The Bogey Man: A Month on the PGA Tour

By George Plimpton

Book Overview

George Plimpton chronicles his month spent on the PGA tour in The Bogey Man, repackaged and including a foreword by Rick Reilly and never-before-seen content from the Plimpton Archives.

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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316326267
• ISBN13: 9780316326261
• Release Date: April 2016
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Not Plimpton's Greatest

I liked it but it tended to drag on at times. I preferred some of his other writings such as Open Net, Paper Lion and Out Of My League

Great Insight into the Game

This is not a "how to do" book but an insight into the world of golf as seen through the eyes, or shall I say words, of George Plimpton. It's a great read, and as of this writing, I'm almost half way through. I am enjoying this book, and as a new golfer, I am pleased to realize my errors are not mine alone. If you like and hate golf this is the book for you. Read it.

Mr. Charming

Back way back when there were East Coast types that placed a high premium on what the English would call the glory of amateurism. So slip on that lime sports jacket and checked pink pants combo your grandpa used to wear, pour yourself a cocktail and meander out by the pool for some light evening conversation. Full of classic anecdotes like the one where two golfers are driving cross country and the one riding shotgun has a driver in his hand. Sometimes when they stop at a crossroads he likes to get out and take a few swings. Well out he gets one time and the driver doesn't notice, just takes off for about hundred clicks before he turns back.......

Excellent get-well gift

As old as it is, this is still an excellent get-well gift for men who lived and died with the Palmer et.al. era. One does not even have to be an avid golfer to enjoy the book. Only a casual knowledge of the game is needed. I feel this was the best of Plimpton's books.

A refreshing look at the PGA Tour of the 60's from a hacker

Plimpton doesn't pretend to be anything other than what he is: a priveleged amateur of questionable skill who is afforded the opportunity to play in several west coast pro-ams with various professionals. He relates many anecdotes, both first and second hand, several of which are hilarious insights into a tour which hadn't, at this juncture, reached the sophistication which characterizes its status today. Plimton's typical self-effacing style makes this an enjoyable read.