Extreme Golf is a captivating journey through the world's most geographically extreme, climatically challenging, dangerous and uniquely designed courses. From the sweltering courses of the desert to the freezing ice golf championships in Greenland, and from the erotically shaped bunkers in lush surroundings in France to the harsh surfaces in Kabul, golf is clearly no longer the elite sport it once was. Today's golfers (at least the ones not wearing plaid pants) are looking for the extreme-where the rough is patrolled by wild animals and the greens are sometimes white. This lushly illustrated book features more than 200 breathtaking and often hilarious photographs capturing the true spirit of extreme golf, accompanied by light-hearted and engaging text. Including an appendix listing the unusual courses around the world (in case you'd like to make a tee time), Extreme Golf's chapters include: - Location,Location, Location (out of the way places in the world) - Courses for Concern (difficult due to geographic oddities) - Golf by Design (in which the course designer influences the extreme setup) - In the Rough (really hard courses in really strange places)

For many golfers, the innocent thrill of striking a drive clearly, avoiding a deep bunker, or holing out an unlikely putt is all they need to make a round (or a whole year) of golf memorable. But there’s an obsessed subculture of modern players in search of something more. They’ve rediscovered the magic of the game in Adventures in Extreme Golf, and their adventures are about to inspire golfers everywhere. Follow golfers like Andre Tolme and Torsten Schilling who go to Mongolia to play in a par 11,880 course, to 12,000 feet at Snowmass in Aspen, to the “naked open” in New Zealand, and to the freezing temperatures of Antarctica. Duncan Lennard describes a world at the very edge of sport, where the courses may be only ten holes long, but the average length of each hole is 638 yards. Learn that your resilience, and not just a pretty swing, determines your success. Adventures in Extreme Golf will take you all over the world and show you that a par four is nothing compared to these holes. See courses you’ve only seen in your dreams (or rather, your nightmares) and follow Duncan Lennard as he takes you on a trip to see why these courses and holes are considered “extreme.”

Students and extreme sport enthusiasts will not only learn about the sports themselves, but also about the techniques, innovations, engineering, and physics behind them. How do ice yachters achieve speeds of up to 150 MPH? What does take to become a pro snowboarder? Other parts of the encyclopedia highlight key areas of study, such as extreme sports and the media, the controversies surrounding, and the impact of extreme sports on our culture. A resource guide of print and electronic sources, competitions, organizations offers students an insider's guide to all things extreme. Inside readers will discover BASE (Building, Antenna tower, Span, Earth) Jumping. What's more dangerous than leaping off of a tall building? Jumping off a structure that's much closer to the ground, and that's exactly what many BASE jumpers regularly do. The risks include malfunctioning parachutes, landing on rocks, into electrical wires and more. Readers will learn about Bhang Gliding, where experienced pilots perform full barrel rolls, inverted maneuvers and other stunt flying moves. It is no longer unusual for an experienced hang glider to travel 200 miles or reach altitudes above 10,000 feet. Coverage also includes information on caving, which involves exploring caves that travel deep into the earth, moutain biking, and many other sports.

For many golfers, the innocent thrill of striking a drive clearly, avoiding a deep bunker, or holing out an unlikely putt is all they need to make a round (or a whole year) of golf memorable. But there’s an obsessed subculture of modern players in search of something more. They’ve rediscovered the magic of the game in Adventures in Extreme Golf, and their adventures are about to inspire golfers everywhere. Follow golfers like Andre Tolme and Torsten Schilling who go to Mongolia to play in a par 11,880 course, to 12,000 feet at Snowmass in Aspen, to the “naked open” in New Zealand, and to the freezing temperatures of Antarctica. Duncan Lennard describes a world at the very edge of sport, where the courses may be only ten holes long, but the average length of each hole is 638 yards. Learn that your resilience, and not just a pretty swing, determines your success. Adventures in Extreme Golf will take you all over the world and show you that a par four is nothing compared to these holes. See courses you’ve only seen in your dreams (or rather, your nightmares) and follow Duncan Lennard as he takes you on a trip to see why these courses and holes are considered “extreme.”

