Distant Greens travels to the highest golf course in the world, where breathless Tibetan precepts come face to face with the oxymoron of Indian military intelligence. To a golf course in the Amazon rainforest, near the source of rubber, which revolutionized the game. To the Middle Kingdom, to examine claims that it was the Chinese, and not the Scots, who invented golf. And to a volcanic Indonesian course where the Mermaid Queen ensures that “her” sultan always has good weather when he plays.
Distant Greens also travels into the soul of golf. Why do golfers believe that a tetrachaidecohedron-dimple pattern can make a difference? Why can throwing junk-shop 4-irons provide insight into the soul? What does a Zen priest in Japan hope to teach his acolyte golfers? Why do people (including Donald Trump) cheat? Why do golfers remember the bad shots instead of the good shots? And why is golf more important, to some folks, than sex?
And Distant Greens looks to the future of golf: Can golf and nature support each other? What can golfers do to ensure that their golf course is environmentally responsible?
Critical Praise:
“Distant Greens is an intimate golfing tour that travels to all corners of the planet and brings us into the heart, mind, and soul of the game that we all love.”
—Rick Lipsey, Sports Illustrated
“These enthralling stories take us to some of the world’s strangest golf courses. They are more than travel stories; they are insightful, funny, and often touching human tales that provide new insights on why we play the game. Proves the adage that the quality of sports writing is inversely proportional to the size of the ball.”
—Micah Woods, director, Asian Turfgrass Center
“Travels to golf courses where they oughtn’t be, and visits with some of the most intriguing golfic characters the world over. A quirky, funny, layered, insightful, beautifully written collection for golfers who ponder the meaning of this ever-fascinating, eternally frustrating, always satisfying game.”
—Daniel Navid, president, International Golf and Life Foundation
“What makes Distant Greens so important is how Sochaczewski addresses the role of golf in environmental destruction and, surprisingly for some, how golf can be a force for conservation.”
—Jeffrey McNeely, chief scientist, IUCN-International Union for Conservation of Nature
“Distant Greens gets to the core of golf’s eco-spiritual essence with charming, insightful, and often amusing stories that traverse the globe, yet reside happily in the realm of ‘good heart.’ ”
—Steve Cohen, president, The Shivas Irons Society
“Insightful and thought provoking; many of the themes relate to how we manage our emotions and how (and why) we create ‘core beliefs’ based on performance. Why do we make ourselves ‘wrong’? Why do we beat ourselves up when we hit bad shots instead of patting ourselves on the back for good shots? What is going on in our complex brains? Golf is a beautiful game, and Sochaczewski provides insights into how we might enjoy it more.”
—Jennifer K. Jones, consultant in sport and performance psychology, Staffordshire University
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