Book Description
Lowe takes us along the rugged eastern coast, from St. Andrews up to Montrose and Cruden Bay and Royal Aberdeen, "from heather, whin and sand, to points north," to Nairn and Dornoch. Then to the west coast, to Prestwick and Troon. It's not only the courses themselves that Lowe illuminates along the way, but the winding roads, the ancient villages, the farms and whiskey distilleries, and the people who call this land their home as well. Each step of his pilgrimage is given its due.
Customer Reviews:
Scottish Golf Links.......2007-07-23
A wonderful collection of photographs of golf courses. If you have been there to play them, this is a terrific way to reminisce
5 Stars from someone who's been there!.......2007-01-09
I purchased this book for my father who visits Scotland to golf each year. He LOVED the book. He said, "it really captures the feel of walking the courses". He is excited to go back this Spring and look at them in a new light since noticing things in the book. A great gift for the golfer in your life!
Visual Feast of Scottish Links Golf.......2006-08-28
Great volume on the essential key links courses in Scotland. The text is fine and to the point. There's some interesting insight especially into the history of golf (St.Andrews and Dornoch in particular), but nothing overboard.
I also think it was a good idea to divide the golf into regions. It makes the courses more approachable plus you get to appreciate the slight nuances from one region to another.
The bottom line is this book is about the photography with the avid golfer in mind. Simply fantastic pictures. I'm an amateur photographer and I can tell you Ian spent an enormous amount of time putting these photos together. On almost every shot, it's clear he had to wait for the right time of day and the right moment to capture the dramatic setting with clouds/sun/wind/shadows in the foreground/background. In addition, he more often than not is using a vantage point to the direct benefit of the golfer. By this I mean you will appreciate the difficulty, challenge, and strategy of a given hole or set of holes from Ian's chosen vantage point and framing. Tremendous aerial shots as well. What I really thought was done well was the combination of key hole reviews (from Kyle Philipps of Kingsbarns fame) and multiple vantage point pictures. Together they really worked well to paint a picture for the golfer planning to play any one of these courses.
When all is said and done, you owe it to yourself to pick up this volume before heading across the pond. In fact, bring it with you, so you can compare your experience to the book itself. You won't regret it.
The only slight negative I would give to the book is the sometimes poor print reproduction of some of the quality photographs. Not the photographer's fault, but the publisher's.
Must Read.......2005-12-10
If you have, or have dreamed of traveling to Scotland, you must read this book. The photos are magnificent. I have played many and the book brings back such fond memories. Will play more next year as we return.
Stan
Fantastic Photos.......2005-10-19
This book is simply wonderful. Why it took three months to get to me I will never know, but the wait was worth it. The photos are first rate and give the reader the true feeling that he is walking these legendary fairways. For anyone who has ever played in Scotland or who dreams of doing so, this book is for you. You will not be dissappointed!
Product Description
In life you never really know when you might meet someone who will change your life. And more importantly you never know when your influence might change another. This book is about influence. It is about a man who lived in a simple place but had extraordinary insight. He also had something else on his side. He had time; time to invest himself in the life of another who was lost on his journey. This story is based on the thousands of athletes I have counseled and the great mentors and teachers from whom I have learned. I have brought my twenty plus years of peak performance coaching together and compressed them into a story of two fictitious characters; a rancher with a passion for teaching truth and a young golf professional at the end of his rope. They represent each of us in the various stages of growth. For in life we must be willing to coach and be coached, either one alone will leave us empty.
Customer Reviews:
This Book Is A Life Changer.......2007-09-27
I've loved reading from a very youg age. I'm now 60 years old. I have read comic books, text books, even read most of the World Book Encyclopedia one summer while I was in junior high. I have read junk and some of the classics. I have read self-help books and most of all, I have read much of the Bible, but I have never read a book that has made such an impact on my life as Golf's Sacred Journey. (And it even helped my golf game.)
This book transformed my game........2007-06-16
Life is NOT a game. There are things way more important than golf, like my relationship with God through Christ. And the opportunity to use this great game and this great book to share my faith in Christ. As I often say on the course, "I love this game!" and I love Jesus more than ever.
