its best, with emphasis on the people they met in each country. They write of crusty old Scots, Russians gloomy about their nation's immediate future, B-girls in Thailand and Ben Hogan, whom they sought out as worshippers. It's a delightful volume and, for those who keep score, Callahan bested Kindred on the links. (June)