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Summary: More about life and lessons one learns, with golf as a venue
Review: Funny, sad, insightful, and above all, well-written. This is as close as a book gets for men, while still qualifying for the "Oprah List."Golf is a metaphor in the hands of the author, who takes us on a final journey between father and son. It is about the lessons one learns in that relationship; golf is simply the vessel for its exploration. Read it if you play golf; read it if you don't. It will touch you nevertheless, and remind you of your past, and make you wonder about your future.
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Summary: great golf passion, enjoyable read
Review: i am a passionate scratch golfer and just lost my father....reading this book brought back so many strong memories about the game and the passion my dad and i share for the game, as well as the bond we had and still have. The author delivers great passion in his writing, the course of Scotland are heavenly, and having played st andrews, i know how special it must have been to have that final stroll with his father, wow, that was moving. I suggest this book to anyone that wants to feel good about themselves, their family relationships and to experience the internal love of golf.
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Summary: Fantastic and Moving
Review: I am scottish and learnt the game of golf from my father when I was 8. My father and I played courses all over scotland as well as in the united states. The game taught me much about myself, but also much about my father. Though nothing like "Opti", my father had his own valauble pieces of advice that he passed to me. I moved to Japan at 22 and two years later found out my father had a year to live. I was stunned and returned immediately to be with him. In fact he only lived 2 months, but in that time he and I played two more games of golf, only a stones throw from the course mentioned in this book, Gullane.
Now only 4 years on I found this book and on every page it strikes a chord with me. I remember my father and thank him for teaching me this wonderful game. As a scot, I of course have an unrelenting love for the game and reading this book and seeing courses in there that we played together is truly moving.
Not often does a book compell me to write a review, this book however makes me feel like a simple review will never do justice to how much I enjoyed this book.
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Summary: Moving and funny
Review: I bought this as a Father's Day gift for my Dad but then "borrowed" it back and ended up really enjoying it. While some knowledge of how golf is scored might be useful, you don't need to know anything about the game to instantly like Opti; his wisdom and his charm. The book is full of beautifully written descriptions of the places the father and son are visiting and poignant, tender moments between the two. Some of the author's descriptions of the people and places had me laughing for hours. I highly recommend this book even if you are not a parent yet.
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Summary: A triple bogie.
Review: I disliked this shallow, exploitive book. I was seduced into buying it by the tender prologue (reflections by Tom Watson), but found the remainder to be a story of an interesting man (Opti) written by an uninteresting one (James Dodson). Dodson¹s writing skills were not up this challenge. He¹s a golf journalist who lacks the quality of prose to pull this off. His anecdotes are boring, which I suspect he must be too. I also ended up resenting him. His obsession throughout was his golf, not Opti. I felt his principal motive for taking his Dad to Scotland was to play golf. Spending quality time with him was clearly secondary (seemingly motivated by guilt of a relationship that had the substance of a sand trap). When Dad was too sick to play, our author golfed anyway...remembering with agonizing detail, every shot he took. When Dad returned home because he was too ill to carry on, the dedicated son remained to card some more rounds. I found this behavior unfathonable. I would assume Dodson¹s wife had some difficulty with this book too. A slight reference to a stale marriage (another guilt trip?), and a continuing obsession with a murdered sweetheart. This author should stick to writing golf articles
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Summary: Great stuff !
Review: I enjoyed each chapter. Felt as though I had lived some of the same experiences on the golf course, and in life. Made me realize how important it is to spend time with my own children, even after they are grown.
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Summary: Good but dated material
Review: I'm an avid golfer so I got the book to check out the golf material and explore the relationship theme. The book did give plenty of golf material, however, for those of us born after 1950 the material was pretty old. Ya it was neat one or two times to hear about how Sam Snead hit an amazing shot on hole #17 at Murfield, but it got a little old after a while. The main theme of the book, a son coming to terms with his father's impending death was pretty good, made my eyes water. All in all if you can get the book for a good price its worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Good but dated material
Review: I'm an avid golfer so I got the book to check out the golf material and explore the relationship theme. The book did give plenty of golf material, however, for those of us born after 1950 the material was pretty old. Ya it was neat one or two times to hear about how Sam Snead hit an amazing shot on hole #17 at Murfield, but it got a little old after a while. The main theme of the book, a son coming to terms with his father's impending death was pretty good, made my eyes water. All in all if you can get the book for a good price its worth the read.
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Summary: Final Rounds Book Review
Review: In Final Rounds, James Dodson tells a touching story about how a father and son use golf as an antidote to fight through his father's battle with cancer.
The two go on the golfing vacation of a lifetime, and play Europe's most famous and prestigious golf courses. They play their final rounds together at the most beautiful and challenging courses in the world.
Throughout the book, only one major flaw caught our attention. Over half of the book consisted of golf terms that would not make sense to the "golf illiterate." Bogey, hazard, birdie, ace, eagle, ect; are used throughout the book to enhance the mood, but would make no sense to those who do not understand golf.
The best part of the book comes in the form of advice. James' father gives worthy advice on his golf game and on life in general. His advice on the game of golf is more about the mental rather than the physical aspect of golf. His life advice is on how to be a family man and really appreciate what he has. This is what makes the book worth reading.
Overall, we enjoyed this book, being the golf fans that we are. It boosted our knowledge of the game and on the game of life, reading the advice of the great "Opti the Mystic" and how a simple hobby, or obsession in this case, could bring a father and son together as friends.
We would recommend this book to those who have a passion for the game of golf, and who enjoy a story of love and respect. Grade: B-
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Summary: Life and the Game are the Same
Review: It's amazing how easy it is for us to think about how difficult life is. It's a shame we can't remind ourselves more often that the journey is the reward for our effort, the goal merely provides the direction. Who cannot honestly say they havn't had the need to lie down in the fairway and take in all that surrounds us so we remember why we came out in the first place. This book has helped me remember the importance of not becoming attached to the outcome. I hope that I can have the same influence on my children as Opti did for Mr. Dodson. Thanks for sharing the story
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