For many golfers, the innocent thrill of striking a drive clearly, avoiding a deep sand-trap, or holing out an unlikely putt is all they need to make a round (or a whole year) of golf memorable. But there's a group of modern players in search of something more. They've rediscovered the magic of the game in "extreme" golf, and their adventures are about to inspire golfers everywhere. Here are players like Andre Tolme, who decided to turn Mongolia into a par 11,880 course and Torsten Schilling, who spends his weekends teeing off from the side of his boat aiming for sites back on shore. From New Zealand's naked open to golf in Antarctica, Duncan Lennard describes a world at the very edge of the sport. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

How do the world’s greatest golfers improve their game? Practice, sure, but Roland Minton says mathematics and statistics are also key to their success. Golf by the Numbers analyzes the mathematical strategies behind the sport, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at how numbers drive the game. Computers, GPS trackers, swing simulators, and high-speed cameras have introduced new and exciting ways of seeing and understanding the complicated and endlessly fascinating game of golf. Players like Phil Mickelson are so good because they review the results of every swing they take. Minton’s comprehensive analysis of statistics taken from the PGA Tour’s ShotLink system walks readers through the mountains of data that pros use to inform and refine their play. The result is an insider’s perspective of how the world’s greatest golfers apply mathematics to the sport. Minton discusses randomness in golf (especially how much luck is involved in putting) as well as aggressive and cautious strategies both on and off the greens, and he explains, by the numbers, just how Tiger Woods was so dominant from 2004 to 2009. Here is a book that tells some truly engaging stories of modern golf, featuring famous players and memorable tournaments, all through the lens of elementary probability theory. Minton’s informal style and clear and direct explanations make even the most detailed discussions accessible to all curious-minded golfers. His mathematical morsels are not only enjoyable to read—they may even help you improve your game.

“Jealous. That’s what I am. Green with golf envy…Why didn’t we think of that? I mean, what golfer worth his, or her, balls wouldn’t want to trade all the troubles of life for the adventure and privilege of teeing it up everywhere from the glacial volcanoes of the Andes to the Arctic Circle in Norway?”--from the foreword by Turk Pipkin At 47, David Wood sold everything he owned and set out to fulfill every golfer’s dream: For one year, he traveled the world (covering 60,000 miles and every continent except Antartica) by plane, boat, train, motorcycle and rickshaw, to play the game he loves in the most exotic locales, including the world’s highest, driest, hottest, coldest, and most remote golf courses, and lived to tell the tale. Along the way, he met a bevy of fascinating characters, including surly cabbies, taxi drivers with a death wish, welcoming golf course managers, threatening kangaroos, and golf pros out for a quick game. David faced dire situations, such as bouts of food poisoning in India and Egypt, altitude sickness in Argentina, getting booted out of the Ukraine by armed guards, and muddling through with limited language skills, but through it all he maintained a sense of humor and of course his passion for golf, which he played every chance he got.

This multivolume set is much more than a collection of essays on sports and sporting cultures from around the world: it also details how and why sports are played wherever they exist, and examines key charismatic athletes from around the world who have transcended their sports. Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice provides a unique, global overview of sports and sports cultures. Unlike most works of this type, this book provides both essays that examine general topics, such as globalization and sport, international relations and sport, and tourism and sport, as well as essays on sports history, culture, and practice in world regions—for example, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and Oceania—in order to provide a more global perspective. These essays are followed by entries on specific sports, world athletes, stadiums and arenas, famous games and matches, and major controversies. Spanning topics as varied as modern professional cycling to the fictional movie Rocky to the deadly ball game of the ancient Mayans, the first three volumes contain overview essays and entries for specific sports that have been and are currently practiced around the world. The fourth volume provides a compendium of information on the winners of major sporting competitions from around the world. Readers will gain invaluable insights into how sports have been enjoyed throughout all of human culture, and more fully comprehend their cultural contexts. The entries provide suggestions for further reading on each topic—helpful to general readers, students with school projects, university students and academics alike. Additionally, the four-volume Sports Around the World spotlights key charismatic athletes who have changed a sport or become more than just an outstanding player.