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Book Review: Straight Down the Middle

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straightdownthemiddleWithin the confines of our own minds, a whole bunch of sh*t can happen to screw up your golfing ability. It is within this realm that Josh Karp writes Straight Down the Middle, his new book from Chronicle Books LLC.

The author tells me; “The basic idea is, can inner peace lower my handicap, or will lowering my handicap help me find inner peace?”

You may have heard of this mystical golf notion before – if you’re familiar with books like “Golf in the Kingdom” or movies like “The Legend of Bagger Vance” – that we all have our real (or authentic) swing hidden inside us somewhere, and we just need to step aside (mentally) and let it take hold. If we can achieve that, *POOF* we become better golfers. Sound ridiculous?

Well, a few years ago, Mr. Karp decided to embark on a two-year journey he hoped would not only help him find his authentic swing, but perhaps his spiritual path to boot. Married and in his late thirties, with 3 kids, another on the way, and a handicap pushing 20, Mr. Karp was a anxious man wrestling with his own thoughts.

His free time was consumed with baseball stats (hugh White Sox fan), golf and finding ways to channel his mental activities so he could relax. Convinced his worrying (a constant struggle to accept his own mortality) was affecting his golf game, he enlisted the help of various golf gurus that had backgrounds in (mostly) Zen Buddhism. Straight Down the Middle is about this journey.

Like many journeys, it’s filled with success, failure, frustration, and jubilation (after more success). I rejoiced every time Mr. Karp’s game improved after visiting a golf guru…and felt utterly disappointed when that initial success was short lived. I admired his openness to learn unique and sometimes unorthodox techniques and sympathized with his struggle to overcome his own internal demons.

There were times in the book when I’d become frustrated at Mr. Karp’s overanalyzing of what seemed like every situation; his terrible habit of worrying about…well, everything; and his overall anxiety in general. But when I finished the book, I realized those passages were necessary to show just how far he had come to finding inner peace both on the course and in his daily life.

Straight Down the Middle is well-written, humorous and extremely fascinating. But what’s great about Mr. Karp’s book is it’s applicable to any golfer at any skill level. You don’t have to be a Buddhist (or be in the process of converting to one) to appreciate and apply some of the ideas (and they’re mostly ideas, not swing tips) you’ll find within its pages.

Thus, when I played my first round after reading it, I found that Straight Down the Middle had given me a very refreshing ability: I seem to no longer fret over my duffs and shanks and flubs. What’s more, it helped me cut through all the BS and let me just play. It’s all clear to me now: Golf is a game that can provide unlimited happiness in your life…if you’d just let it.

You can purchase your copy of Straight Down the Middle by Josh Karp HERE.

Golf, You & Friggin’ Murphy’s Law

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Who is this Murphy guy? Try to find out the origin of this “law.” It seems like it’s been covered up by the government or some secret organization. No one really knows how it became an adage, it just did. The most common belief ties into some highly classified government project testing rockets back in the late 40’s and 50’s. Well, whatever, whoever or wherever this came from, I’ll tell you what, it doesn’t affect any other sport as much as golf.

The following are some examples of how Murphy’s Law is truly embedded in golf.
1. All balls from the same sleeve have a very tight bond with each other and will follow one another into the woods.
2. Waiting for the group ahead of you on the green to clear because “you can reach” is also a silent invitation for all those around to watch as your approach shot becomes shots…because you can reach.
3. Speaking of approaches, a divot only gets replaced properly after a great approach shot.
4. The ball you find just off the fairway that is right where you just smashed a monster drive ends up not being yours.
5. Your golf clubs have their own weather system. When it’s hot up by the driver…yep, it’s cold down by the wedges. Hey, it’s a system that has to balance itself.
6. When you finally make the green on 9; that 40 foot putt can be made blindfolded and with the sand trap rake.
7. Four letter words, except for golf, will be utilized quite excessively once the glove has been put on.
8. Only when you are shooting your best round ever will the air horn blow to warn of a storm.
9. Amnesia is quite common with the others in your foursome when counting their strokes.
10. Those that are not as good or lack any skill in golf will feel it’s their duty to give swing advice.
What can you do? We still go out there and play regardless. Hit’em straight!

Murder on the Links!

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In the spirit of Halloween, we’ve decided to publish a feature on golf mystery novelist, Dr. Roberta Isleib. The article was written a few years ago for Golfstinks by our friend Victoria Opton – We finally have an outlet for it Vicky!

There are very few things in this world I am certain of, and here they are: Friends will help you move if you offer beer or chicken wings; love can keep you warm at night while clearing a car of snow in sub-zero temperature; and Dr. Roberta Isleib is a pretty cool lady.

For those of you unfamiliar with whom she is, let me introduce you: Isleib is a doctor of psychology who not only plays golf, but she’s an author to boot! She doesn’t write in journals about Jung or Freud (well, maybe she does, I forgot to ask) but this Doc writes murder mystery novels whose main character, Cassie Burdette, is trying to make a career playing on the LPGA tour – while also trying to avoid being killed or convicted of murder!

Isleib first took up the game when her husband said he was going on safari in the arctic (she thought it sounded like a perfect place to tan and joined him). Once out on the tundra plains, the Isleib’s happened upon an executive par-3 ice course where penguins earned money as caddies. It was here Isleib fell in love with playing golf, and even though she realized her passion for the game, she knew she wasn’t bound for a second career playing on tour. From what she told me of her handicap, she was, in my estimation, a true stinky golfer!

But she decided not to hold up others on the course with poor play (well now, that’s just good golf etiquette) and began to search for a personal golf guru. Isleib says, “You have to find the person who understands you.” Ah, truer words were never spoken.

