SO HELP ME GOLF

The acclaimed sports journalist journeys to the heart of a unique sport and pastime.

To the uninitiated, golf looks like an undertaking of dubious purpose conducted with tools badly designed for the task. Longtime ESPN and Sports Illustrated writer Reilly, who has spent much of his life playing, watching, and writing about the game, feels only pity for those poor fools. He loves the sport’s mix of tension and calmness, its social nature, and the rich history of famous courses. Most of all, he loves golf’s democratic nature. Every player has an equal chance, and even royalty can wilt when faced with the little white ball. The game doesn’t care who it humiliates, although it can also supply moments of clarity, grace, and beauty. Reilly ably captures all of these elements, mixing in sketches of iconic players and colorful figures. He admits to being obsessive about the minutiae of the game, and the book is punctuated with odd lists and sidebars, including a list of 30 random facts about Jack Nicklaus. This extends into Reilly’s collection of weird holes around the world—e.g., one in South Africa that has a pit of alligators or a par 3 in the Dominican Republic “that’s 98% water.” Throughout, the author interweaves his personal story, noting that golf probably saved him from depression and chronic anxiety. He has little time for people who decry golf as elitist (the vast majority of games are played on public courses) and who describe tennis as better for fitness (it isn’t). He also has some snarky things to say about Donald Trump’s gaudy courses, arguing that their deliberate artificiality misses the point. Reilly believes that in the past few years, golf has emerged (or, more accurately, reemerged) as a cool game, attracting a new generation of players. Golf might be played initially out of curiosity and thereafter in a futile quest for revenge, but people will probably still be whacking balls down fairways 1,000 years from now.

An informative, enjoyable romp.