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The Bogey Man  By  cover art

The Bogey Man

By: George Plimpton, Rick Reilly - foreword
Narrated by: Jeff Bottoms
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Publisher's summary

George Plimpton chronicles his month spent on the PGA tour in The Bogey Man, now recorded and including an introduction by Tom Wolfe.

What happens when a weekend athlete - of average skill at best - joins the professional golf circuit? George Plimpton, one of the finest participatory sports journalists, spent a month of self-imposed torture on the tour to find out. Along the way, he meets amateurs, pros, caddies, officials, fans, and hangers-on. In The Bogey Man, we find golf legends, adventurers, stroke-saving theories, superstitions, and other golfing lore and, best of all, Plimpton's thoughts and experiences - frustrating, humbling, and sometimes thrilling - from the first tee to the last green.

This intriguing classic, which remains one of the wittiest books ever written on golf, features Arnold Palmer, Dow Finsterwald, Walter Hagan, and many other golf greats and eccentrics all doing what they do best.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 George Plimpton (P)2016 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Humorous but also agonizing and also unfailingly fascinating regardless of one's interest in golf. For the psychology of the sport - and this is what Mr. Plimpton is probing - there is nothing more revealing around." ( The New York Times)
"Plimpton will interest even the man who can't tell a pitching wedge from a putter.... This is really a book about a kind of madness with rules, and anyone can appreciate the appeal of that." ( Newsweek)
"Golf is a lonely and private game, lacking the natural drama of football, but Plimpton, by substituting improvisation for plot, has caught its mad comedy and bizarre effects on people in a book just as charming, in its own way, as Paper Lion." ( Life)

What listeners say about The Bogey Man

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Good book

I’m very please with this purchase. Plimpton’s yarns about all things golf are most entertaining. If you are looking for a book with gritty details about life on the PGA tour, you may want to look elsewhere. This book is light-hearted, sometimes silly, and best of all, hilarious.

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Excellent, the true Paper Lion sequel

a lot of other sports books by Plimpton. This one is well worth getting, even if not a golf fan!

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A classic for sure

Well written and read. A cherished perspective of golfs yesterdays from a fantastic story teller.

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Total waste of time

I read this book many years ago and had fond memories of the author (perhaps from some of his other works which I read at the time). I am an avid reader of golf history and enjoy humorous takes on the sport. Sadly, this is one of the least engaging books I have purchased over my ten year, 2 book a month history with audible. The poor narration just elevates the disappointment.

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1 person found this helpful