Greatest Golf Book Ever.......2007-05-15
I have read a number of golf psychology books. This is by far the best. I would recommend it to my golfing buddies, but I don't want them to learn the lessons of this book. I need the income from our $2 bets.
Book Description
Filled with advice, tips, strategies, and problem-solving techniques from some of the leading figures in golf architecture, Routing the Golf Course provides unique insight into the most essential phase of designing a golf course. Coverage includes material on all aspects of planning a golf course such as site evaluation; environmental conditions; programming; and financial, psychological, and strategic game considerations. This nuts-and-bolts information is balanced with anecdotal, real-life experiences from guest essayists such as land planner Gil Martinez, environmental psychologist Dr. Edward Sadalla, and golf course architect Arthur Jack Snyder. Also featured is an interview with longtime professional golfer and broadcaster Peter Oosterhuis, who also provides the foreword.
This book is divided into four key parts. "The Opening" begins with a brief history of routing, including the influence of St. Andrews, and continues with insightful examinations of the components that make up different courses. "Making the Turn" contains chapters on essential routing information such as the "rules" of routing, safety considerations, and methods for fitting holes together. "The Heart of the Course" explores the hands-on process of creating routing plans and is enhanced with words of wisdom from renowned golf course architects Pete Dye, Jay Morrish, Dr. Michael Hurdzon, and many others. In the final section, "The Finish," coverage includes the use of GIS in routing, presenting routing plans, and design changes that may lie ahead for golf courses. A unique look at the Cypress Point Club rounds out the reading.
Customer Reviews:
A thinking mans golf book.......2002-11-12
What a terrific book: I am a golf nut who just happens to live in Australia, and although I have never designed a course other than doodles, I have certainly pondered the nuance of the layout of some of the games great courses that I have had the honor to play: Cypress Point (the final chapter is all about this one gem) and Pebble Beach, The Old Course at St Andrews are all thoughtfully explored. I particularly liked the "templates" and I feel I have a much better understanding of the science of course design. Its a good read, and very thoughtfully done. I want to build a three hole "amen corner-of-the-world" course in my backyard now.
I would highly recommend it to anyone, but if you are actually having a course built, its a must read! And buy one for your course architect as well!
Need to Know, but Engaging Too.......2002-08-22
This book is at once engaging and informative. It's packed with practical advice and step-by-step instructions for planning a course - something that I haven't found in this kind of detail in any other book. And amidst the practical information are terrific stories about bad routings (a civil engineer who designed a dog-leg 180 yard par 3!), stories about how a routing preserved an archaeological treasure (The Moundbuilders Country Club), and stories about the author's own successes and failures. Interviews with Bob Graves, Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Pete Dye and a host of other golf course architects shed light on their routing experiences and highlight just how critical the routing phase is to the success of a course. Really well done.
Amazon.com
Having toured The Road Less Traveled in previous bestsellers, psychiatrist and self-help guru Peck finally sets out on the cartpath. His destination? A journey into the mysteries of the royal and ancient game. Given the tenor of his earlier work, it's surprising he took so long to take aim at this particularly pilgrim-filled target area.
Peck, a golfer since his army days in the '60s, fairly and fittingly uses the game as a metaphor for spiritual growth. Dividing his book into 18 holes with titles like Civility, Human Nature, The Invisible, Deftness (and, for good measure, a 19th called Closure), he navigates his course prudently and self-referentially with a bag full of mysticism, religion, and psychology, and acquits himself with a safe par performance. Nothing particularly dangerous or spectacular emerges from his thinking about the game. Instead, he puts a New Age spin on it--"Golf is probably the most nonlinear pastime on the face of the earth"; "A day of golf may seem like a personal holiday ... but it is hardly a holy day"; "I do believe that golf can be a wonderful spiritual path of growth toward God, but only if one chooses to use it as such"--on the roads already well traveled by such masterful analysts of golf's raptures and ridicules as Harvey Penick, Michael Murphy, Jim Flick, Tommy Armour, Bobby Jones, and Bob Rotella. Peck, of course, is right about golf being a spiritual journey; it's an inner game of personal demons that demands its players to get as much of a grip on themselves as on their clubs. The bogey on his scorecard is that those who play golf already know this. --Jeff Silverman
Book Description
Golf. It's the ultimate head game. And when nothing but the best advice will do, along comes M. Scott Peck, M.D., the celebrated psychiatrist and author of the best-selling self-help book of all time,
The Road Less Traveled.
