The Golden Era of Golf chronicles the rise of the sport in America from 1950 to the present by one of the most prolific and respected golf writers today.Until now, no one has made the point directly and unequivocally that the game "invented" by ancient Scots would not have reached its present stature in the world of sports if Americans had never gotten hold of it. Is this to say that Al Barkow is, in The Golden Era of Golf, being a narrow-minded, ...

Until now, few people could truly say they knew Sam Snead—his fears, his secrets, his dark side. Until today, there has never been a definitive biography of one of the greatest golfers of all time. Sam is not only a peek behind the mask, but an arresting look into the life of one of the game's most engaging yet enigmatic figures.

Hereis the ultimate golf reference book, meant to feed golfers’ insatiable hunger for the statistics and trivia of their game. This book answers such burning questions as who broke the most clubs during a single temper tantrum (Lefty Stackhouse, 14) and the rationale behind 18 holes (it was completely arbitrary). From the sublime to the ridiculous, these fun facts will thoroughly entertain from tee to green.

After studying the techniques of the game's best putters over the past fifty years, and helping a few of them write books on the craft, I have come up with a consensus on putting technique that will put you in the tour pro class. I have found that there are some universals of technique that all golfers at every level of competence can put in their games and lower their scores. The consensus culminates in a stroke concept and method that almost all the great putters in the game's history ha...

"Al Barkow, golf's leading historian and story-teller, unfolds the improbable Ben Hogan–Jack Fleck tale, and the results are as wondrous as the golf itself." --Peter Kessler Jack Fleck had the slimmest of resumes as a professional tournament golfer. He had never even come close to winning on the PGA Tour, and was in the mere qualifier category when it came to playing in the 1955 U.S. Open at the Olympic Golf Club in San Francisco. Yet Fleck got himself into a playoff with Ben Hogan, one of...