Customer Reviews

Billy Boy: A Novel

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When sixteen-year-old caddie Billy Boy, who's lost his mother to cancer and his gifted but war-damaged father to an explosion, finds a very old Bobby Jones seven iron in a roadside ditch, a whiff of magic drifts in on the 1950 Forth Worth, Texas air. The club belongs to famous golf course designer John Bredemus, who soon arrives in search. Bredemus seems to know a little too much about Billy Boy, but the lad needs someone to lean on while he gets his feet under him and the two quickly form an alliance.

By way of reward for finding the club, Bredemus buys supper, and the next morning loans the club to Billy, insisting that he bring it to the Colonial Golf Club, where he's trying to establish himself as a caddie. "It's a very lucky club," Bredemus says.

Sure enough, Colonial Golf Club's most famous member, the legendary Ben Hogan, notices the club and asks Billy Boy if he'd like to carry his bag for a quick nine holes, setting in motion a series of events that culminate in Billy Boy's winner-take-all match with Sonny Stonekiller, the club champion and rival for Billy Boy's flame Sandra Sandpaster.

If all this seems a little too pat, never fear. "Billy Boy" is great fun and a terrific golf read and Shrake's plot beautifully set up. You'll find yourself rooting hard for Billy Boy to win out. I recommend it for those who love sports adventure themes.

Art Tirrell is the author of The VITAMAN Effect a baseball yarn with a special twist. Available on Kindle now, and in print August 2008.

This is a fabulous book. I could not put it away. It was a great story and was very dramatic. It was the ideal book.

A short easy to read novel by one of Texas' premier sportswriters (Bud Shrake). I found this in a 5 for $25.00 used book sale and the cover intrigued me. It had liner notes from Larry McMurtry, Dan Jenkins, Darrell Royal and Don Meredith; four Texans for whom I hold admiration. It was even better than I had anticipated or liner notes might suggest.

If you've read Bagger Vance it doesn't take too long to see one John Bredemus as a Bagger Vance type, helping out Billy. There's also a coming of age portion of the book which echoes a bit of "The Last Picture Show", with a little bit of Dan Jenkins' golfing fiction thrown in for good measure. The descriptions of Colonial Country Club, Ben Hogan and others ring true to the time and place in which the story is set.

As a writer Bud Shrake is known for his humor, much the same as his friend Dan Jenkins. There is humor in the book, but more so will you find redemption. Particularly between Billy and his Dad, and perhaps that's why I enjoyed it as much as I did.

This book was a great read that was almost impossible to put down. People who like golf or just want a good book should definitely pick up this one and get sucked right in. I somewhat connected to Billy because of his sense of humor and the fact we are both caddies at a fancy golf club. Not every chapter ended with a cliffhanger but the ending sure did. The plot was believable which made it a good fiction and stayed away from science fiction. Over all I thought this was a great book and I would recommend it to all.

A terrific book for both golfers and dreamers. Read it, then keep it in your golf bag next to your 7-iron for good luck.

There are reasons why golf is described as 90 percent mental. It's primarily to sell golf literature like Shrake's novel. Ever read an intriguing golf book about swing plane and hip rotation?

Shrake's book is one in a long line like it. The main character, Billy, loses both his parents in a matter of weeks, and it is up to him to make it on his own. Set in Texas during the 1950s, two of Texas' golfing "Gods" guide Billy from being a caddie to beating the upstart young club champion. This book has all the cliched elements, including John Bredemus' role as a guardian angel, who unveils the mental elements of game, and Hogan, who teaches Billy "the secret" of the swing.

Had Sharke not written such a wonderful story, I would have cast it in the lot with all the other bad golf novels out there. There are life lessons more than golf lessons inside, including the drive to gain independence and what it means to honor yourself and family.

I just wish a golf novel could written without all those "Gods" watching down.

thoughtful,fun,somewhat inspirational.just an all around good read even for a non golfer.