Read a good book lately?

Books seem to have become something of a focus for me here at GCSAA lately. First, GCSAA team members just completed an annual book swap-and-shop event that's come to be known as the Buck-A-Book Sale. Everybody brings in the books they've already read and want to get rid of, and we put them out on tables and let someone else buy them back for $1 apiece. We get cheap reads, and the money all goes to GCSAA's Community Outreach Group to "adopt" a needy family (or families) at Christmas time. The leftover unsold books also get carted off to various local charities. I'm always amazed at how much we're able to raise with this event. This year: $230!

I'm always reading, with at least two books going at any given time. So when I get e-mails here at GCM from authors who have golf-related books to sell, I pay attention. Recently, I've learned about two that look interesting for GCM readers. The first is a novel, "Miller's Miracle" by John Nemo. If you've ever dreamed -- like my husband has -- of getting the chance to earn a spot in the PGA Championship, then main character David Miller is living your dream. The story turns on a CBS television executive's desperate attempt to boost his network's sagging program ratings by throwing a national amateur tournament open to anyone willing to wield a club. The grand prize -- a spot at the upcoming PGA Championship alongside the game's greats -- brings everyone from NCAA college golf champs to parish priests spilling onto courses across the U.S. Well, the hook might be more than a bit farfetched, but the golf courses that author Nemo (a veteran sportswriter) writes about are quite real, including Hazeltine National, host of the most recent edition of the PGA Championship.

Finally, on a more practical note, Ohio State agronomist Scott Zanon called me the other day to let me know about his new book, aimed especially toward golf course superintendents: "Desirable Trees for the Midwest." Go to www.desirabletrees.com to preview this professional reference guide and look at some of his stunning color photographs of trees--the desirable ones, that is; not the ones you love to hate.

What are you reading? Leave your comment below!

Comments

[Greg Shaffer]

View From The Cart: The Story of a Golf Course Dog

It's a quick read containing anecdotes about an adopted Black Lab turned Golf Course Dog.

www.viewfromthecart.blogspot.com

[smith.bunny]

Greg, you can bet I'll be looking that one up. I'm a sucker for Labs--I've had three...and counting!