In
Golf and the Spirit, M. Scott Peck writes a book for beginners and masters alike--and even for nongolfers. It goes beyond mechanics to explore the deeper issues, ways of successfully managing the emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects of this most wonderful, maddening, deflating, and inspiring game.
Playing side by side with M. Scott Peck on an imaginary course of his own design--complete with illustrations of each hole--you will come to see the profound truths in this seemingly simple game. Appreciate that life is not linear. Come to understand your own anger and how to heal that which gets in your way. Accept the gifts of humility. Appreciate kenosis, the process by which the self empties itself of self. Benefit from teachers. Know that in weakness often there is strength. Realize that to experience the blessings of golf and life fully, you must accept the divinity that underlies all things.
Like the best-selling volumes of Harvey Penick and Michael Murphy, Golf and the Spirit makes a unique contribution to the literature of golf and life. It goes beyond the body to address the heart and soul of the game, creating a rare opportunity for transformation in the lives of its readers, both on and off the fairway.
It seems to me the human condition is most basically that we are willful creatures living in a world that, much of the time, doesn't behave the way we want it to. We live in the tension between our will and reality. Sometimes with great effort and expertise, we can change reality or bend it to our will. At other times--also with great effort and expertise--it is we who must change by coming to accept the limitations of the world and of ourselves. How we do this--how we deal with the hazards of life--is quite akin to how we deal with the hazards of a golf course.
Sooner or later golfers who stick with the game long enough will almost always come to see it as a metaphor for life. But the word metaphor fails to do justice to all that golf has to teach us. I would go even further and say that, in its own way, golf is life and, not only that, life condensed. If we choose to use it as such, I believe that golf, next to marriage and parenthood, can routinely be the greatest of life's learning opportunities.
Customer Reviews:
quite good, better than expected.......2005-07-07
I loved this book, having just gotten into golf a year and a half ago, and being somewhat of a Christian mystic, with shades of being a Zen Buddist, which he was, and sortof still seems to be. The book was so intriguing that I chose to read it slowly, wanting to savor it. I would say that it even was helpful to my golf game, though he offers not so much advice on how to play, technically. They say, whoever they are, that one's true nature is revealed on the golf course, and that is what this book was so helpful in revealing. quite a lovely read, very thought provoking, very spiritual, and very respectful towards a wonderful game. and most important, perhaps, very funny.
An enjoyable experience for a non-golfer.......2004-09-21
*****
I really enjoyed this book, although I am not a golfer. I read it because I enjoy the M. Scott Peck's other work. I found that it excited me about golf at whatever level I end up being involved with it in the future---as a spectator, as a friend of a golfer, or even as a player someday.
As a golfer's adult daughter, I confess that in the past I have thought that golf was just a "silly rich man's game" done for the amusement of those who have nothing better to do. This book blew apart my misconception that was, frankly, based on a total ignorance of the game. This book explains the connection between golf and life, the mysticism involved in the game, and how golf can be a great game just in itself, and too, as so much more.
M. Scott Peck uses his design of a fantasy golf course called Exotica as a literary device to muse about what he has learned from many years of playing. He starts with the first hole, describes it, and writes related things about golfing and life and relationships and mysticism. As he goes, he explains the game so that people like me who have no idea about golf terminology can follow and appreciate what he is saying. He brings in a religious focus too at times, but an intensely personal one (he is a Christian and calls God "Her"), so that each reader can evaluate his religious ponderings in light of their own religious beliefs and see what would hold true for them.
This is not a book about golf tips or instruction, although there is some of this that is really interesting; it is a unique view of golf through the eyes of a long-time golfer that I admire. He is not an especially good golfer (although dedicated) and he is older (60's), too; I loved this perspective as it is where I will be if I do indeed learn to golf! I have learned much from the author in this book, and am eager to become more involved in the world of golf (which surprises me greatly)!
One thing I have already done is bought the book used on audio tape from Amazon to listen to, and am looking to hearing it all again---it's that type of book---I expect to get even more out of it the second time around.
