Ephemeris of the Mind (Book Review) Men in Green
Time to read: 4 min read
Book Cover
“Your character comes through in golf,” Jack said. “If you’re pissed at the world the whole time, you really can’t enjoy your wins, and in many ways you can’t really – what’s the right word? – you can’t really understand the meaning of your defeats. To get beat is very healthy. Particularly when you’ve really given it your best effort. If you win every time, you don’t learn anything. You don’t learn anything about yourself. You don’t learn anything about the other person. You don’t learn anything about the game. You don’t learn anything about life.”
Review
Prior to reading this book my (very limited) exposure to golf included two visits to the driving range and the several rounds of minigolf. The sport of golf has always perplexed me; for one, superficially, I cannot imagine a slower sport in the world, yet my friends who are into golf speak of it in excited terms, as if they're speaking about the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup. I wanted to peak behind the physical game, into the culture and heritage of golf.
Bamberger's book accomplishes exactly that; it's a book focused not on the technicalities of golf, but on its ethos. He explores golf through various interviews with "legends", ranging from golfers such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Ken Venturi, to lesser-known golfing characters, such as the legendary Tour caddie Dolphus "Golf Ball" Hull. Interwoven within these interviews is Bamberger's own journey with golf, both as a caddie and as a sports journalist.
There were several ideas I took away from the book:
The beauty of golf stems from its players, more specifically, the class displayed by its players. There are various anecdotes of players both winning and losing with grace, such as Jack Niklaus and Tom Watson at Turnberry 1977, where they walked away arm in arm after the round. To be able to compete graciously is central to the sport's spirit.
Many of the great players also played with dignity and honour, such as in the 1983 British Open, when Hale Irwin whiffed a putt (missed) but counted the stroke without hesitation even though he technically didn't have to (he later lost by one stroke). These players show character that is missing from many other sports today (cough cough soccer); the top golfers don't play just by the technical rules of the game, they also play by the spirit of the game.
Golf, as with all sports, is an excellent analogy for life. One of the most important lessons from the book is to cherish the present, to enjoy the journey, and to not dwell too much on the past. One of the most telling anecdotes is Ken Venturi's feud with Arnold Palmer; despite Venturi's success both as a player and a CBS broadcaster, even after his retirement, he was troubled by his disagreement with Arnold Palmer which had occured over 50 years ago. The feud clouded both Venturi's wellbeing as well as his legacy.
Perhaps the most important idea for me is the concept of an edge, or what makes one golfer better than another. On top of technical mastery, edge is what distinguishes those who win against those who don't. The idea of edge is very fickle, one can lose their edge when one loses their will to win, when one ages, or when one catches the yips.
For me, edge is a synonym for drive; when one is driven enough, one becomes passionate and overcomes their self-doubts. When one is driven, one can break through the inertia of complacency to achieve one's goals; the inverse is also true. If one lets comfort affect their drive, one will become complacent and lose the edge. One of my favourite ideas by Arnold Palmer is his observation that had he not won the Open in 1960 at Cherry Hill, he probably would have won many more tournaments over his career, as he would not have been affected by the comfort of victory. In other words, he would have been more driven and his edge would have been sharper.
Conclusion
This book is written by someone who is very knowledgeable about golf, and someone who clearly loves golf. It's a warm book, with numerous anecdotes and stories, it paints a picture of the spirit behind the game of golf.