The Soul of Golf

On a hot summer morning, William Hallberg, author of The Rub of the Green, sets off on an odyssey across the United States to penetrate--and illuminate--the soul of golf. No course is too grand, no driving range too humble for a stop on Hallberg's unpredictable tour of America's verdant and not-so-verdant golf venues. He tackles Kiawah Island's diabolical and breathtaking Ocean Course with a party of well-heeled Southern gents. He tromps through sagebrush roughs and kikuyu bunkers in the Nevada outback. He encounters the ghost of a cherished golfing buddy during a memorable round in the Smokies. And between games he nurses his wounds, ponders his constantly mutating handicap, and commiserates with fellow golfers in dusky sports bars, greasy spoons, and rain-soaked motel parking lots.

No one writes about golf the way William Hallberg does. His zest, passion, and humor inform each page of this book, which, using golf as both its means and metaphor, explores what it is to be a man in America. The Soul of Golf will make you laugh out loud, swallow hard in the face of painful truths, and ultimately, head yet again for your favorite golf course where fate lies in ambush. Hallberg clearly had the time of his life working on this book. It's a privilege and a pleasure to come along for the ride.