If you are considering taking up golf, or wonder why people play it and think of yourself as just not that type...perhaps you are even a "golf widow" or golfer's adult child...then this is a great book, especially if you are spiritually or intellectually oriented, or if you like Peck's other work.
*****
A Hole In One!.......2003-05-26
I listened (more than once) to the very well read audio tapes while traveling. You must pay attention the detail is superb.
As a golfer for 46 years and earning three letters at Indiana University, I can attest that golf can teach a great deal about life, pursuing happiness, developing patience and spiritual growth if you go beyond your score. Especially as you take the competition out of golf can you realize what this game has to offer and how you can grow as a person from it.
Peck designs a wonderful exotic golf course with all the hazards and obstacles similar to which you find in life. He provides great analogies, excellent knowledge of the game which can help someone unfamiliar with the sport, and makes it all very interesting. The tapes are excellent because you can go back again and again, each time gaining new insights to golf and yourself.
A great companion reader to Golf and the Spirit tapes is Pecks book, "The Road Less Traveled." Happy reading and Spiritual growth.
Peck makes the cut.......2001-01-03
If you like Peck and like to play golf, this book is a tap in birdie. More about life and golf as spiritual journeys than about technical golf, Peck connects golf (life condensed) and our spiritual side. Very readable and humorous at times with basic practical tips for golf and life woven in throughout the round. It may inspire you to approach your next round differently and possible apply some of the ideas to your non-golf life. Great book for spiritually alive golfers.
Enjoyed very much.......2000-12-15
I'm a long time fan of Dr. Peck's books and also a golfer. I was so pleased to see he had written this book and enjoyed it very much. Hate to see all the negative reviews, it's just an fun and inspiring book.
Customer Reviews:
A charming and informative travel book about golf in Ireland.......2005-12-03
I have read and re-read this book since buying it 3 years ago. While it is now 9 years old and could use a 2nd edition (for example, the green fees have risen dramatically from those listed), Links of Heaven is still the best golf travel book I have ever read. The historical accounts of some of these courses, and the role of Irish golf architect Eddie Hackett, are engagingly written and utterly charming. Still a great help to anyone planning a golf trip to Ireland.
A great guide to golf in Ireland, and an awesome read!.......1998-05-21
Richard Phinney and Scott Whitley have produced the best book on golf in Ireland to date. It's full of first accounts of the Emerald Isles' best courses as well as interesting stories about Irish characters in the world of golf. You'll read it more than once.
Great read!.......1998-01-01
The best book ever written about Irish Golf. I read this book in preparation for a trip to Ireland last summer and took it along for the trip. The authors clearly love golf and do a great job in helping to explain why Irish golf is so special. If you only read one book on golf this year, let this one be it. However, after reading the book you might have an uncontrollable desire to make the trip yourself!
Unique and helpful guide to golfing in Ireland.......1997-04-05
This book is a very helpful and unique guide to those who are planning a golfing vacation in Ireland. There is very little information like this in the usual travel books. The authors provide discriptions and history of the top 30 courses in Ireland in a very organized easy to read format. (There is information about 100 other courses as well) There is also some information on where to stay, eat, costs and other sites. Only one criticism, I wish there was more! I would like to know more about the nuts and bolts of getting around with golf clubs, some out of the way golf interests and information on unusual golf (not just the famous). However, I must say, I did appreciate the listing of golf tournaments that foreigners can play
Book Description
Tom Callahan has written the seminal book on golfing great Tiger Woods. Woods, who has gone out of his way to protect his privacy, has never allowed himself to get close enough to a writer to be properly examined on the page. And, as a consequence, his fans know relatively little about him except what’s divulged in quick tournament interviews or the scarce information parsed out on occasion by one of his handlers. Which is to say, we know next to nothing about one of the most famous people in the world. Callahan, commonly regarded as one of the best all-round sports writers in the country, has followed Tiger around the world of golf for more than seven years, enjoying a certain access to the man and his family. He even went so far as to travel to Vietnam to learn the fate of the South Vietnamese soldier who was Earl Wood’s best friend during the war—and his son’s namesake.
