Golf and the Spirit: Lessons for the Journey [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by M. Scott Peck (Author) "To the proverbial man from Mars, golf would seem the most linear of all human activities..." (more)
Key Phrases: formal handicap, cultivated rough, mediocre golfer, New York, Mount Intrepid, Scott Peck (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Having toured The Road Less Traveled in previous bestsellers, psychiatrist and self-help guru Peck finally sets out on the cartpath. His destination? A journey into the mysteries of the royal and ancient game. Given the tenor of his earlier work, it's surprising he took so long to take aim at this particularly pilgrim-filled target area.

Peck, a golfer since his army days in the '60s, fairly and fittingly uses the game as a metaphor for spiritual growth. Dividing his book into 18 holes with titles like Civility, Human Nature, The Invisible, Deftness (and, for good measure, a 19th called Closure), he navigates his course prudently and self-referentially with a bag full of mysticism, religion, and psychology, and acquits himself with a safe par performance. Nothing particularly dangerous or spectacular emerges from his thinking about the game. Instead, he puts a New Age spin on it--"Golf is probably the most nonlinear pastime on the face of the earth"; "A day of golf may seem like a personal holiday ... but it is hardly a holy day"; "I do believe that golf can be a wonderful spiritual path of growth toward God, but only if one chooses to use it as such"--on the roads already well traveled by such masterful analysts of golf's raptures and ridicules as Harvey Penick, Michael Murphy, Jim Flick, Tommy Armour, Bobby Jones, and Bob Rotella. Peck, of course, is right about golf being a spiritual journey; it's an inner game of personal demons that demands its players to get as much of a grip on themselves as on their clubs. The bogey on his scorecard is that those who play golf already know this. --Jeff Silverman

From Publishers Weekly
The author of the phenomenally popular The Road Less Traveled brings his down-to-earth blend of psychology and spirituality to the well-trod paths of the fairway. Golf serves Peck as a metaphor for life, and he uses the game to urge readers to strive to do well but not to be concerned about their score, to be attentive of life's hazards but not to be scared of them. As Peck describes how golf is so meaningful to his life, however, he loses sight of the essence of the gameAthe joy of play and success within the boundaries of the rules and the course. To anyone who has golfed more than once, reading this book will be like being stuck playing a round with a septuagenarian short hitter. Peck's book is for Peck fans, not golf fansAor fans of good golf books. What Peck doesn't capture is the elation of hitting the perfect shot, the exhilaration of seeing perfection (even when, as is usually the case, it's somebody else's perfection). For such joys and a sense of how golf fits into the fabric of life, readers will do better to turn to Harvey Penick or Steven Pressfield's inspirational golf novel, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Major ad/promo.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 348 pages
• Publisher: Harmony; 1st edition (May 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517708833
• ISBN-13: 978-0517708835
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #810,378 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like Scott Peck, you'll love this book!, October 11, 1999

By	Mike Tupper "michaeljamestupper" (South Haven, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This is another outstanding Scott Peck book! If you like the type of subjects Peck has dealt with in past books, you'll love this book. He has a wonderful way of integrating the secular aspects of golf with the spiritual and emotional aspects of life. It was inspirational in the sense that it caused me to look upward for help. It was painful in the sense that it caused me to look more closely at my life. I love how Peck integrates his own personal biography so well into his books. I can identify with his struggles and his hope.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Peck makes the cut, January 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Golf and the Spirit: Lessons for the Journey (Paperback)

If you like Peck and like to play golf, this book is a tap in birdie. More about life and golf as spiritual journeys than about technical golf, Peck connects golf (life condensed) and our spiritual side. Very readable and humorous at times with basic practical tips for golf and life woven in throughout the round. It may inspire you to approach your next round differently and possible apply some of the ideas to your non-golf life. Great book for spiritually alive golfers.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Golf?, August 25, 1999

By A Customer

Lighten up critics. This is not a book about golf. Just a book about using the GAME of golf as part of your life journey. You may not learn how to play golf, but let Peck teach you something else.