Playing Partners: A Father, a Son, and Their Shared Addiction to Golf

The editor-in-chief of Golf magazine examines the friendship that took root while he and his son set out to dispel the myth that golf is a good walk spoiled.




Teenagers are notorious for differences with their parents, but George Peper has been lucky to share a special friendship with his 18-year-old son, Scott. For the past decade, the two have bonded over a mutual passion for golf, spending hundreds of hours together they would never have enjoyed if not for their love of chasing around a little white ball. Now, Peper examines their relationship, analyzing how their roles have morphed from faultless father and worshipful son to teacher and pupil, dictator and insurgent, and ultimately, target and assassin, as son tries to outscore father over 18 holes. In an endearing portrait, George Peper hits on the universal lessons of life, love, and golf-as he's learned them from his teenage son.

George Peper, who was editor-in-chief of Golf Magazine for 25 years, has written, co-written, or edited 17 books, including Artisan’s 500 World’s Greatest Golf Holes and Greg Norman’s Shark Attack. George divides his time between Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and St. Andrews, Scotland.