Readers can enjoy a sweeping look at this royal and ancient game, in a volume that is both an informal history of the sport as well as a vivid recounting of golf's most striking incidents and personalities. Robert Sommers takes us on a grand tour that stretches from the game's dim origins in the 12th century right up to the modern PGA tour. Indeed, no other anecdote book offers this much historical depth or serves up such fascinating lore. We learn for instance that the first known golf match took place in 1504, between James IV of Scotland and the Earl of Bothwell. Sommers likewise paints a colourful portrait of golf in the era of the first professionals - Old Tom Morris, Allan Robertson, and Willie Park, describing the earliest rules, the equipment used, the most memorable events. Much of the book focuses on the 20th century. Here readers will find wonderful tales of stras such as, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino, Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman, and of course, the amazing Tiger Woods.
