Customer Reviews

Golfing with God: A Novel of Heaven and Earth

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My favorite American storyteller is Stephen Vincent Benet. Roland Merullo, author of Golfing With God certainly has Benet's storytelling ability, giving us a well-crafted story.

In Golfing With God Herman (Hank) Fins-Winston, has just arrived in heaven with its 3,000-plus golf courses. Readers see his past as a new touring pro who blows THE putt that would have sent him to the top. In order to help Hank, God ask him for help with his/her short game. Throughout the book, Hank receives the education that he missed--the education of his soul.

Merullo looks at both golf and spirituality with loving humor. A wonderful bit is when Hank has a foursome with Jesus, Mary and Moses. Moses cheats by parting the water on the hazard, and Jesus is wonderfully patient with his mother who consistently shoots double and triple bogeys, if she's fortunate.

With gentle humor, Merullo also builds tension as Hank travels from earthly course to earthly course with God, a trip that leads to his ultimate match with Rogan, a.k.a. as Mephistopheles and Beelzebub. The match's description is superlative both of the play-by-play and the famous Augusta course.

The author intertwines observations about the relationship between golf and spirituality. His overriding emphasis is on the spirituality of people--not their religious beliefs. Later Hank observes, "Much of the beauty of the game of golf lies in the quiet dignity with which it is played... Think of what earthly life might be like if those same rules of etiquette were applied more widely."

While Merullo lushly describes his setting, he seems to prefer his story over his characters. The characters are delightful, and since one of the two main characters is God himself or herself--as the situation develops--perhaps we can forgive him for not totally revealing the nature of the character.

Armchair Interviews says: Golfing With God is a well-crafted, quick-moving story. Merullo has shown us the remarkable connection among philosophy, spirituality, not necessarily religion, and golf. For a thought-provoking, enjoyable few hours, we recommend Roland Merullo's Golfing With God.

This is the best book I've ever read, and I've given copies to all my closest friends. It is appealing to those who are outwardly religious and those who aren't. I read it periodically and love it more with every reading.

Play golf with God! With a plot like that, I read it quickly to see what happens. My review title gives you a good idea as to what happens but see for yourself. It is a short story worth reading, if the time spent reading does not take you away from actually playing golf. In Seattle the rain is now setting all time records.

Merullo's story could help you with the emotional/ mental of your game. I doubt it will do anything for your swing.

I subtract one star, because I was looking for for more fascinating detail about golf to be worked into the plot. But I can see another reader holding back a star, because they were looking for more about God.

The image of heaven I was given in Sunday school and in those old hymns sounded more like Hell than Heaven to me. Sitting around on clouds, streets of gold, singing songs for 10,000 years just as a warm up?

No, give me Roland Merullo's heaven where heaven is a place with more opportunities for growth, a few challenges and the chance to partake of some earthly pleasures.

Roland Merullo's novel "Golfing with God" is the second book by him that I have read. The first one I read was "American Savior" about Jesus' return to earth to run in the Presidential election. I enjoyed "American Savior". So, I thought I would enjoy "Golfing with God".


Roland Merullo has a knack for weaving spiritual lessons into stories that are engaging and funny while they are making you think about spiritual principles. In this, and in American Savior, the main characters have the opportunity to meet with Jesus and God, get to know them and ask the questions I'd ask if given the opportunity. Golfing with God's main character is Herman Fins-Winston, an English golfer who came within a whisper of making it on the pro tour. Herman (who prefers to be called Hank) is enjoying his stay in heaven after his life as a teaching pro when he's approached by one of God's helpers who offers him the opportunity to help God with the "yips". God, it turns out, likes a challenge. So, to play golf, He limits Himself to a human mind one that has lost its confidence on the greens and reaches out to Hank for help. As you may quickly guess, there's a lot more to it than that.

The story is a story of self-discovery as Hank plays golf in heaven and on Earth with the likes of God, Buddha, Mary and Jesus. Roland doesn't make the mistake of trying to get too deeply into the head of the character of God. The story is more about the education of Hank than about the nature of God. Hank and God take a visit to Earth for a golfing vacation because Herman says God can only get better under the conditions of Earth. While on Earth, Hank plays a match that has huge implications not only for Hank but for thousands of others. It's a fascinating illustration of interdependence- how the actions of one man do not impact on his life but the lives of untold others. It's apparent that Roland Merullo's worldview (universe view) is a mixture of Christianity and Buddhism. In American Savior, there is more emphasis on the Christian view (as Jesus is the candidate). In Golfing With God, I found much more about the ideas of interdependence, karma, self-determination and reincarnation. However, most Buddhists do not believe in a God. So, the idea of golfing with God is definitely not a Buddhist concept. And, I have to say I struggle with the concept of God in a body- however, putting that aside, I found the book to be quite enjoyable. If you love golf, you'll love this book. But, even if you don't the parallels between your golf game and the adventure of life probably will not be lost on you.

