I Golf Therefore I Am – NUTS! by George Fuller

We are all a little crazy for playing golf and trying to reach perfection.  What makes a good golfer is not swing style or handicap.  It is the ability to recognize the humor of the game and community of golf.  I Golf Therefore I Am Nuts is packed with so much we can all identify with.

George Fuller wrote this book with short stories or antidotes of his golfing experiences.  He has played golf all around the world, written for magazines, and played with professionals and hackers alike.  From this wealth of time on golf courses, he writes about all aspects of golf with a sharp wit and colorful humor.

I Golf Therefore I am Nuts Favorite passages:

One chapter I really liked was that describing a golf event he played it that took having fun on the course to the correct level for the casual golfer.  George described the Trashmasters Invitational  he played in and the fun rules established.  Players earned points  for shots that recover from crappy shots.  This is a great way to keep everyone’s head in the game a try to come back from the brink of disaster.  The following shots earned points:

• Sandie: any par or better after hitting a shot out of the sand (1 point)
• Drinkie: any par or better after hitting into a water hazard (3 points)
• Barkie: any par or better after the ball strikes a tree or any part thereof (1 point)
• Watson: any shot for par or better that is holed from off the green (3 points)
• Seve: any par or better after striking a shot rom the deep rough, aka the Congo, which must e at least 6″ deep (1 point)
• Skippie: any shot for par or better where the ball skips across a water hazard (1 point)
• Rockie: any shot for par or better after the ball strikes a rock of at baseball size (1 point)
• Jerry: any shot for par or better after the ball hits an obstruction (1 point)

These are fun point you can play with your gang next round.

I also enjoyed his chapter “Looking Down the Glass.”  Here he commented on the lack of colorful characters in the modern PGA tour.  George describes several situations in the past where pros made comments that would make modern-day reporters and sponsors blush.  One colorful quote he cites came from Horace G. Hutchinson, “If profanity had an influence he flight of the ball, the game of golf would be played far better than it isLaws of Golf:

The Laws of Golf:

The Laws of Golf is a fun chapter as well.  I identified with the following Laws from my own experiences:

• #5: No matter what causes a golfer to muff a shot, all playing partners must solemnly chant, “You liked up” or “Not your best shot,” or something equally infuriating
• #11: The last three holes of a round will automatically adjust your score to what it really should be.
• #12: When you walk up to your ball on the putting surface, it’s invariably 2 inches or less from where yesterday’s hole was cut.
• #18: It’s surprisingly easy to hole a 0 foot putt when you lie in 8 and don’t care anymore.
• #21: You cannot a 2-acre fairway 10% of the time and a 2 niche branch 90% of the time.

This book makes for a fun read and if I wasn’t laughing to myself I was nodding along in agreement.  Sometimes it is good to read a funny book to remind us not to take our golf game too serious.  It doesn’t take us seriously.

Other books by George Fuller:

• California Golf (2004)
• Hawaii Golf (1993)