Customer Reviews

The Golf Omnibus

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Wodehouse loved the game, and it shows in his writing. While golfers with a sense of tradition will appreciate many of the sometimes-obscure references, one need not be a golfer to appreciate the elegance of these short stories. The Egnlish language is beautifully used here. I take this down every few years and read the stories as if for the first time. If these don't make you laugh, you've got a serious problem

As someone who's idea of a good day at golf is riding around in the cart with beer and nachos, I wondered if this particular PGW collection would hold my interest. But the golf stories rank among his very best, even for someone who doesn't know a bogie from a birdie. "The Coming of Gowf," "The Purification of Rodney Spelvin," and most others in this volume fall in the stack I read over and over. Ranging more widely, I find this applies to every sport Plum takes a pen to, from Rugger to Cricket. Another subject he has a sixth sense for is animals. I avoided for a long time the PGW Bestiary, but if the stories of Geofrey the cat (sp.?) or Ukridge and the dogs, or the cats re: Claude and Eustace's initiation, or for that matter, the ubiquitous broken-down steeds that broke gents with sporting blood are always putting a spot on--if these were the only stories Wodehouse ever wrote, those fortunate enough to find them would still be devouring the full repertoire. Fortunately, there seems to be a PGW renaissance, with everything being reprinted (such as this omnibus). So now my "best stories list" runs: Jeeves, Drones, Mulliner, animals, golf, but the list reads just as well from the bottom up.

As a lover of golf and a professional writer, I recommend this book to anyone, especially those who love the game.

Forget that every plot is identical. Wodehouse's genius is in his phrasing, his irony and his outrageousness. He is a master of caricature and timing.

Wait for that day of rain or snow, curl up by the window and lose yourself in the dreamy fantasy world of golf. You will simply laugh out loud.

Wow - This guy is a very concise and accurate writer. I was literally laughing as I read it and for several days afterward.

It is a solid read with much punch to it.

Great literature is supposed to bring you an appreciation of something you hadn't considered before. Wodehouse's golf stories did it for me like few others. None are terribly subtle--most are told by the Oldest Member, who on the first half-page collars a helpless younger golfer and tells him a story that turns out to be worth staying for. The narration is slightly sarcastic, and there are only two types of stories at heart: guy and girl made for each other get married because of golf, or guy uses golf to avoid girl unfit for him. There's always a subplot of a bad golfer breaking 100 or two longtime rivals in an 18 hole match, but nothing seems to get reused.

Despite using upper-crust characters in his stories, Wodehouse's work exhibits only a fake pretension. Plus there are cool names and recurring characters such as the golf champ Sandy McHoots. It's a bit more comprehensible than some Yoknapathawpa nonsense. A love triangle through three stories features a poet who(gasp) recites his poetry while people focus loses a golferess to a golfer, almost regains her, and then tries to learn golf courting her sister. Nobody is evil, although some people deserve--and get--a good comic socking.

But what makes Wodehouse appealing is how his characters are comically obsessed with golf. I have better things to be obsessed with, but I was able to connect with this and recognize how Wodehouse laughs at them. After I stopped laughing.

I've never read a collection of stories more insightful, easy to follow and enjoyable.

The manner in which Wodehouse has developed the characters in the stories is indeed amazing. One hilarius feature I noticed in many of the stories is the attempt made by the victim (listener) to escape from the oldest member's clutches whenever he begins to narrate a story.

Wodehouse is at the top of his form in this one. Die hard Wodehouse fans should not die without reading this one.

If on the links you would deride a driving nor'easter as "Scots mist," if you admire beaus who embrace their girls with the interlocking grip, if you would chip into a rowboat and row across the bay to save a few strokes on "The Longest Hole," if you think "Those in Peril on the Tee" is a wonderful story title, if you love stalwart heroes wielding mashie niblicks and cleeks and who can't abide tennis players, if you want to know the origin of many golf expressions, including "The Pro" or want to know how best to rhyme "putter" in a paean to the king (see "The Coming of Gowf"), if you think a best ball match would be an efficient way to sort out star-crossed lovers, get this book! All these are memories from when I read it 20 years ago. Thank heaven Wodehouse lived to be 95 and write so many classic stories and books!

I bought this book many years ago. It is a rare writer that can make an interesting story from a round of golf. The Hacker will love it because PG provides characters who are very human and make the same type scores. The love stories are priceless. I'm glad they decided to reprint this great book. Any romantic soul will cherish these stories. You don't have to be a golfer to enjoy them. The stories are short enough for a short bedtime reading. This isn't a "Tin Cup" type book, the stories could happen. Buy this book before the reprint is sold out.

Someday I want to be "The Oldest Member"

P. G. Wodehouse is a truly magnificent author. His rapier-sharp wit and amazingly funny sense of humor make this a truly great read for golfers, and anybody with the ability to laugh.

Play golf or know someone who does? Then this is the book for you! Wodehouse loved the game and it shows in his books. Cricket too!

Fun, farce, wit, wonder and magic! Enjoy this golly good book!

If you are looking for one more classic by this master of word play, then consider the following:

Right Ho, Jeeves: A British Humor Classic

See you on the links!