In a note to me accompanying his book Golf Unplugged, Jim Apfelbaum wrote, “You’ll see soon enough. Some people ‘get’ me, some not so much.”
That was on Monday, maybe Tuesday. Today is Friday. I think I get him.
Jim exhales golf in its many fascinating and baffling forms in this paperback from Tatra Press. I say “exhales” for a reason. I especially enjoyed his section on breathing. Plus, of all things, the merits of chewing gum on the golf course.
Both could be the keys to your next round. Or not, as Jim might say. He just puts it out there for your consideration.
There’s a bit of everything in Jim’s little volume — history, instruction, some personal stories from the golf trail. There’s Jim rifling through Ben Hogan’s desk drawer, doing a technologically challenged remote from Colonial, spying a fax to Annika Sorenstam from, well, you’d never guess.
I’m not finished, but it’s fun, not at all your usual golf book. It fits the way I often read, too. You can open it anywhere and jump right in, like cutting ahead of slowpokes on a crowded course.
Jim Apfelbaum is an Austin-based golf writer and broadcaster. Golf Unplugged is his seventh book.
The Armchair Golfer