Tiger is twenty years old when the book opens and twenty-seven when it closes. During those years, Callahan covered Woods at all the Majors, including the Masters, the U.S. Open, and the British Open, culminating in Tiger’s heart-stopping race to make history by clinching the string of Majors affectionately nicknamed the Tiger Slam. As the pulse of golf was measured by the curve of his swing, Tiger made everyone’s heart skip a beat as he attempted to win the Grand Slam a year later.
Along the way, Tom Callahan hears from everyone who is anyone in the world of Tiger Woods, including Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, David Duval, Butch Harmon, Ernie Els, and, of course, Tiger’s rather ubiquitous mother and father. As much as we learn about Tiger—how he sees himself in relation to the courses he plays on and the players he has learned from and competed with—we also enjoy a bird’s-eye view of golf as it is now with Tiger on the scene, and as it was for
centuries before.
In Search of Tiger catalogs and dissects moments and influences in Tiger’s guarded life and unprecedented career—moments that unveil him, his awesome drive, and his enormous talent. Tom Callahan has written a classic of its kind, a book to rank with the best in its genre. He has done what few have even attempted—
he has found the real Tiger Woods.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Gay's Tiger review.......2007-01-19
I had been looking for this book since last June, as a gift for my son. He finally received it before Christmas and seems to be enjoying it very much. I was in his home when he received it and that was a pleasure for me. The book was in good shape, looked like new although I was told it wasn't. Appreciate your help in solving my problem...
Not quite what I hoped, but..........2006-02-19
Callahan's book can, at first, be considered a misnomer. The search for Tiger Woods is not conducted in this book-rather, we find that Callahan attempts to search for a sense of humanity within one of the most underrated, and often misunderstood sports: golf. Callahan takes us on a "tour" (forgive the unavoidable pun), through the often overlooked sport, though the eyes and stories of some of golf's most visible and legendary players. From comparing stories of Jack Nicklaus's and Phil Mickelson's introductions into golf, Callahan attempts to provide the reader with the sense that golf, much like football and basketball, has a vivid cast of characters. Callahan goes on to prove this, by exposing the reader to many great stories about those said characters.
What ties all of this to Tiger Woods, is that Woods appears in this book as the looming figure, casting a shadow over golf (in a good way), and all of these golfers can only accept the fact that they all, currently, are underneath this shadow, and don't seem to have figured out a way to get out from under it. In essence, golf is Tiger's world: all of these great players are just living in it.
For anybody who wishes to gain a better understanding of some of the noticeable figures in modern golf, this book's nothing short of an asset. For me, at the very least, Callahan provided a great collection of stories that gave a sense of humanity and depth to a sport that is far too often mistaken as a mere hobby.
In Search of Tiger : A Journey Through Golf With Tiger Woods.......2005-01-16
In Search of Tiger: A Journey Through Golf with Tiger Woods, written by Tom Callahan, was a good book. I enjoyed reading this book because it compared other golfers to Tiger Woods. The only problem with this book is that it talked about many other professional golfers such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus but very little about Tiger Woods. This book is not quite a biography but the author does talk about some of the tournaments Tiger Woods' participated in. In the book, I was able to see the comparison between Tiger and his father and other golfers and their fathers. The book was still very interesting. It was a detailed book and described Callahan's meetings with the professional golfers. I could see the influence Tiger Woods has already made in the PGA and his capabilities in the golf game. This book is not what I expected so if you are looking for a biography, do not read this book.
Not quite.......2004-04-26
This book is a compelling read for someone with a starting knowledge of and interest in Tiger Woods, but it doesn't quite make you feel like you've found Tiger. The book seems to be too choppy, more a series of isolated chapters thrown in that dont seem to connect. And there are too many questions that you are left with after reading it. If you're going to brag that you covered Tiger at all his first 8 majors, why have chapters only on the 3 in 2000? And if you're going to focus on those, why soak them with background info and then glaze over the tremendous performances? Callahan's description of Tiger during the 2000 PGA is particularly weak; why he decides to condense that great final round with May and the great back nine and the putts on 18 and 16 the second time around into about a page and a half befuddled me. And most of all, why devote so much of the book to learning about golfers other than Tiger? It's true that if you were to write the definitive, thoroughly detailed Tiger book, you could not ignore Lefty, Sergio, Ernie, etc. But when the chapters on the other golfers seem to take up half of this relatively short book, you've gone too far. It's true that this book is well written and will provide you with some nice tidbits about Tiger (such as the fact that his mother was the one to get him to wear red on Sundays), but you will likely leave the book hoping for more detail, more coherence, and more depth.
