Getting Up & Down: My 60 Years in Golf - Softcover

Venturi, Ken; Arkush, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1572438231 ISBN 13: 9781572438231

Publisher: Triumph Books, 2006

Synopsis

Ken Venturi's life and his longtime career in golf have been a tale of triumph in the face of adversity. Growing up in San Francisco, he was drawn to the game for the solitude it offered, the best place for him to find himself—and his dreams. Though his often brilliant career was prematurely halted by injuries, he then emerged as the game's greatest ambassador throughout an unprecedented broadcasting career. Getting Up & Down is the story behind Venturi's captivating rise and fall—and rise again—to the top of the golf world and an inside look at the many different personalities within that world.

About this title

From the Publisher

"I have long admired Ken Venturi, who represents everything that is pure and proper about this wonderful game. Watching him lead the U.S. to victory in the 2000 Presidents Cup was a tremendous thrill." -George Bush, 41st president of the United States

"His record as a player was exceedingly rewarding, yet far too short. Injuries ended that segment of his life. But what a blessing for all of us....the perfect spokesman for his sport--the welcome guest who came into our homes 20 weeks a year, shared his stories, and bared his soul." -from the Foreward by Jim Nantz

From the Inside Flap

Ken Venturi was already a highly regarded amateur when he burst onto golf's center stage at the 1956 Masters. The confident 24-year old from San Francisco led the field after the first, second, and third rounds, bidding to become the first amateur to win the prestigious event. He carried a four-stroke lead into Sunday's final round, only to watch in disbelief as the tournament slipped out of his grasp. In a matter of hours, with a disastrous 80, he went from within inches of the sport's pinacle to the depths of despair-and he hadn't even turned pro yet. That he would do seven months later. And in the first of a series of remarkable career-defining comebacks, he gamely overcame the devastation of his very public defeat at Augusta to prove himself to be one of the game's brightest young stars. Venturi became a fixture on the top 10 of the money list, rebounding from, of all things, another heart-wrentching defeat at Augusta in 1958. Regarded as one of the best players in the world following the 1960 season-he came so close again to winning the green jacket-Venturi soon sustained a series of injuries related to an automobile accident. His game suffered badly as a result, and he began to tumble down the money list. By 1963 he found himself struggling to gain invitations to tournaments that had once rolled out the red carpet for him. Thus began Venturi's greatest comeback of all, as he reinvented himself and his game heading into the 1964 season. After more than three years without a win, Venturi again shook the golf world by winning the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club outside Washington, D.C. To this day it remains one of the most inspiring performances in golf history. Venturi somehow managed to hold off the field despite literally staggering from heat prostration on the final day. That incredible Open victory highlighted the best year of Venturi's career, but again, adversity was not far behind. A debilitating case of carpel tunnel syndrome left him without full use of his hands forced him to end his playing career before it ever reached its once unlimited potential. But he rose to challege yet again, carving out a legendary 35-year broadcasting career as the voice of golf for CBS television. It was in that capacity that the viewing public grew to know and love Ken Venturi, who wore his heart on his sleeve and wasn't afraid to tell it like it was. Getting Up & Down is written in the same manner, providing an honest, emotional, and sometimes searing look at Venturi's life, his roller-coaster playing career, and the game to which he has devoted a lifetime.

About this edition

• Publisher: Triumph Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1572438231
• ISBN 13: 9781572438231
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288