The Mystery of Golf [Hardcover]

Arnold Haultain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2000

Written in 1908 by a Canadian belletrist who fancied himself a golfer, this classic treatise explores man's age-old love affair with golf - and pronounces it incurable. Just as a careful player sizes up a putt from all possible angles, so does Haultain examine this curious game, from the physiology of the perfect swing, to the psychology of a sport in which the opponent is oneself, to the peculiar brand of spirituality that leads people around eighteen holes with the promise of nothing more than "almost." THE MYSTERY OF GOLF may not help shave strokes off your game, but its delightful meditations on why we care so much make for "pure, evergreen entertainment" (Herbert Warren Wind).

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Originally published in 1908, The Mystery of Golf was the first book to seriously ruminate over that problematic region known as the golfer's mind and the obsessive hold the game has on it. Haultain suggests there are three unfathomables that have gripped the minds of men: metaphysics, golf, and the female heart. "The Germans, I believe, pretend to have solved some of the riddles of the first," he writes, "and the French to have unraveled some of the intricacies of the last; will someone tell us," he pleads almost rhetorically, "wherein lies the extraordinary fascination of golf?"

Of course, Haultain goes on to do just that, and John Updike, for one, raves about the effort. "The book's core," writes the prose master of Golf Dreams, "is pure gold.... Haultain goes to the heart of golf's peculiar loveability and enduring fascination." Much has changed in the game since Haultain penned this delightfully quaint tome, except for that elusive heart, which remains every bit as peculiar and enduring as it was when Haultain first opened it up for examination. --Jeff Silverman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Golfers and lovers of language will adore this 1908 volume." Publishers Weekly

"Goes to the heart of golf's peculiar lovability and enduring fascination." -- John Updike

"THE MYSTERY OF GOLF states with great eloquence this hard-learned truth about golf -- even though we often fail in our attempts to master this game, we find in its many secrets a better definition of ourselves." -- Hale Irwin

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Reprint edition (April 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618055223
• ISBN-13: 978-0618055227
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,222,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic in a neat new edition, April 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mystery of Golf (Hardcover)

This little book, written in 1908, says everything that"Golf in the Kingdom" had to say 70 years later, but it saysit more clearly and succinctly. It is basically a love letter to golf -- don't look for instruction or anything like that. It captures the essence of golf without becoming as incomprehensible as a zen koan. The author was a Canadian scholar who took up golf in middle age and pondered why the game had become such an obsession. Despite the dissimilarity between the game in 1908 and the game today, it is amazing how many of the author's insights still hold true (virtually all of them, with the notable exception of his misguided belief that the game would never descend to the level of crass profesionalism). Even though he was not an accomplished player, he had a real understanding of and feel for the game... This has been compared to Izaak Walton's "The Compleat Angler," and you should be forewarned that the prose is sometimes archaic and demands careful reading. Anyway, if you've played golf for any length of time, you'll surely find this more worthwhile and enjoyable than the latest book of tips from some PGA nonentity.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haultain's Comet, August 23, 2000

By 

John H. Tarpley - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mystery of Golf (Hardcover)

As a golfer, have you ever wished that you could go back to the early 20th century, and play the game as it was played then? Does the smell of hickory and balata put you in mind of Ouimet, Vardon, Ray and Jones? What is it about golf that creates in its adherents a love for the game bordering on obsession? Settle down of an evening with Arnold Haultain's "The Mystery of Golf" and you shall have a very pleassant evening indeed. The book will make you long for those halcyon days of golf, from 1890 to 1930, when the golfiong heroes bestrode America and Britain like Titans. Read it, and then consider: Where is Haultain now, when we need him most?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All aspects of golf are poetically demystified to a degree, September 22, 2008

By 

andris virsnieks (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mystery of Golf (Hardcover)

All the mysteries of golf are probed: physiological, physical, spirituality and the author does not forget to tell you to keep your head down and your eye on the the ball until the swing is completed. Words can only partly explain golf (the full experience of the mystery, of course can only be gained from actually playing) and this little book does that part extremely well.