Tom Callahan Pens the Definitive Tiger Bio.......2004-02-14
There is simply no sportswriter on earth with as much meticulous insight into the minds of both the golfing legends of old and the stars of today as Tom Callahan. Admittedly, my expectations were lofty going in here, esp. after reading the astounding accolades bestowed upon Callahan on the book jacket alone -- from the likes of Costas, Kornheiser, Jenkins, Reilly, Nicklaus, and others. Thankfully, for once, they were all right. This book is indeed the whole package on Tiger, presented (ingeniously) not only via Tiger's own eyes, but those of his peers and predecessors. The golf history in the book is cleverly detailed yet pleasurably digestible. The first hand interviews with Tiger and his family are unprecedented. And the "Journey", for anyone REALLY interested in Tiger, is remarkably satisfying. Kudos to Tom Callahan for giving the sports world the preeminent Tiger bio.
Amazon.com
The Dodsons always knew where to go to solve their problems: the golf course. For decades, father and son took refuge there together; in the game, they found connection. Dodson fils's memoir of his last lyrical golf excursion with his father, taken through England and Scotland in the months before his father's death, is alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking. Final Rounds is as straight a shot into the heart of golf's magnetic hold on golfers--and the tie that binds fathers and sons--as a 300-yard drive that splits the fairway.
Book Description
James Dodson always felt closest to his father while they were on the links. So it seemed only appropriate when his father learned he had two months to live that they would set off on the golf journey of their dreams to play the most famous courses in the world.
Final Rounds takes us to the historic courses of Royal Lytham and Royal Birkdale, to the windswept undulations of Carnoustie, where Hogan played peerlessly in '53, and the legendary St. Andrews, whose hallowed course reveals something of the eternal secret of the game's mysterious allure over pros and hackers alike.
Throughout their poignant journey, the Dodsons humorously reminisce and reaffirm their love for each other, as the younger Dodson finds out what it means to have his father also be his best friend.
Final Rounds is a book never to be forgotten, a book about fathers and sons, long-held secrets, and the lessons a middle-aged man can still learn from his dad about life, love, and family.
Final Rounds is a tribute to a very special game and the fathers and sons who make it so. -->
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Final Rounds.......2007-06-19
ISBN 0553375644 - I started reading this book hoping for the touching story of the father and son and was vaguely disappointed. Not to say the story isn't there, because it is in it's own way, but the golf far overshadows Dodson and his father, making this a far better book for golf fans than non-fans.
James Dodson and his father finally get around to planning that dream trip: all the best courses in great company. Just before they are to leave, his father calls with bad news - the trip will have to be postponed because the cancer of years ago is back. With a small laugh, the man Dodson calls "Opti the Mystic" tells him the prognosis: he has a month, maybe two, to live. Dodson realizes that this means that the trip may never happen, but another call comes soon after and the trip is on. There are conditions and one of them is that when his father says it's time to go home, it's time to go home, no argument. Opti has "things to do", clearly the tying up of loose ends in his life.
The men set out on the golf trip of a lifetime and, honestly, will bore the non-golf-fan cross-eyed with the details of games and players. If you've gotten that far, barrel through - the point of the book isn't the game, or the courses, it's the relationship between father and son. Golf is just the medium in which they relate to one another. Knowing, all along, that Opti is going to die doesn't detract from the sorrow when the time comes and, oddly, his death doesn't detract from the happier side of the story. Opti the Mystic, with an eye always for the silver lining, gives his son some incredible gifts and Dodson does his best to share them with the reader.
I'm not a fan of golf and found myself just skimming very big sections of the book. The stories OFF the course were far more interesting and I wish they'd been given more ink, but Final Rounds is still a very good book.
Final Rounds: A Father, A Son, The Journey Of A Lifetime........2007-03-08
Fanstic read. This will touch the heart of any golfer that has ever had the chance to play with their Dad.
