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The January/February 2004 edition of Travel and Leisure Golf contained a discussion of the 25 best golf books written. The list was an eclectic mix of volumes that included books on instruction, biographies of golfing greats, historical accounts of significant golf events and several books that can best be described as mystical golf tales. Two of the books that appeared on the list --- a collection of articles by writer Bernard Darwin and THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED by Mark Frost --- have recently been reviewed on Bookreporter. While the new golf books released this spring may not all be candidates for the greatest ever written, this season's crop of books includes several enjoyable efforts that will be welcome additions to the library of any enthusiastic golfer and reader.
 In August 1940, a German pilot returning from a Scotland bombing mission dropped a bomb over Stonehaven Golf Club. The explosion left a large crater between the first and second fairways of the course. It remains there today and is fondly referred to by the membership as "Hitler's Bunker." BULLETS, BOMBS & BIRDIES by Dale Concannon is a compendium of similar anecdotes that connect golf and war from the fifteenth century to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
As Concannon recounts, for more than 500 years, concern has been raised that some were spending too much time honing their skills on the golf course. In 1457, King James II of Scotland banned the game of golf in his nation. The King was concerned that his citizens were spending far too much time at golf and not enough time on their archery skills. With the English threatening invasion of his country, the King deemed regular archery practice vital to the defense of the nation. His subjects refused to follow the royal decree, and ultimately Scottish kings recognized the futility of the ban and took up the game themselves.
It is modern warfare and the modern game of golf that get the most attention from Concannon. During World War I many golf courses in England and Scotland suffered from the absence of their male green-keepers. Women were enlisted to work on many courses with the unintended impact of that action resulting in much greater female participation in golf once the war ended. In what must be the ultimate golf buddy excursion, 26 British golf professionals joined the war effort as a unit that became known as the Niblick Brigade. Concannon has packed a great many tales and anecdotes into a book of less than 150 pages. Read this one before your next golf trip and regale your friends with some great stories at cocktail time.
 Golfing legend Ben Hogan, who will be discussed at greater length shortly, once remarked that golf is 100 percent mental and 100 percent physical, and the two elements cannot be separated. The mental component of the golf game is what distinguishes successful golfers from their frustrated counterparts. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF MINDPOWER GOLF by Robert K. Winters is a book about the mental and emotional side of golf. It joins a list of books that have appeared in recent years that offer advice to golfers on achieving an improved mental attitude. Winters offers golfers ten basic strategies to improve and focus their attitude on and off the course. These "commandments" are action plans that the author has compiled from years of working with golfers at all levels.
Each of the ten chapters begins with a simple positively stated mental declarative. Concrete examples are presented in support and explanation of the statement, and each chapter concludes with specific strategies that the reader can follow to implement the commandment. "Thou shall have a great attitude" is the first commandment, and Winters describes the dilemma of a young touring professional who seemed to have great playing skills but could not play to those skills. The problem for the young pro was that he worried far more about how other players viewed him, and as a result he failed to address his own attitude. Once he began to focus on his own game and not worry about the thoughts of his playing partners, the young professional experienced greater success on the course. The chapter concludes with specific methods that all golfers can follow to improve both their attitude and their game.
Any avid golfer recognizes that successful golf swings come in all shapes and sizes. There must be an explanation why the member of your foursome with the ugly swing beats you with some regularity, even though fellow players tell you that your swing is a thing of beauty. Perhaps the explanation can be found above the neck rather than below. If your swing looks great but your scorecard does not reflect that fact, consider spending some time on the mental aspect of the game and give Dr. Winters's commandments some attention.
 The game of golf owes a large debt of gratitude to the state of Texas for the many contributions its sons and daughters have made to the game. Think for a moment what the lore and history of golf would be missing were it not for the contributions of Harvey Penick, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and countless others from the Lone Star State. JIMMY DEMARET: The Swing's the Thing, by John Companiotte, is the biography of a Texan whose contribution to the game, though substantial, is overshadowed by the deeds and accomplishments of many contemporaries from his generation. Demaret was the first professional golfer to win three Masters championships. Although his competitive professional days ended over 40 years ago, his 31 wins in PGA Tour events still ranks him among the top 15 players in total wins in tour history. Yet Demaret is better remembered as the host of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf. In an era when golfers who wore gray pants were considered flashy, Demaret wore multi-colored shoes, tangerine shirts and matching slacks. He once remarked that, "Golf and sex are about the only things you can enjoy without being good at them."
A good biography requires only two ingredients: an accomplished writer and a remarkable subject. Jimmy Demaret was indeed an extraordinary golfer, and Companiotte clearly has the ability to capture the essence of his golfing career. Demaret was born in Houston, Texas in 1910. He was the fourth of nine children born to a middle class working family. At age seven he began working as a caddie and by age nine was the caddie master at the Camp Logan golf course in Houston. Golf became Demaret's livelihood, and he worked in pro shops and even in golf course construction across southern Texas. In the 1930s, professional golf was not the lucrative sport that exists today. Purses were limited and generally only the top twenty golfers were paid any money. It was the head professional job at an exclusive country club that was the pinnacle of a golf career. Many professional golfers, including Demaret, combined stints at country clubs with sporadic appearances at championship events. It was not until 1946 that Demaret resigned his position as a head professional and became a full time touring professional. For the next four years he was one of the top ten money winners on the tour.
