The Old Man and the Tee : How I Took Ten Strokes off My Game and Learned to Love Golf All Over Again

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Summary: A must read for anyone who loves the game of golf!
Review: A book that is as touching as it is funny, Turk Pipkin takes us on his year long quest to take 10 strokes off his game and break 80 at Pebble Beach to honor the man who taught him the game - his father Pip. Unlike any golf book you're likely to read, Turk combines his lessons learned from golf teaching greats like David Leadbetter to hilarous stories of golfing with Willie Nelson, George Plimpton and everyone else who was lucky enough to tee it up with him on his quest. Once I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. A must read for lovers of golf, life and humor!

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Summary: The answer to your golf dreams
Review: Anyone who has ever been bitten by the golf bug knows that the resulting virus is the unending search for the link's Holy Grail. It may be the latest new club, or that simple suggestion from a member of your regular foursome. It may be several hours on the practice tee, or a new training device seen on an infomercial. Perhaps it is a week at a prestigious golf school or a book by a teaching legend. All golfers believe that somewhere out there is the critical piece of information that will transform their golf game from hacker to hero. If only the dream made the wish come true.

Author Turk Pipkin got to live that dream and he shares his adventure in THE OLD MAN AND THE TEE: How I Took Ten Strokes Off My Game and Learned to Love Golf All Over Again. Those who share the dream of long drives, crisp approach shots and curling birdie putts will find this to be more than just an instructional volume. This is a book about life and golf, and how some individuals can enjoy both regardless of the numbers they write down on the scorecard.

Pipkin is the perfect person to write this book. Not only is he an avid golfer, he is also an accomplished writer. In addition to eight novels, he has written for numerous major magazines. Beyond his writing, Pipkin has toured with comedian Rodney Dangerfield and has appeared in Christopher Guest's Waiting for Guffman, HBO's "The Sopranos" and Disney's The Alamo. Reading Pipkin's resume is to peruse the record of a true renaissance man. The time devoted to those activities, however, limited the time available for golf. As a result, Pipkin found his golf game in drastic need of repair. As a young man Pipkin had learned golf from his father. While attending the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Pipkin is called back to his native Texas to be with his dying father. His father's death rekindles a long-moribund goal that Raymond Pipkin had set for his son: a round of golf at Pebble Beach. But Pipkin wants more than just a round. He sets for himself the goal of breaking 80 at one of America's most difficult courses. To do so, Pipkin, a 16- handicap golfer, will need to cut that handicap by 10 shots in a year, a Herculean task.

To reach his goal, Pipkin spends parts of the next year with most of the great golf instructors in America. Ironically, when he first proposed his plan to David Leadbetter, a man who numbers some of the greatest golfers of the world as his personal protégés, Leadbetter was skeptical. "You go to six different instructors, you may add ten strokes to your game," Leadbetter said with a laugh. "But count me in."

Over the ensuing year Pipkin's journey takes him to see Leadbetter, short game expert Dave Pelz, Ben Crenshaw --- perhaps professional golf's greatest putter --- and other instructors of note. In each chapter the reader takes a lesson along with Pipkin and acquires some valuable insights concerning golf instruction. Each chapter concludes with a brief summary of an important golf fundamental. Several of those tips have already been put to good use on my game.

In addition to the instructional portions of THE OLD MAN AND THE TEE, Pipkin pursues several side trips that offer him guidance separate from instructions on the fundamentals of the game. We follow Pipkin on a trip to Scotland, a round of golf with singer Willie Nelson, and a tournament partnership with author George Plimpton. At each stop, Pipkin shares a lesson on a subject more important than reducing his handicap. We learn some endearing lesson about life itself. Those lessons complete the message of Pipkin's quest.

Many writers have journeyed into the spiritual side of golf. To some it is more important than the physical aspects of the game. Turk Pipkin has found a magical formula for combining physical instruction and mental awareness of the game of golf. This is an engaging and pleasurable story that all golfers will enjoy and savor. It is a keeper for your collection of golfing literature. Who knows --- this book may be the answer to your golf dreams.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

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Summary: Wonderful book on many levels!
Review: First of all, I enjoyed this book as a golfer. To be honest, I expected that when I bought it. But maybe even more, I enjoyed this book as a son and as a father. Mr. Pipkin has made my Christmas shopping easy this year; I'm giving his book to every guy I know who loves his golf and his father. Or his son, for that matter. And right now, I'm reading it all over again...

Rating:
Summary: Too much product hype, too much instruction - buy it anyway!
Review: When it comes to instruction books and equipment, golfers will buy anything that lays claim to being able to improve their game. (See: Roy McAvoy, "Tin Cup".) Pipkin doesn't claim to improve his readers' games except by extension, since he tells us how he took 10 strokes off his own handicap in one year of concentrated lessons, practice, and travel to the great golf locations of three continents. Trouble is, who among us mere sloggers could cobble together such a year's schedule without the leverage of a decent reputation as a golf writer and the promise of a mention (or, in some cases, a paean) in a soon-to-be-published golf best seller?
Pipkin is up front about the custom Calloways and the Ledbetter lessons he gets in return for singing the praises of these golfing ultimates, and somewhat less so for the 30-odd other product placements (not including all the courses)that jump off the pages in what pretty quickly becomes an off-putting kind of way. He generously shares the lesson tips he gets (why not - they cost him nothing) but the golfer who trys to digest, much less apply, all the instruction points will find himself or herself hopelessly muddled.
Never mind all that. The book has some good golf stories and is, in large part, an instruction book with a lot of advice on what equipment can do, and if you're a golfer, you know what that means. Buy it.