Customer Reviews

Around the World in 80 Rounds: Chasing a Golf Ball from Tierra del Fuego to the Land of the Midnight Sun

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

"Around the World in 80 Rounds" is the laugh-out-loud funny story of a self-proclaimed golf nut who sells almost all of his personal belongings to criss-cross the globe playing the game he loves.

While author David Wood's humor, honesty and humility, make "Around the World in 80 Rounds" a must-read, it's his innate ability to not only tell readers about his trip, but to allow them to tag along that transform it from "book" to "experience."

Wood avoids pontificating about far away lands most of us will likely never visit, and instead offers the reader the seat next to him, whether it be on a plane, train or rickshaw. He provides information, anecdotes and introductions to some of the world's most unusual golf venues and allows the reader to make up his or her own mind.

It's not just the countries and their golf courses David is able to bring to life. From start to finish, David fosters introductions to a cast of characters -- some likeable, some not -- and gives the reader a unique look into those characters' cultures, conflicts and complexities.

There are few people brave enough to put their life on hold and, on a whim, take a trip around the world to tee-it-up. Fortunately for readers, David is one of them. While "Around the World in 80 Rounds" is choc-full of stories about golf, David doesn't write about how far he hits a 3-wood or all the intricacies of his short game. He realizes his journey was about more than that, and after reading "Around the World in 80 Rounds," you will, too.

I haven't played golf since I was 19 years old, threw my club in a water hazard and stalked off the course. But David's book intrigued me and I ate it up over the course of two lazy afternoons in my backyard, laying in a hammock with a cold brew. (Two Person Jumbo Hammock ~ 100% Polyester with Oak Spreaders I say go ahead and spring for the hammock along with the book - you'll be glad you did!)

My minimal amount of time on the links gave me enough knowledge to follow his references to the game, but it was his briskly humorous spinning the tale of his around-the-world adventure that grabbed me up when he left Seattle and didn't set me back down until he landed safely home again. What a fabulous experience -- and brightly told!

While it didn't do anything to spark my desire to tie on a pair of spikes again, Around The World In 80 Rounds did whet my appetite to be a bit more bold and try to see some of the more obscure corners of the world. Maybe David needs a caddy for his back 80...

I must say that I myself am not a golfer and frankly find the game to be frustrating and time consuming. My husband on the other hand is a golfer through and through. He loves it and can't get enough of it. Anyway, I must admit that I loved this book. It was hilarious! It gave me an appreciation for the game of golf, but also the desire to travel. David Wood is a witty, talented and funny writer. I kept wanting more. I couldn't wait to pick up the book to read more. I felt like I was traveling with him. I truly believe that anyone can enjoy this book, even if golf is not your thing! I give it five starts and highly recommend it to everyone.

Two of my loves in life are golf and travel. I've done a bit myself, but to more "typical" golf destinations (Scotland, Ireland, etc.). I never even thought about the possibility of golf in Uruguay or Egypt. Why would anyone?

After reading this book, I'm glad someone did think of it. David did a wonderful job of mixing the golf with day-to-day life involved in world travel. Not too much of one or the other, and always with a interesting/funny viewpoint. Golf with no grass? Who knew?!?

Read the book. It's great for golfers and for people that put up with golfers!

I thoroughly enjoyed David Wood's book. Although I'm not a golfer (at least, not a good one), I never felt left out. I think this is because David's stories aren't so much "golf" stories as they are "human" stories. Plus, he's a former comedian, which explains why the book is so damn funny.

While I understand those who have a problem with David's "American tourist in a strange land" attitude, the fact is that he IS an American tourist in MANY strange lands. He's not trying to be objective, he's trying to share his experience in a humorous way--which he does wonderfully well! Of COURSE he sees the world through the eyes of a "pampered American;" how could he not? We all see the world through our own filters; David's filters just happen to be American--and hilarious.

Only the privileged few, whether by the level of their bank account or their skill at the game, have the chance to fully experience every kind of wonder the game of golf has to offer. The rest of us have a new second-choice option: living vicariously through David Wood.

Wood went to places most of us would never dream about visiting, let alone lugging our clubs to. His journey is not a story of golf courses but of golf culture. What motivates us to play we find shared by golfers he encounters in remote southern South America or in the jungles of Vietnam or in economically devastated Zimbabwe. Like any memorable golf round, he shares with us stories of triumph over long odds and unanticipated pitfalls. He also uses his keen observational skills developed as a professional comedian to often make the people he encountered on his journey gain a sharp edge in the reader's mind.

Any true golf fan will be jealous of Wood's experience and, at the same time, glad that he took the journey that he did. There's a lot more to golf than most of us know firsthand from our own little corners of the world or from watching the Golf Channel. Wood's book has the ability to both broaden your golfing horizons and brighten your day.

Not sure this book is worth the effort. Some fun stories to be sure and wacky adventures too. Did enjoy the perspective given on how lucky we are to be golfers in America. But the writing is poor and too often predictable. But it is a book about golf, so points for that.