While Demaret was a skillful golfer, his greatest talent was as a golf entrepreneur. An outgoing and gregarious individual, he was able to translate his appeal into product endorsements, broadcast announcing and other business opportunities. Along with Jack Burke Jr., he developed Champions Golf Club in Houston. He endorsed MacGregor golf clubs and clothing. But his greatest fame was as the announcer for Shell's Wonderful World of Golf, the maiden appearance of the game of golf on television. Episodes of that show continue to be produced for television and Demaret can still be seen on rebroadcast matches from the 60s and 70s. JIMMY DEMARET is a classic biography that is a wonderful addition to the library of any golf history fanatic.
 Try to imagine for a moment being a 17-year-old boy working for a summer at a country club and being selected to shag the practice shots of golfing legend Ben Hogan. In 1964, at Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Jody Vasquez received that opportunity. AFTERNOONS WITH MR. HOGAN is the story of that summer and a thirty-year relationship that was established between Hogan and his shag boy. Ben Hogan was an intensely private man, but through Vasquez's eyes we gain a glimpse into many of the little known aspects of a man who revolutionized the game of golf.
By 1964, Ben Hogan's professional career had essentially ended. In the 1950s he had been a dominant force in professional golf culminating with the 1953 season when he won the Masters and U.S. and British Opens. The modern Grand Slam of golf had not yet been christened and so Hogan did not even enter the fourth prong of that slam, the PGA. In the 1960s, although retired from the professional tour, Hogan nearly won the U.S. Open in 1960 and thrilled his many devoted fans with a brilliant 67 in the third round of the 1964 Masters Tournament.
Despite the fact that he no longer played competitively, Hogan continued to practice daily. And Hogan, as Vasquez explains, practiced like no golfer had ever practiced. When Hogan played a round of golf he remembered the shots that he had played poorly. On the practice tee he worked on his mistakes so they would not occur again. A Hogan practice session was so legendary that people would come just to watch. He would practice in an isolated location so as not to be disturbed, each shot had a purpose and a target, and most importantly, Hogan would not use the range balls that most other golfers used. Range balls were not the best quality and might affect ball flight. Hogan, the perfectionist, wanted practice conditions to equal playing conditions.
Vasquez paints a portrait of Ben Hogan that is different from the common wisdom. Although other biographers have recognized Hogan's kindness, we learn here about Hogan's sense of humor, loyalty and good nature. In addition, Vasquez weighs in with his explanation of the "Hogan secret," the swing secret that many believe is the holy grail of Ben Hogan's success. I will not share it with you here; I'll leave it for those interested readers to discover.
 WINTER DREAMS by Don Snyder is this spring's fictional golf effort. It is a difficult book to characterize because many golfers are not inclined to become sentimental and emotional. If you are the type of golfer who celebrates your wedding anniversary by only playing nine holes, then this book may not be high on your reading list. However, if you are in touch with your emotional, romantic side, then WINTER DREAMS might be the book for you.
It is the story of Ross Lansdale, raised at St. Luke's Orphanage for Boys. Father Martin, a Benedictine monk, instills in the young boy a love for literature and a love for golf. Years later, now a professor of literature, Lansdale meets the love of his life, Julia Peterson, and the golfing partner of his life, fellow professor Johnny Durocher. Durocher's ambition is to play in the Christmas Day amateur tournament held at the Old Course in St. Andrews. St. Andrews is the culminating location for this novel, and the round portrayed is a must read for golf aficionados.
WINTER DREAMS is a poignant and compassionate story. It is difficult to weave together golf and romance in a novel, but Snyder has accomplished the task in a warm and endearing fashion. There are still some romantic golfers out in the world; they will find this book enjoyable and worth reading.
 IN SEARCH OF BURNINGBUSH by Michael Konik is in many respects the antithesis of WINTER DREAMS. Yet it will also touch your emotions, albeit not in the same fashion. Konik is a golf writer who often travels the world and writes of his golf travels for various magazines. While traveling in Las Vegas he met Don Naifeh, a professional poker dealer. Their mutual interest in golf inspired a friendship that began on the first tee of the Tournament Player's Club in Las Vegas.
Naifeh is forty-five years old and suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, or "brittle-bone" disease, an ailment that puts him at great risk for bone fracture. He is a physical mess but plays to a seven handicap. As their friendship grows, Konik regales Naifeh with tales of his trips to Scotland. Such a trip is Don's fondest wish. The two men who have nothing in common except their love of golf embark on an adventure to the birthplace of the game. Along the way they learn about life and each other, and as Don reminds Konik, "in the end, it's not your final score that matters but how you made your way along the course."
IN SEARCH OF BURNINGBUSH is the ultimate buddy book, as well as an outstanding descriptive travelogue about golf in Scotland. If you have made the trip, you will be reminded of a wonderful journey. If you are planning the trip, you will be excited to discover what adventure awaits. Even if neither of these contingencies is in your life, this tale of friendship, life and golf will warm and touch your heart.
--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman
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More Golf Roundups by Stuart Shiffman:
• 2003 SPRING GOLF BOOKS
• 2002 SUMMER GOLF READING
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