"In Good Bounces and Bad Lies, Wright brings the reader into the world of professional golf - and professional golf broadcasting - depicting in equal measure the game's grace and tradition as well as its often raucous behind-the-scenes character. Wright tells of the ups and downs of his expansive career, relating dozens of funny and outrageous anecdotes along the way. Having known such greats as Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Steve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, and many other prominent figures in the world of golf, Wright gives the true insider's perspective."--BOOK JACKET.

Anyone who has spent time at a table with golf afficianado Ben Wright has doubtlessly listened to several of his endless repertoire of stories. The man can recount an event like none other, not only do his tales display his razor-sharp wit and his love for the art of the telling, they always showcase the extensive -- but never pretentious -- vocabulary of Ben Wright-isms.Following the success of his best-seller Good Bounces & Bad Lies that The Los Angeles Times called "possibly the best sports book ever", Ben has compiled a dictionary of Wright-isms, Speak Wright: The Literate Language of Golf.Meet Ben Wright "after the Lord Mare's Show" out by "the trademan's entrance" to hear his story of a "trencherman" with "gravedigger's arms"' who played with the "light of battle in his eyes" until the match ended in "Aquatic Doom' and everyone went home with "a bloody load of sour grapes in their mouths and in their underwear". But first, you'll have to pick up Speak Wright: The Literate Language of Golf, a comprehensive dictionary of golf terms like no dictionary before, compiled by the only man who was Wright for the job.

Playing better golf without practicing, isn't that every golfers dream? Does that sound too good to be true? It is not! What people fail to realize is that golf is played as much with the mind as it is with the body. Having more fun and being better at playing golf, in large part, requires an improvement in how a person uses thier brain and chooses to think while playing golf. Unfortunately golfers have, for the most part, ignored use of their brain as a way to improve their games and to increase their enjoyment of golf. For most golfers, improvement means purchasing the latest, greatest golf club or trying out a tip they read in a golf magazine or watched on television. Despite using technologically advanced golf clubs and balls and improving their swing technique, many golfers do not seem to be lowering their scores. The concepts explained in this book are simple, extremely effective, easy to apply, and are the same ones that the best players in the world are using. Professional golfers have come to realize that at the PGA Tour level everyone has terrific physical skills. The difference between the players and the good players are the mental skills. Most golfers do not have the physical talent to be able to hit the ball like Tiger Woods or Annika Sorenstam, but everyone, absolutely, positively has the mental capacity to learn how to think like them! Every golfer can benefit by learning more about how to think properly while playing golf. I believe that golfers have a huge untapped potential that is just waiting to be unlocked. Apply the simply, common sense techniques explained in this book and you too can have more fun and play better golf!

Easy-to-grasp techniques for improving the short game About 70 percent of the shots in a round of golf are taken 75 yards from the pin or closer, making the short game the most significant factor in a golfer's score. This practical guide shows readers how to shave strokes off their game by improving their pitching, chipping, bunker play, and putting. Golfers will find expert tips on choosing the right wedges, putters, and balls, as well as illustrated step-by-step instructions on swings used in short-game shots. They'll also find information on how to beat bunkers and other hazards and how to play various lies-in deep rough, from the fairway, uphill, side-hill, and off bare ground. There's also a section on stretches, exercises, and drills to improve techniques, as well as tips on reading greens for accurate putting. Michael Patrick Sheils (Birmingham, MI) is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America. He has written four books, and his articles and columns have appeared in worldwide magazines and newspapers. Michael Kernicki (Miami Beach, FL) has been a PGA member for 27 years and is currently the Head Professional at the historic Indian Creek Country Club in Miami Beach.

Peer beyond the high, thick hedges of Augusta National Golf Club for an intimate, entertaining glimpse of the classic cathedral that is home to golf's most venerable, unique event. In this newly-revised edition of Tales from Augusta’s Fairways, Jim Hawkins and Robert Hartman capture all the power and passion that have inspired golfers to flock to Georgia for generations. From Gene Sarazen's 1935 double-eagle that put Augusta National on the map, to Tiger Woods's Grand Slam victory in 2001, from the tragic collapses of Greg Norman and Jordan Spieth to the heart-warming story of Jose Maria Olazabal, Tales from Augusta’s Fairways takes an inside look at a course that has changed the game. Readers will share the dream with Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, walk the green with Jack Nicklaus, take a swing with Arnold Palmer, and putt with thousands of hopefuls who have made the Masters the most revered, most prestigious golf tournament in the world. Without a doubt, this is a must-have for any golf fan.

With compelling detail and pure passion, James Dodson recounts the singular brilliance of three golf titans and how they saved the professional tour and created the game as we know it today. During the Depression golf was in crisis. As a spectator sport it was on the verge of extinction. This was the unhappy prospect facing Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, and Ben Hogan –two dirt-poor boys from Texas and another from Virginia, who had dedicated themselves to the sport. But then lightning struck, and from the late thirties into the fifties these three men were so thoroughly dominant that they transformed both how the game was played and how society regarded it. Paving the way for the subsequent popularity of players from Arnold Palmer to Tiger Woods, they were, and will always remain, a triumvirate for the ages.

The fun way to get a grip on every aspect of golf Golf is a popular spectator sport, but for those who play it's a great source of low impact cardiovascular, strength, and aerobic exercise. In addition, golf is by nature a social game that provides the opportunity to meet new people. Golf All-In-One For Dummies shows you not only how to get the most physical benefit from a round of golf, but also the tools you need to truly enjoy the game. From perfecting your swing to avoiding injuries, the proven techniques presented in this book give you everything you need to have the time of your life every time you hit the links. The basics of golf Details on the latest golf equipment and technology Tips on how to improve the short game, including putting, chipping, and getting out of tough spots Rules and etiquette that every golfer needs to know Plans for keeping fit and designing workouts to improve your game Mental tricks and exercises to help you succeed Tips on grips, stances, and swings New tips from top players on how to improve your game Great new courses, tournaments, players who have changed the game, and a review of golf's greatest moments Whether you already have some golf experience or are completely new to the game, Golf All-In-One For Dummies will have you playing like a pro in no time.

In Tales from Augusta, Jim Hawkins, who covered his first Masters in 1968, takes readers behind the high, thick hedges of Augusta National Golf Club for an intimate, entertaining glimpse of the classic cathedral that is home to golf's most venerable, unique event. From Gene Sarazen's 1935 double-eagle that put Augusta National on the map, to Tiger Woods' Grand Slam victory in 2001, from the tragic collapses of Greg Norman to the heart-warming story of Jose Maria Olazabal, Tales from Augusta takes an inside look at the greats -- including Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer -- and the not-so-greats, the amateurs and the rookies who have made the Masters the most revered, the most prestigious golf tournament in the world.

It's the undated calendar that takes passionate golfers to a place where they're always first off on a dewy morning and the holes are laid out as if by a magician. With its to-die-for photographs and inspiring quotes, it's the perfect golfer's accessory, designed to be used year after year and featuring a Wire-O bound format. The bagpipes at Turnberry. Pacific Dunes, and an afternoon so quiet you can hear your heart beat. The windswept links of Ballycastle. Undulating greens and distant hills at South Africa's Erinvale Club. Set against intense blue skies and dramatic backdrops of mountains, oceans, and deserts, these evocative photographs bring out all the game's beauty and sense of challenge.

With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.