Author Description

From BooklistFate has dictated that a man named Green write The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Golf. An award-winning British sports journalist and editor of Golf World, "Europe's best-selling golf magazine," Green has written an entertaining summary of the game. The lively narrative style makes it more appropriate for the circulating shelves, or libraries risk having patrons laugh out loud at its interesting turns of phrase.This is not a comprehensive book. The first edition was published in 1987 as Golf: An Illustrated History of the Game, and that title is more appropriate. The author assumes the reader is familiar with the rules and techniques of the game. Only a few pages of charts record the results of the top tournaments. The aim is to present highlights, and the scope is international. The history concentrates on Britain and America, including comments on early rules and equipment (women invented the golf bag), as well as places (Holland and Scotland, etc.) and players (Mary Queen of Scots, among many others). The contemporary tours, players, and courses discussed include the European, Asian, and Australasian. Descriptions and illustrations of the world's top courses, though brief, provide a feel for each's unique features. Biographies of 40 important players familiarize readers with the game's outstanding personalities. The historical highlights of five of the major tournaments (the British and U.S. Opens, the Masters, the U.S. PGA, and the Ryder Cup) exhibit the strength of the book. While golf's background has been frequently discussed in print, the author makes it fresh and exciting. For example, Charles B. Macdonald's win in the first U.S. Amateur is duly noted in Golf Magazine's Encyclopedia of Golf, but the usportsmanlike manner of victory is related in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Golf. This visually appealing book contains well-chosen illustrations, mainly in color, on every page but two.For facts and figures on the tournaments and players, as well