Inspiration for a trip with my sons.......2006-01-26
I lost this book while I was vacationing with my wife in Italy for her 40th birthday. I couldn't wait to get home to buy another copy and finish it. That was 9 years ago. I was so moved by the story that I made a pledge to try and take my sons on a similar trip one day. Well, I've lost 3 jobs since then and have been paying college expenses for 6 years, the last 4 years for 2 kids at a time. However, my current job allowed me to go to Aberdeen, Scotland 6 times last year alone. While reading the book again, I dog earred places I wanted to include on my trip. I have also been saving magazine articles as well as itineraries from acquainteses who have made similar golf excursions. And during my trips to Scotland I've developed friendships and they have helped with insights to add my catalog of information.
Well, the trip is planned. I compiled a notebook for both my sons with our planned itinerary, a route map showing the courses along our journey and website information on all the courses. I gave it to them for Christmas. They are pumped. Both are very good players and we have played alot together. My oldest is getting married in October and my yougner son plays for his college team and will graduate in May. For their birthdays they each will get a copy of Final Round to read as a prerequiste to the trip schedlued June 6-21. We will play both the famous and the hidden gems. We'll play Carnoustie on Father's Day and then drive down to St. Andrew's and watch the final round of the US Open in a pub 100 yards off the 18th green of the Old Course. Our last round will be on the Old Course. This book provided a dream for a once in a lifetime trip. I'm going to share it with two of my favorite people.
A great story for father and sons regardless if they golf.......2005-05-16
I picked up this book at a used book sale on a lark. I love Scotland and thought a book on a father and son golf trip to the old courses would be fun. What I didn't expect was such a great book about the relationship between a very optimistic father and his earnest son. Just before the trip the father discovers he has cancer and not long to live. They go on the trip anyway and we get to know two interesting people and how life's lessons can come in many places including on a golf course. I lost my father a few months before I read this book. I took my time reading it, not wanting it to end. It helped ease the pain of my loss and to direct my energies and lessons I have to offer to my sons.
Fantastic and Moving .......2005-03-02
I am scottish and learnt the game of golf from my father when I was 8. My father and I played courses all over scotland as well as in the united states. The game taught me much about myself, but also much about my father. Though nothing like "Opti", my father had his own valauble pieces of advice that he passed to me. I moved to Japan at 22 and two years later found out my father had a year to live. I was stunned and returned immediately to be with him. In fact he only lived 2 months, but in that time he and I played two more games of golf, only a stones throw from the course mentioned in this book, Gullane.
Now only 4 years on I found this book and on every page it strikes a chord with me. I remember my father and thank him for teaching me this wonderful game. As a scot, I of course have an unrelenting love for the game and reading this book and seeing courses in there that we played together is truly moving.
Not often does a book compell me to write a review, this book however makes me feel like a simple review will never do justice to how much I enjoyed this book.
Customer Reviews:
Extraordinary Essence.......2007-06-20
"Preferred Lies", like a once-in-a-lifetime round of golf on a special golf course, is something one savors as you move through it. Andrew's wit, insight, depth, humor, and choice of words delight the reader with their imagination and intention. It is an honest book - and therefore one that was easy to relate to and come away with impressions and thoughts that shall last. This is a work of art that comes not only from Andrew's creative and entertaining spirit, but from his heart. That is the highest recommendation that I think one can give for any endeavor.
Golf Not For Everyone.......2006-11-26
Andrew Greig, a Scot, is a poet, a nonfiction writer and a novelist who, as a junior, was a golf champion in Fife. This book combines all that and more. At one point the author states that he's not sure whether he's writing for the golfer or nongolfer. Having read it, I'm not sure either, but I'm a golfer with some familiarity with Scottish golf courses, including a number of those that Greig visits during his journey rediscovering golf and himself, without which background I'm uncertain whether I would have finished the book. Now, having finished it, I expect to be reading it again.
You want beautiful writing? You've got it here. You want "new age" golf? You've got it here. You want a little humor? Same answer. The story line, such as it is, has the author visiting 18 or so famous, not-so-well-known (to Americans such as I) and barely golf courses around Scotland after a 35-year absence from the game and just upon recovery from a life-threatening illness. Although here and there we get some tidbits about the golf courses themselves, the point of the book is "golf and life" -- specifically, Mr. Greig's life.
