SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2013 Too Hot to Play? Cool Golf Books to Read

A century ago, in 1913, the world’s finest golfers During the Depression golf was in crisis. As a gathered at in Brookline, Mas- spectator sport it was on the verge of extinc- sachusetts, to compete in golf’s national champion- tion. This was the unhappy prospect facing Sam ship, the U.S. Open. Joining them was a little-known Snead, , and –two amateur, 20-year-old Francis Ouimet, who lived dirt-poor boys from Texas and another from across the street from the course and taught himself Virginia, who had dedicated themselves to the to play by sneaking onto the fairways with the only sport. But then lightning struck, and from the golf club he owned. His ? Ten-year-old Eddie late thirties into the fifties these three men Lowery, who stood only four feet tall. Together, were so thoroughly dominant that they trans- against their idols and in front of a crowd that formed both how the game was played and grew from a handful of spectators to a horde how society regarded it. Paving the way for the of thousands, they attempted to pull off the subsequent popularity of players from Arnold impossible. Along the way, they forged a lifelong Palmer to , they were, and will friendship. always remain, a triumvirate for the ages.

James Dodson, author of the bestseller Final Rounds, returns to the world of golf and to the famous courses at Pinehurst, North Carolina, The Little Red Book of Golf Wisdom where he began his love affair with the game. is packed full of thoughtful and witty Having reached the crossroads commonly quotes on the game that has maddened, known as the midlife crisis, Dodson goes back excited, and delighted generations of to the place where his father introduced him players and fans alike. Golfing legends, to the game that shaped his life and career literary giants, celebrities, and politicians with the hope of regaining the fire that had offer pithy and memorable comments motivated him, drawing inspiration from on the sport that A. A. Milne once the touchstones of his youth, and kindling described as “the best game in the world the same enthusiasm in his teenage son. A at which to be bad.” masterful raconteur, he weaves the history of golf in the Sandhills into his own story.

When Don Snyder was teaching the game of golf to his young son, Jack, they made a pact: if one day Jack became good enough to play on a pro golf tour, Don would walk beside him as his caddie. Years later, Jack had developed into a standout college golfer, and Don, at the age of fifty-eight, left the comfort of his Maine home and moved to St. Andrews, Scotland, to learn from the best in the world. He worked loops on famed courses like the Old Course and Kingsbarns, fought his way onto the rotation as a full-time caddie, and recorded the fascinating stories of golfers from every station in life. All the while, he lived like a monk and sent his earnings back home.

A world away, Jack endured his own arduous trials, rising through the ranks and battling within the college golf system. At times, the question for the teenage athlete wasn’t how to continue . . . but whether to continue at all. Finally, Don and Jack approached the moment when they would reunite—and not only tackle an extraordinarily high level of golf competition but also confront the challenges of a father-son relation- ship that had inevitably changed since the days when their journey began. The Country Bookshop 140 Northwest Broad Street • Southern Pines, NC • (910) 692-3211