Breaking Eighty: A Journey Through the 9 Fairways of Hell - Hardcover

Eisenberg, Lee

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786861991 ISBN 13: 9780786861996

Publisher: Hyperion, 1997

Synopsis

A former editor of Esquire magazine explains how he learned the dynamics of learning how to play golf and develop an effective swing, and offers empathy and advice to amateur players from a learner's perspective.

About this title

Review:

Like many weekend duffers who don't play enough golf to significantly improve--just enough to evoke frustratration--Lee Eisenberg wanted to better his game. So he set himself a seemingly modest goal: to shoot one round of 79 or less. He spent 18 months practicing like a man possessed, reading books, watching instructional videos, and taking lessons from professionals. The result: He learned more about his temperament than about how to stay in the fairway. Not that he didn't try; until he became convinced of the futility of his efforts, Eisenberg spent nearly every waking moment consumed with conquering this myth of golfing prowess, agonizing over his scorecards, developing quarter-sized calluses, and stewing over what could have been. Rather than snap each cursed shaft over his knee and quit the game in a blaze of obscenities, Eisenberg did the only sensible thing: he gave in and embraced mediocrity. His account of this transformation, Breaking Eighty: A Journey through the Nine Fairways of Hell, is ultimately about finding pleasure in the game and proudly embracing the role of "The Hacker."

Review:

Breaking Eighty is really less about becoming a good golfer than about accepting oneself as a probable lifelong chopper--a sound strategy for virtually all of us. -- The New York Times Book Review, David Owen

About this edition

• Publisher: Hyperion
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0786861991
• ISBN 13: 9780786861996
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272