Sorry, but golf writing really isn't that good. Here's why?

[Ally Mcintosh]

Whilst maybe not strictly Golf Writing, does anyone know of the following book?:

Andrew Greig - Preferred Lies

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Preferred-Lies-Journey-Heart-Golf/dp/0753821567/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228738829&sr=1-3

It looks fascinating...

[Rich Goodale]

Rich,

You noted that, "Edison didn't invent the light bulb.  He just had a better lawyer than real inventor, Swan..."

He also didn't play golf. But he was a member of the Essex County Country Club.

Phil

So was my uncle Ben, and other than being a scratch golfer and introducing me to my first hooker, he really didn't accomplish anything on his own in his life.....

Rich

[Robert Thompson]

I'd say if one can't coherently articulate that perspective (re: Kavanagh), then the perspective should be questioned from the start and probably has little value.

You really believe that?  That only the thoughts of those who can expertly articulate them are of merit?   

I didn't say anything about "expertly." But clear grammar that would be expected of a 12-year-old in grade school isn't setting the bar exceptionally high.

Of course one has to be able to express their perspective with some degree of clarity. For most that's the barrier of entry.

So aside from the Bible, you haven't named a single book that qualifies as "great."

Perhaps you're just not a fan of books?

[Jim_Kennedy]

My point is merely that the guys who write about this beautiful, mysterious and etherial game do a rather pedestrian job at it.
It deserves better.  "Tiger then rolled in a five-footer for birdie and a two-shot lead" simply doesn't do the game justice in the context in which you and I think of it.

How much more can someone ask for then this:

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1134482/1/index.htm

[Tim_Cronin]

My point is merely that the guys who write about this beautiful, mysterious and etherial game do a rather pedestrian job at it.
It deserves better.  "Tiger then rolled in a five-footer for birdie and a two-shot lead" simply doesn't do the game justice in the context in which you and I think of it.

How much more can someone ask for then this:

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1134482/1/index.htm

Sweet!

[JMEvensky]

John Updike has published golf-related short stories.Hard to argue that his writing isn't "good".

Apologies if my quick read of this thread missed an Updike mention.

[Rich Goodale]

Updike is a very good but not great writer (~Doak .  As a golf writer he is closer to mediocre (~Doak 6) than very good.  IMO, of course.

[Jay Flemma]

Rich, I can't agree with that.  John Updike is a member of the American Academy of arts and letters.  he is - literally, and recognized by the world - a literary lion.  That's a doak 8-9 at least.

[Rich Goodale]

Jay

You should learn to read before you try to write.  I said Doak 8, above.

Rich

PS--I haven't looked at their top 100 recently, but I'd bet that there are a lot of Doak 4s and 5s in the American Academy of Arts and Letters, just as the "Pantheon" of British Poet Laureates is made up mostly of snivelling hacks (Tennyson excluded).

j-p p

[Jay Flemma]

Updike is a very good but not great writer (~Doak .  As a golf writer he is closer to mediocre (~Doak 6) than very good.  IMO, of course.

You just called him 6 here...as a golf writer...

[Kirk Gill]

You really believe that?  That only the thoughts of those who can expertly articulate them are of merit?

Isn't the title of this thread about golf writing ?

If it's just about golf THINKING then that would be a very different subject.

I have to admit that I haven't read a lot of great golf writing, but my level of experience isn't so broad that I can say I've read enough to make any pronouncements about it. It seems to me that "golf" and "golf architecture" are two different animals, as "golf" seems to me something that I'd rather DO than read about, while "golf architecture" seems like a subject that merits study and the reading of books.

Heck, the best books on golf I've read are probably Five Lessons and Harvey Penick's Little Red Book.

Oh, and Jay, the first sunglass-wearing emoticon in Rich's post was a result of typing the number 8 followed by a parenthesis, so he did refer to Updike's writing in general as a Doak 8, and only a 6 as a "golf writer."

[Kalen Braley]

Just as a FYI, there is a way to make 8s show up normal especially when used as 8)

Click on the Additional Options button before you post your reply and check the box that says "Don't use smileys".

[Dan Kelly]

I wonder how the Discussion Group at literarylions.com rates Tom Doak as an architect!

What do you think? A Fadiman 7?

[Kyle Harris]

So wait, I should drive 2 hours to a library to read Updike?

[Jay Flemma]

Maybe Updike would say Tom is a Doak

[J_ Crisham]

So wait, I should drive 2 hours to a library to read Updike?

Kyle,   I'll bet you would drive 2 hours to play with Mr. Updike at The Country Club in Brookline should he be so gracious to invite you!
                                        Jack

[Jim_Kennedy]

I think we’ve been overlooking some of these most important literary works.
There are some wonderful instructional books, such as:

-ANGLE OF REPOSE by Wallace Stegner and Harvey Penick
-OF HUMAN BONDAGE by W. Somerset Maugham and Jimmy Ballard

A couple of good diaries:

-A LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT by Eugene O’Neill
subtitled: My day at Pebble Beach w/Huckaby
-THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway
subtitled: Day two w/Huck

Some good architectural tomes:

-DUNE by Frank Herbert w/ David Kidd
-THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand w/ Ted Robinson
-THE MASTER AND THE MARGARITA by Mikhail Bulgakov w/a foreword by
Alister MacKenzie
-TOBACCO ROAD by Erskine Caldwell - from an original idea by Mike Strantz

A few smartly written selections from the Tour:

-ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac and Seve Ballesteros
-IRONWEED by William Kennedy w/a F-word by Tommy Bolt
-THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger and Tommy Bolt’s caddie
-UNDER THE VOLCANO by Malcolm Lowry and Mrs. Bolt
-AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY by Theodore Dreiser and John Daly
-PLAY IT AS IT LAYS by Joan Didion, w/ Tom Watson and Gary Player

Let's not forget some of our homegrown efforts:

-ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Wayno
-THE SHIPPING NEWS by Annie Proulx, w/ Mike Cirba & Joe Bausch
-A CONFERACY OF DUNCES by John Kennedy Toole w/ various contributors
 Subtitled: Reminiscences Of Our Hours Wasted At GolfClubAtlas

.....and finally:

-BELOVED by Toni Morrison w/Ran Morrisett


I'm sure I missed some...............

[Rich Goodale]

Bravo, Jim!

You are living proof that great golf writing is still possible.

Rich

[Jonathan Cummings]

Has there been anyone ever in golf writing to make being use of metaphors than Rick Reilly?  Open one of his articles and/or books, damn near any page, and count the number of creative similes and metaphors he uses.  Creatively coming up with these is much harder than you may think.  JC

[George Pazin]

Creatively coming up with these is much harder than you may think.

Using them well is even tougher. (Sorry if that's written poorly, I'm no Stanford English major... ).

Lisa: Oh no! With a felony on my record I'll never get into an Ivy League school!

Bart (jeering): You're going to Stanford, you're going to Stanford.

Now that's good writin'!

[Dan Kelly]

Has there been anyone ever in golf writing to make being use of metaphors than Rick Reilly?  Open one of his articles and/or books, damn near any page, and count the number of creative similes and metaphors he uses.  Creatively coming up with these is much harder than you may think. 

Coming up with good, unlabored similes and metaphors is much harder than Rick Reilly thinks.

[Rich Goodale]

Does Rick Reilly actually think?

[JMEvensky]

Does Rick Reilly actually think?

As well as he writes.