It's Only A Game: Words Of Wisdom From A Lifetime In Golf

Gems of wisdom about golf and life--and a spirited call for a return to the game's core values--are offered by one of the game's most respected elder statesmen and former champions.

Gems of wisdom about golf and lifeaand a spirited call for a return to the gameas core valuesafrom one of the gameas most respected elder statesmen and former champions
Legendary player and teacher Jackie Burke is the preeminent elder statesman of American golf. A PGA Champion, a Masters Champion, a Vardon Trophy winner, and a PGA Player of the Year, he won four consecutive tournaments in 1952; and is a winner of seventeen events on the PGA Tour, a five-time Ryder Cup member (twice as captain), and a member of the PGA, Texas Golf, and World Golf Halls of Fame. Before leaving the PGA Tour he cofounded (with Jimmy Demaret) the world-famous Champions Golf Club (host of the Ryder Cup, U.S. Amateur, and five PGA Tour Championships) and has instructed students including Phil Mickelson, Hal Sutton, Steve Elkington, Ben Crenshaw, and many other PGA Tour pros in a career that has spanned seven decades.

Reverberating with the straight-talking Texas wisdom that could only come from Jackie Burke, "Itas Only a Game" will bring the words of this venerable sage to everyone who loves the links. Spiced with anecdotes from a long and illustrious career, this stirring book features pithy insights on the nature of competition and the erosion of amateur play. Burke goes on the record about profit-minded equipment manufacturers and self-promoting golf gurus. His provocative topics include insight into why the 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup team suffered its worst defeat ever (Burke was a cocaptain), the alarmingly high cost of playing public and resort courses, country clubs that stress cosmetic appearances over the playing of the game, and a host of other topics. He also provides no-nonsense, time-testedsecrets for improving anyoneas golf game, based not on shallow atipsa but on a well-rounded, sensible approach to the game that he began developing before the Great Depression.
Acclaim for "Itas Only a Game: "
aEasily the best golf instructional-type book since "Harvey Penickas Little Red Book," . . . This book is a classic.a
aBud Shrake, coauthor "Harvey Penickas Little Red Book" aJackie is a warrior. He is a born competitor who meets every challenge head on, on and off the golf course. His values and integrity are unassailable, as pure as those of any man I've known.a
aBen Crenshaw
aThis book is pure Jackie, and I hope that from reading it you get some of the fulfillment and enjoyment heas given to me and others over the years.a
aSteve Elkington