Soul of Golf | 
 enlarge | Author: William Hallberg
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
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Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 243483
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0449002977
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9780449002971
ASIN: 0449002977
Publication Date: May 19, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers! Your purchase benefits world literacy!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
One hot summer morning, William Hallberg 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 varying 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 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.
Witty and wise, 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Golf's "Ball Four" March 10, 2007
I've owned this book for three or four years now, and I'm always picking it back up to reread sections -- usually on days when I'm wishing I was on the road headed somewhere new with my golf clubs in the trunk.
This book has basically the same wise-cracking tone as Jim Bouton's baseball classic "Ball Four." Whether one agrees with Hallberg's outlook on various topics or not, it's interesting and entertaining to read his often humorous thoughts on those subjects.
I did, however, notice a few factual errors in the text. For instance, there is no highrise building on Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, as the book states. The building that Hallberg saw apparently was Sugartop on nearby Sugar Mountain.
 A good read October 18, 2000
This is an exceptionally well written enjoyable book to read on a rainy afternoon when you can't get out to the course. The only downer were periodic eruptions of Hallberg's boomer arrogance. Also disappointing was the fact he told all his golf partners that he was writing a book and he was going to put them in it!
 Birdie on descriptions of golf, double bogey on the rest. August 21, 2000
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I looked so forward to reading this book after it was recommended by a friend, also an avid links lover. However, getting past the authors liberal genre and his views towards certain people of the "christian" persuasion left me disappointed. As a Christian, I wish I could have read the book without the typical liberal diatribe of "religion-bashing" and received more inspiration of how one can learn of life through the study and playing of the game. Too much of a slice to the left side of center for me. Bill, just stick to the vivid and well laid out descriptions of the course and leave the anti-christian prosletizing to someone else (that is, if you want to sell books.) Can I get my money back?
 insightful, evocative writing January 21, 2000
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is my favorite golf book. Well, it's not really a "golf book" per se -- obviously, it revolves around a golf trip, but Hallberg's descriptions of the value of family, friends, and the kindness of strangers are priceless. Contrary to what other reviewers have said, I think it's obvious that Hallberg cares deeply about his family -- aborting his trip would have done nothing to cure their health problems; but it would have deprived us of a beautiful, sensitive book.While we're at it, I also liked his novel, "The Rub of the Green." Both it and the present volume are among that rare category of books that made me feel sad when I reached the end -- finishing the book is like taking leave of a good friend.
 Well crafted prose reveals poor personal values. May 26, 1999
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
William Hallberg brings us many insightful, poignant and well crafted passages about golf, companionship, and his personal biography. Unfortunately, his efforts get lost in what seems to be more a soul searching than the soul of golf. While reading passages about a wide range of courses, companions and rounds of golf so well written that I felt I could almost hear him speaking, I was, at the same time, deeply troubled that what sounds like caring man would neglect meaningful, adult responsibilities and relationships in favor of a traveling golf fantasy and potential book sale earnings. Ultimately, for me the Soul of Golf became more a story of how a man with wonderful literary, golfing and, by his own account, interpersonal skills bemoans his well earned guilt about leaving the sufferings of several family members behind in pursuit of what is, after all, a game. Ultimately, I think it missed it's mark.
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