So after many lessons, Isleib lowered her scores with psychology, practice and playing from the proper tees. Oh, and it also helped that she’d play 2-3 times a week (nothing like a little consistency to improve course management)! All this time on the golf course, coupled with the cash spent on lessons, led her to a realization that maybe she could find time to play and get paid to do it…Enter Roberta Isleib the novelist.

“Writing mysteries kind of evolved. There was so much time, energy and money learning to play, I wanted something that would make all the effort worth while…[and] that’s when the idea came up.” Isleib added, “I wanted something everybody could sink his or her teeth into.“

So what makes a good murder mystery on a golf course? Isleib shared with us: “One is characters that you can be interested in and root for. I try to have a balance…[something] for the golfers and [something] that the non-golfers wont glaze over [reading]. I also hope that golfers who aren’t mystery fans still enjoy the story.”

And so the character Cassie Burdette was created. Now Cassie is no star of the LPGA. She’s a struggling rookie/pro who has a distant father, misguided mother, and always seems to stumble upon a murder mystery à la Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) in Murder She Wrote.

What’s interesting is that initially, what Isleib pitched to book companies wasn’t Cassie the pro, but Cassie the caddie: “One year of rejections and six months to find a publisher,” Isleib said. “And when I did [find a publisher], they wanted me to write a whole new book where Cassie was playing, not caddying.” Ah, loopers, they never get any respect!

So Isleib wrote a second novel entitled “Six Strokes Under” and that was published as her first. It also was nominated for some literary type awards (Best First Mystery and Best First Paperback). Since then, Isleib has penned four more novels in the Golf Lovers’ series: Putt to Death, A Buried Lie, Fairway to Heaven – and in March 2006, Isleib’s fifth novel was released…Final Fore…a title her minister came up with! But, rest assured, Roberta has told me that I could name future novels (Oh Boy)!

For more info about Roberta Isleib, you could check out her site at www.robertaisleib.com. You could also buy her books. I personally thought her novels were pretty fun and a great way to spend time away from the course (or during the off-season).

Stinky Golfer Vicky spoke with Roberta at great length and was also able to learn that in between writing her novels, she does her research by going to Q-School, Pinehurst and even the LPGA’s US Open (She’ll also schmooze with other mystery writers and play a round or two here and there). More recently, Isleib has penned a new set of non-golf-relalted novels – the collection is called the Advice Column Mysteries. Meanwhile, Isleib’s Golf Lovers’ mysteries have been nominated for both Agatha and Anthony awards.

A Golfer’s Dream: How A Regular Guy Played Golf Digest’s Top 100

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agolfersdreamAbout five years ago, I set-out on a quest to play every 18-hole golf course in my state that granted tee-times to non-members (there are 66 of them); I still have one to go, but have been dragging my feet because the course is semi-private and only allows non-members to play a few rounds on weekdays.

Nevertheless, having undertaken my own quest, I was excited to read Larry Berle’s 2007 book: A Golfer’s Dream – How a Regular Guy Conquered The Golf Digest List of America’s Top 100 Golf Courses. But now that I’ve read the book, not only does my own quest seem rather inconsequential, but the fact I haven’t completed it seems utterly ridiculous.

Over the course of ten years, Mr. Berle networked, charmed and sweet-talked his way onto the greatest golf tracks in the country – and he had a blast the entire time. Now don’t get me wrong, he never finagled his way onto any of these courses (Mr. Berle does not strike me as a man of deception) but he used every honest means possible to gain access and was usually successful…and sometimes lucky.
The web of people Larry needed to accomplish his quest was vast – and sometimes hard to follow, but it was amazing reading his colorful tales on how he came to play each course, while thanking those who helped him along the way. On many private courses, he was required to play with a member – and normally this was someone he had never met before – yet these people were gracious-enough to sponsor him after hearing of his quest through a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend.
Interestingly, one of Mr. Berle’s more useful connections was a man from New York he called “John.” John was a member at a few extremely exclusive clubs – ones that he unlocked for Larry to play on. But John wished to remain anonymous in Mr. Berle’s book – never wanting fellow members to know he was helping an outsider gain access to these courses. And he never met Mr. Berle either, instead orchestrating Larry’s tee-times over the phone.
Mr. Berle played 24 of the top 100 courses with his wife, Annie, including Spyglass, Pebble Beach, and Whistling Straits. He played several with his pal Jeff, who had his pilot’s license and flew he and Larry to some of the courses in his 6-seat, prop-plane. And he played only a couple with his close friends – playing many alone or with no-one he knew at all. But he seemed fine with that – he became a connoisseur of golf course architecture (he has grown rather fond of Tom Fazio designs) and learned how to be a very gracious guest (which was something he took great pride in when meeting new golfers willing to host him).
I had the opportunity to speak with Larry recently and asked him what his favorite course was on the top 100 – you know, the one that slows time, brings you to that special place and makes you think “yeah, this is why I play this game.” Without hesitation, he named Cypress Point. And in talking to Larry, you realize this accomplishment is something that defines his very character. He lights-up like a kid in a candy store when talking about his adventure. He remembers details most golfers would never remember on a course, and he himself looks back in disbelief that he actually completed such an undertaking.
A Golfer’s Dream is a heartening story of personal accomplishment and strong perseverance. As golfers, we’ve looked at the top 100 lists and dreamt about playing them all – Augusta, Pine Valley, Winged Foot – and then brushed the notion aside, labeling it a pipe dream. Kudos to Mr. Berle for proving us wrong, and kudos to him for sharing this triumph with golfers everywhere.
As for me, there’s the matter of one golf course left to play – this one’s for you, Larry.
You can purchase “A Golfer’s Dream” by Larry Berle HERE.

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