At forty-seven, David Wood sold everything he owned and set out to fulfill every golfer’s dream: For one year, he traveled the world (covering sixty thousand miles and every continent except Antarctica) by plane, boat, train, motorcycle, and rickshaw, to play the game he loves in the most exotic locales, including the world’s highest, driest, hottest, coldest, and most remote golf courses, and lived to tell the tale. Along the way, he met a bevy of fascinating characters, including surly cabbies, taxi drivers with a death wish, welcoming golf-course managers, threatening kangaroos, and golf pros out for a quick game. David faced dire situations, such as bouts of food poisoning in India and Egypt, altitude sickness in Argentina, getting booted out of the Ukraine by armed guards, and muddling about with limited language skills. But through it all he maintained a sense of humor and, of course, his passion for golf, which he played every chance he got.
Around the World in 80 Rounds
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Former standup comedian and humor columnist Wood sold his condo in Seattle and set out on a yearlong global golfing journey. He tells a highly entertaining tale of his trip through 22 countries far off the beaten path from the typical golf vacation. He played the first of his 80 rounds on the world's southernmost course at the tip of Argentina and finished in the northernmost climes of the upper reaches of Norway. In between he played a vast range of layouts: a grassless brown track in the Atacama Desert of Chile; spectacular courses in New Zealand and Australia; a course adjacent to the pyramids and sphinx in Egypt; and the only golf course in all of Russia. He suffered various setbacks, such as golf clubs temporarily lost on a South American bus line. He writes well about the terrain and local atmosphere, and provides a deft mix of golf and travel writing. His take on the people of the world is a 48-year-old bachelor's perspective, as he judges Argentina, Chile and Hungary to have the best-looking women and writes longingly of a beautiful foot masseuse in China. Wood's humor is sometimes forced, but like a few shanked shots in an otherwise well-played round of golf, it doesn't spoil the whole. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"David is a very entertaining writer - with a wit and a way of bringing people and stories to life that had me laughing out loud. I look forward to visiting some of the courses he played - hopefully without having to sell everything like he had to do!" – Bobby Clampett, television golf analyst, golf professional, and author of The Impact Zone
"David Wood's story joyously captures the maddening yet addictive allure of golf as he takes us on a journey every golfer would envy."
-Rick Lipsey, golf writer at Sports Illustrated and author of Golfing on the Roof of the World
"David Wood will be a hero to many. He cast off all responsibility except that linked to the pursuit of golf and self actualization. From distant lands he brings rich stories of interesting and amusing endeavors and a picture of a diverse world connected via that ridiculous, compelling and wonderful game of golf. Give this to your friends, they'll love it."
--Charles Lindsay, author of Lost Balls: Great Holes, Tough Shots and Bad Lies
“David Wood’s entertaining and exciting 60,000-mile odyssey reveals the game of golf not as a chin-on-chest battle with the scorecard, but as the perfect medium through which to explore and enjoy the world around you. This is a book that proves golf has far more to offer than most of us take from it – and inspires us to broaden our relationship with the game.”
--Duncan Lennard, author of Extreme Golf and 112 Miles to the Pin
“David Wood has written an inspiring, attention-holding and humorous golfing travelogue. Unencumbered by the ‘trappings’ of life, David set off on his voyage of discovery to far-flung destinations, armed with a vague itinerary, personal documents, a set of ten golf clubs and minimal clothing. Paramount was his ‘eleventh club’—a razor-sharp sense of humor that enabled him to cope with the ebb and flow of world travel. Around the World in 80 Rounds is more than merely a regurgitation of golf, golf, and more golf. Sure, this all-important aspect holds sway, but ample text is accorded to village and city life, and landmarks of note encountered. Indeed, Wood’s excellent narrative provides insight as to how citizens around the globe conduct their lives—both on, and off, the golf course.”
–Paul Daley, publisher and author of Golf Architecture, Links Golf, and Favorite Holes by Design
“Forget Jack and Tiger, David is now my favorite golfer! Keep this away from the responsible crowd, they will certainly get grandiose ideas of great golf trips that might not go over so well with spouses, bosses and financial advisors.”
--Mike Brabham, modestly average golfer
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
As a former stand-up comedian, I try to use humor in my writing. For years I read and reread the travel books of Paul Theroux and yearned to take adventurous trips as he seemed to continually be doing. Around the World in 80 Rounds is the result of finally acting on that dream of traveling the world and then writing a book on the adventure.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
We all have a dream, David lived his!,
This review is from: Around the World in 80 Rounds: Chasing a Golf Ball from Tierra del Fuego to the Land of the Midnight Sun (Hardcover)
Everyone has a dream but how many have the courage to make it happen? If you play golf, you'll enjoy reading about the different courses, golf and travel challenges and get David's glimpse into local cultures. If you don't play golf, it's still funny and inspiring. In our post 9/11 world, imagine someone taking a year out of his daily routine and "to do" list to live a dream of traveling around the world alone, living each day fully, and connecting with strangers through a common passion - some strangers becoming new life friends. Give this to family and friends to enjoy funny stories about playing golf world-wide and perhaps to be inspired to have courage to leave one's comfort zone and go on their own life adventure.
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a fun read!,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Around the World in 80 Rounds: Chasing a Golf Ball from Tierra del Fuego to the Land of the Midnight Sun (Hardcover)
Heard this author interviewed on a local sports station. He seemed engaging and funny, so I hopped on Amazon. Received the book pronto and took it on a long trip (too much time in the airport). The book helped the time fly and it was fun! Author's style of writing makes you feel as if you are his caddy and standing by his side. You could almost feel the altitude sickness as well. I will be on the lookout for other books of his creation and hope he follows in the steps of other world travelers and has many more adventures. Well worth the price and time.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Glad David Shared This Experience,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Around the World in 80 Rounds: Chasing a Golf Ball from Tierra del Fuego to the Land of the Midnight Sun (Kindle Edition)
Can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. David did something that maybe less than 1% of the entire planet's population would even dream of doing and we are lucky he shared the experience. Almost felt like I was there with him traveling across the globe and I really liked the way David focused on the cultures and the peoples. Whether you are a golfer or not, there is so much that is worth reading in this book!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
On the east coast of Scotland in the early 1500s, golf was starting to bloom as brightly as the brilliant burst of luminous yellow gorse that signals the arrival of summer in the Kingdom of Fife. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
golfing land, golf travel bag, golfing world, caddie master, hundred baht, first fairway Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New Zealand, South Africa, Buenos Aires, Spring City, South America, Mission Hills, Cape Town, Royal Melbourne, Victoria Falls, Alice Springs, Laguna National, Tiger Woods, Stewart Island, Golf Gods, Southeast Asia, Elephant Hills, Red Sea, Robert Trent Jones, Golf Club, South Island, Taj Mahal, Blue Canyon, Southern Hemisphere, Miss Universe, Nick Faldo Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
On the east coast of Scotland in the early 1500s, golf was starting to bloom as brightly as the brilliant burst of luminous yellow gorse that signals the arrival of summer in the Kingdom of Fife. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
golfing land, golf travel bag, golfing world, caddie master, hundred baht, first fairway Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New Zealand, South Africa, Buenos Aires, Spring City, South America, Mission Hills, Cape Town, Royal Melbourne, Victoria Falls, Alice Springs, Laguna National, Tiger Woods, Stewart Island, Golf Gods, Southeast Asia, Elephant Hills, Red Sea, Robert Trent Jones, Golf Club, South Island, Taj Mahal, Blue Canyon, Southern Hemisphere, Miss Universe, Nick Faldo Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
So You'd Like to...
|
|