After thoroughly enjoying and being moved by "Breakfast with Buddha" and "American Savior," I had hoped to like this book more than I did. Unfortunately, though Merullo says that he wanted to make this accessible to people who do not play golf, it just didn't turn out that way. Yes, you could understand it, up to a point. But if you don't speak the language of birdies and eagles, and I don't, then there is a lot of golf to wade through on the way to the spiritual lessons. It's not that Merullo doesn't make his points or that I didn't emerge with a greater appreciation of golf as a sport and a complex growth experience (for some). And there were some charming moments. But on the whole, if the book had been much longer, I'd have given up. Also, of all of God's many incarnations, I wasn't much enchanted with Her as a cliched country club blonde, mad to shop and dripping with bangle bracelets. That and the many lyrical descriptions of elite courses merely helped cement my impression that golf is a sport played only by those who can afford thousands for greens fees and travel and thus, not a useful metaphor for spiritual growth for the rest of us.

Does your golf outing go something like this;
Guy #1; "Today I am going to concentrate on course management..."
Guy #2: 'Yeah, me too!"
Later, on the fairway of long par 5, Guy #1 is lying 160 yard from the pin. He can either go for the green, needing to carry most of that distance over a nasty waste bunker that takes up most of the left side, or lay-up easily to the right for an easy approach on the next shot.
Guy #2: "So the smart play is to lay-up on the right. Course management, right?"
Guy #1: "Hey, I didn't come all the way down here to lay-up! I'm goin' for it."
Right-o! Sound familiar? You know what the usual result is. Guy #2 watches Guy #1 cursing and grousing as he can't lift his next shot out of the deep waste bunker as dirt, sand and rocks fly all around.. DUH!

Golfing With God is for the golfer who sees golf as a relaxation, not as another thing to conquer, necessarily.

Nothing like taking a hot bath and reading a book that relaxes. Golfing With God is just that book. I think you need to love golf to enjoy this unusual writing, and I certainly do. Mr. Merullo also challenges your sense of ethereal reality, inviting you to come along to tee it up in Heaven. That's almost enough right there to make me happy.

I found the read to be deeply relaxing and mind expanding. It made me think of my life and all the possible lives that might have come before this. Yeah, this is a book of fancy and perhaps fantasy and I enjoyed it as much as I enjoy playing a round on a beautiful golf course - what an amazing invention - with good friends, and carrying the bag. That's one notion of Heaven that I like to think about.

I enjoyed the sketching with words about the reverie that golf can be. We need not dwell on the well known frustrations of the most difficult game ever invented, and Golfing With God is just the opposite. While reading, I could not fathom where the story would end up. It was a surprising finish and very well satisfying.

Golfing With God is a simple yet unusually profound. Enjoy!

This book has the most beautiful golf courses and gives a great picture of our dear God, Murillo is both a devoted lover of golf and God, and combines these loves in this wonderful book. Read it!

this is a wonderful little book that expands the paradigm of GOD. in it, God is a golfer, a woman sportsman, an exotic woman, etc. in other words, whatever the golfer needs Him/Her to be to get some messages thru. love that the author made the point that religion per se, is man-made. God is not.
really a great book, engaging and esp for anyone who loves to golf (which i dont, but enjoyed it a lot and 'got' all the symbolism and irony!)
seller: very fast shipping, rec'd almost the next day 8) good communications, good book in condition promised. ty!

Roland Merullo is not only a good writer, he's incredibly creative and imaginative. His characters are well developed, and his plots draw you in and, before you know it, you're hooked. Although I don't play golf (and am abysmal even at miniature golf), I decided to read this book simply because I love Merullo's ability to weave a good tale. While there is unquestionably a lot of golf lingo in the book, I either asked people in the know what the terms meant, or I let the words just fly over my head and focused on the general storyline instead. So, despite golf being the primary focus of the book, I enjoyed the characters and the tale (almost) as much as the other Merullo books I've read. However, if you play golf and like a fun storyline, you're going to love this unique novel.

This is a humorous little fantasy, with a dash of wisdom, that can be enjoyed by golfers and non-golfers alike. Start with an old golf joke premise like "God, Jesus, and Moses were playing golf one day..." bend it a bit, and spin it into a whimsical tale for a very pleasant read.