Golf: The Agony & the Ecstasy

H.G. Giles was a scientist at the Addiction Research Foundation, Toronto.

This is a wonderfully funny book that rivals The Art of Coarse Golf. The authors have rightfully sought to explain golf as a fanatical religious cult. For philosophic golfers and their bemused spouses who ponder the Meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything, this book explains it all. The history of the game is explained in detail — Stonehenge was an early clubhouse. The history of the British Empire has been clarified in terms of the crazy Scots who built courses everywhere. The book is deeply philosophical in tone (Life itself is a dogleg) especially when the authors explain modern golf etiquette and clothing. Throughout the book are some delightful cartoons, and many of them are hilarious. There is, perhaps, an omission that the authors may correct in subsequent endeavors. Every fanatical cult, from anarchists to rugby supporters, has its battle hymn. To achieve legitimacy, golfers surely need their own.