{"product_id":"golf-giveth-a-novel","title":"GOLF GIVETH...: A Novel","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e \u003cspan\u003eIn 1502, James IV, King of Scotland, lifted the ban on golf. That was a banner day in the lives of golf fanatics everywhere. Although not the opening of Pandora's Box, something chaotic and obsessive was unleashed that day. If you know what I mean, this book might be for you.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePlot: John is traveling from the States back to his hometown in Ireland to play in a golf match that is 23 years in the making. Summoned back against his will by a cast of characters numbering in the dozens, he is set to play a match against Brink MacSwiney, a Scotsman who has claimed the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChampionship Cup\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e for over two decades straight. Put off by the fact that a Scotsman has held sway over the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCup\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e for all those years, the locals are wondering if Brink’s uncanny success is the work of the Devil. But they believe John can put things right in the long-awaited match. Along the way we see how a golf course comes into existence. And we meet countless characters who carry their clubs and their eccentric tendencies with them wherever they go--if not literally on their backs, then certainly in their hearts.\u003cbr\u003ePart golf humor, part Catholic color, part philosophy and poetry, with a heavy dose of golf course architecture, this book is for the golfer in your life who often favors Sunday morning tee times over Sunday morning Mass--especially the golfer that has an offbeat sense of humor. This book is for anyone that thinks golf is silly at times, confounding at every turn, food for the soul always, and magical in the best way possible. In a story where golf fanaticism surpasses Catholic devotion, on a course where the church steeple is used by golfers to line up their tee shots, in a town where the rub of the green rubs off on everyone, lies a story that is a quirky and heartfelt love letter to the game of golf.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNote on cost: In 1897, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews became the governing body of the rules of the game of golf. $18.97 is also the cost of this book to honor that year. (And to cover Amazon's color printing costs.) If the above description of the reader likely to relate to this book does not describe you, please don't spend your hard-earned money on it. Reading it will feel like a triple bogey. Otherwise, swing away. Mike O'Neill, author.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGolf Giveth...\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \"Charming, funny, wise, dense, witty, very Irish and delightful, but too much bloody golf!\" Georgie Scurfield\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the book:\u003cbr\u003eGolf is a game full of demons. There are the aggressive ones that cause us to attempt heroic carries into stiff winds from poor lies with far too little club in hand, letting our hips give way ahead of a weak grip and a decelerated downswing. Lacking the strength of our convictions we come up short in that leap of faith and, having learned our lesson, take our drop and forge ahead contrite. There are also the sly demons—inventors of metal woods, graphite irons, plastic glasses, and winter rules for that matter. Among other things, those demons rob us of our ability to add strokes evenly as they mount up over a golf hole's given par. There are the gambling demons who push us to wager that our nerves are steady and true to the task, and other demons who then make our muscles twitch violently at the moment of truth. And then there’s the demon that afflicted Nyhan Dennehy, Dunnelly's Recorder of Deeds, a young man who played golf every day while awaiting the rare chance to enter documents into the town’s public record. Unfortunately for Nyhan, his demon, a slovenly spirit to be sure, waited for him at the 19th hole. It is probably true, though these things are not knowable, that both \"drinking and driving\" and \"driving and drinking\" are the work of the very same demon. By the time he had his name etched into the Sinecura \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChampionship Cup\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, many among the town's residents were convinced that Brink MacSwiney's demon was of the variety that actually won golf tournaments. But just how to prove that?\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books Prime","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45914299039935,"sku":"4a69906e-65b2-4665-a3fa-8249d3d3c220","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0761\/7550\/7647\/files\/74409691d80bdf06801998d061c52c1a.jpg?v=1785056653","url":"https:\/\/books-prime.com\/products\/golf-giveth-a-novel","provider":"Books Prime","version":"1.0","type":"link"}