I just got through reading this relatively new book by Tom Coyne, author and screenwriter for A Gentleman's Game.
What a wonderful book! I was laughing all of the way through it. If you have ever wondered if you could have made it as a pro golfer, you should read this book. Even if you just want to appreciate how difficult a game this is for anyone to play, you should read this book.
It is FULL of insights and truths about golf, stuff you already know, but that he puts into the words of an accomplished writer.
....Jack Lemmon once described the feeling of hitting off the first tee in front of a crowd to be like standing onstage with your back to a crowded auditorium, taking off your clothes, then slowly turning around. I agree with everything Mr. Lemmon said, but I would add that you do so while standing in a bucket of ice water, with an auditorium full of every girl who wouldn't talk to you since you were 8 years old, and they all have camera phones and slingshots.
"Now on the tee, from the United States, Tom Coyne."
Hearing my name in a classic Aussie accent, not to mention that I was suddenly carrying not only my own personal burdens, but the baggage of 300 million prideful Americans--it only ratchets up the nerves. I could hear the heads turning and the necks craning. Who's the Yank, must be a player...can't believe someone came all this way. In Jack Lemmon's view, the room was full, and I was butt-ass-naked with a penis that had turned into an innie.
What a wonderful book! I was laughing all of the way through it. If you have ever wondered if you could have made it as a pro golfer, you should read this book. Even if you just want to appreciate how difficult a game this is for anyone to play, you should read this book.
It is FULL of insights and truths about golf, stuff you already know, but that he puts into the words of an accomplished writer.
....Jack Lemmon once described the feeling of hitting off the first tee in front of a crowd to be like standing onstage with your back to a crowded auditorium, taking off your clothes, then slowly turning around. I agree with everything Mr. Lemmon said, but I would add that you do so while standing in a bucket of ice water, with an auditorium full of every girl who wouldn't talk to you since you were 8 years old, and they all have camera phones and slingshots.
"Now on the tee, from the United States, Tom Coyne."
Hearing my name in a classic Aussie accent, not to mention that I was suddenly carrying not only my own personal burdens, but the baggage of 300 million prideful Americans--it only ratchets up the nerves. I could hear the heads turning and the necks craning. Who's the Yank, must be a player...can't believe someone came all this way. In Jack Lemmon's view, the room was full, and I was butt-ass-naked with a penis that had turned into an innie.