Golf: A Rough Time!

“Golf is essentially an exercise in masochism conducted out of doors.”

The opening quote of the first chapter, by Irish golfer Paul O’Neill, says it all: this is a sport for those willing to suffer. And not suffer physically – after all, it is a healthy physical activity amidst nature – but psychologically and morally. In twelve quick thematic “sketches” and an entertaining detective story, Tomaso Nigris (entrepreneur, publisher, writer, and golfer, not necessarily in that order) tells us about the joys and pains of the amateur golfer: the one who pays to play, studies the strokes of the great masters, and then tries to replicate them with mixed results, the one who gets angry over an unfortunate shot but then boasts to friends and fellow players about an exceptional shot that, most of the time, is just a stroke of luck. The author’s tone is ironic and lighthearted, but nonetheless technical and accurate in describing the technical aspects of the sport, the equipment, the crucial moments of a match, and above all, the thoughts, joys, and pains of the “Sunday golfer”.