On the golf side, I think of Scots as social, match play players. Mr. Greig doesn't fit that image. He prefers to play alone, and therefore for him it's medal play against the course and himself. In spite of his long absence from the game, he still cares about the score. He concludes his final round, at Dollar, alone: "My card records 35 out, 37 in. Total 72, six over par. Not that I was counting. Of course I'm counting. There is still something at stake. There aye will be." Pretty heavy stuff, yes?
spiritual view of golf - it's not about the score.......2006-09-15
We went to Gleneagles this year for 10 days holiday staying in a house on the estate which we rented. Lots of emotion driving through Milnathort passing a house of oldest friend and remembering aged 10 playing golf at Milnathort and not finding the ball because the course was covered in white feathers. One day I indulged myself and drove to Dollar, where I had been to school and lived during my formative years, arriving at 08.00am and played a round of golf on my own. I am a very poor player who has never yet broken 100 (the swing mistakes of my youth will stay and haunt me all my life)and so was amazed to go round the course in 82 - more than uncanny. Stopping at the 18th green for 10 minutes to look at the house where I grew up which backed onto the golf course I could see me and my brother playing in the garden and remembered where we had the rabbit hutch and so on and so on. It was very nostalgic and very pleasant. Dollar unchanged etc
Next day we drive 'en famille' to Edinburgh and turn on the radio at 08.45am and pick up a 15 minute reading from a book just come out called 'Preferred Lies' by Andrew Greig (or Grieg). It's autobiographical about a guy who on his (very) sick bed hear's voices from his deceased father telling him to pick up his golf clubs after years of absence as the road to recovery. So he sets off on a tour of golf courses in Scotland which had been meaningful to him and gives us his philosophy on the way (It's not about the score). That day my wife managed to find the book in a book shop and bought it for me for my birthday and... surprise is the last chapter is entitled Dollar. Imagine my surprise - all the golf courses in Scotland and he chooses to end his book playing alone at Dollar in the way I had done just two days earlier. Turns out he had attended Dollar Academy as I had many years ago. So you must please buy the book. It is golfy but you will enjoy it. As this book, golf in Scotland follows the natural lie of the land and is not man made. It is earthy and genuine.
Product Description
History: Fiction or Science? is the most explosive tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by solid scientific data. The book is well-illustrated, contains over 446 graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays, which never cease to amaze the reader. Eminent mathematician proves that: Jesus Christ was born in 1153 and crucified in 1186 The Old Testament refers to mediaeval events. Apocalypse was written after 1486. Does this sound uncanny? This version of events is substantiated by hard facts and logic - validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources - to a greater extent than everything you may have read and heard about history before. The dominating historical discourse in its current state was essentially crafted in the XVI century from a rather contradictory jumble of sources such as innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts whose originals had vanished in the Dark Ages and the allegedly irrefutable proof offered by late mediaeval astronomers, resting upon the power of ecclesial authorities. Nearly all of its components are blatantly untrue! For some of us, it shall possibly be quite disturbing to see the magnificent edifice of classical history to turn into an ominous simulacrum brooding over the snake pit of mediaeval politics. Twice so, in fact: the first seeing the legendary millenarian dust on the ancient marble turn into a mere layer of dirt - one that meticulous unprejudiced research can eventually remove. The second, and greater, attack of unease comes with the awareness of just how many areas of human knowledge still trust the three elephants of the consensual chronology to support them. Nothing can remedy that except for an individual chronological revolution happening in the minds of a large enough number of people.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
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- Shooting Stars Omnibus : Cinnamon, Ice, Rose and Honey
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- The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
- The Breakaway Brand: How Great Brands Stand Out
- The Celebrant: A Novel
- The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year
- The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time, Book 5)
- The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists
Books Index
Books Home
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Scotland
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Blasted Heaths and Blessed Green: A Golfer's Pilgrimage to the Courses of Scotland
Golf in Scotland: A Travel-Planning Guide with Profiles of 68 Great Courses
Where Golf is Great: The Finest Courses of Scotland and Ireland
A Season In Dornoch: Golf and Life in the Scottish Highlands
The Scottish Golf Book
