Henry Beard's Golf is the perfect Father's Day gift (Hint: It's June 20) for any man who has ever picked up a club. It's irreverent, educational and laugh-out-loud funny.
Beard, former member of the Harvard Lampoon staff during the halcyon days of Doug Kenney (Animal House, Caddyshack) tells tales of the frustrating sport going all the way back to 732 A.D. It's full of funny anecdotes Boomer Dad's may vaguely remember and most they never knew.
Along the way we're treated to humorous portraits of golf legends and the great moments of the game. You'll learn the origin of some of golf's greatest chestnuts (i.e., the "Hit the ball and drag Harry" joke) and who came up with using blimps to help televise the sport.
Is it all true? Who cares? Beard's no Harvey Penick and doesn't pretend to be. He's a gifted humor writer with penchant for pulling jokes out of the rarefied air that surrounds every course in the world.
Kiva Dunes CEO Jim (Scrappy) Edgemon has a saying that Beard would likely endorse (and should include in Golf Vol. 2). Scrappy says that golfers lose 50 IQ points in the distance between the Starter and the First Tee. Now that I've read Golf, I'm more convinced than ever that Scrappy is right.
My golfing buddy Tony and his little friend
Author: Henry Beard
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Penned: December 2009
Time Out: The 208 pages are delivered in an anecdote format which makes it easy for even the busiest Dad to pick up and put down.
Beach Worthy: Sure, so long as you take a sand wedge.
Available: $12.48 from Amazon.com