Book Review by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, www.LondonOntarioGolf.com
Sports Illustrated: The Golf Book
Sports Illustrated Books
- with notes from SI

Golfers will forever debate which is the most beautiful golf course in the world. Augusta National, Pebble Beach and the Old Course at St. Andrews are each aesthetically pleasing in their own way. Yet, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And in the case of a new book from Sports Illustrated Books, golf's beauty bursts through more than 300 full-colour and black-and-white photos over 296 pages.

It may be tough to dispute that Sports Illustrated: The Golf Book, by the Editors of Sports Illustrated, with a Foreword by Roy Blount, Jr., is the definitive coffee table book for golf fans. When you consider that golf dates back more than 500 years, and that no other sport has such a long and illustrious history as golf does amongst everyone from royalty and common folks like you and me, golf history alone lends itself to a visual masterpiece. The writers and photographers who contribute to Sports Illustrated: The Golf Book do the sport proud.

Divided by eras, The Golf Book showcases the game's greatest players, performances, and vistas. Readers will find all of the legends - Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, Nancy Lopez, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, and more - captured in singular moments and on the world's most beautiful greens, including the Scottish hills of St. Andrews and against the breathtaking sunsets of Pebble Beach.

Only in SI's first comprehensive illustrated golf book will you find classic images, such as W.C. Fields using his driver as a fishing rod; Fidel Castro watching Che Guevara line up a putt shortly after the two revolutionaries conquered Cuba in 1959; President Richard Nixon proudly displaying the ball he used to ace Bel-Air Country Club's 3rd Hole; and Capt. Jason Conroy of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division practicing his swing while stationed in Iraq. Included with these rare photos, artifacts, and memorabilia are sidebars that highlight fascinating facts and shining milestones from each time period and a special gatefold that assembles the 20 Greatest Golfers of All Time, a ranked list that SI commissioned from a panel of experts with the PGA, USGA, LPGA, Golf Magazine, Golf Plus, Golf.com, as well as their own staff of esteemed writers and editors.

In addition to its lavish photography, The Golf Book wouldn't be complete without SI's award-winning writing, and this majestic volume features sports journalism at its best with incisive essays by Frank Deford, George Plimpton, and Gary Smith, among others. Here you can relive the "Fun Times in the Thirties," Dan Jenkins' stylish piece about golf's rat pack of that era; enjoy Gerald Holland's lively portrait of Slammin' Sam Snead in "Sam Snead and the Serpent"; relish "More Fun than a Barrel of Monty's," Steve Rushin's humorous take on his jaunt to Scotland for the British Open; and "Hurts So Good," Alan Shipnuck's account of Tiger Woods enduring four rounds of play at Torrey Pines on a broken leg, which strikingly illustrates the strength and mettle of golf's legendary athletes.

Phil Mickelson says, "This wonderful book has history, beauty, joy, drama, art and a lesson at every turn, exactly the same as the game itself. That's why they called it "The Golf Book" and not "A Golf Book."

Sports Illustrated: The Golf Book is hard to put down. It's golf come alive in a memorable collection of photos and literature. No bogey here: The Golf Book scores an ace with its unforgettable images and award-winning writing.

Sports Illustrated: The Golf Book
by the Editors of Sports Illustrated
Foreword by Roy Blount, Jr.
Sports Illustrated Books
ISBN 10: 1-60320-085-1
$29.95 US Hardcover