The Secret of Golf: The Story of Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus

The author does a very good job reliving the television coverage of 1977 Open Championship and the 1982 U.S. Open but the book doesn’t focus on these two events alone; it covers these men’s lives over 5 decades from childhood to their Senior tour days with how their interest for the game fluctuated over those decades i.e., boredom, hatred, malaise, intrigue, excitement.The best parts of the book were the personalities of Charlie Nicholas (Jack’s Father) and Ray Watson (Tom’s Father), which I have not seen in any other books. It focuses on the how they each raised these soon to be professionals and interestingly that both fathers were indifferent but supportive about their son’s decision to turn pro.Also the book answered some very fascinating questions: Why Jack fired Angelo Argea; Tom’s college golf record at Stanford, from 1968-1971 was average; how alcohol played a part in Jack and Tom’s life, some of it comical; Tom’s political and social views i.e., on the Vietnam War and his stance anti-Semitism; why the style of the late CBS golf producer Frank Chirkinian was great (hint hint Fox1 sports!!!); and the commentary of other PGA touring professionals on their greatness.Lastly all through the book covers problems of the golf swing with all the terminology from all the great players and teachers, and interjects them with peaks and valleys in Jack’s and Tom’s swing over their years (Tom mostly). Ironically it’s 40 years since the 1977 “duel in the sun” at Turnberry. I wouldn’t be surprised if the author is interviewed on Golf Channel in the coming weeks---well deserved!!

Great read, I would read the phone book is Posnanski wrote it! I found the "Secret of Golf...." a little short. I understand that Posnanski tried to keep it a "light read", but I was disappointed there was more to the book. There are only 3 tournaments where Nicklaus and Watson really competed head to head (where the two of them were the primary story for the week), and that is not enough to form the basis for a book. To be honest, I am not sure what else he could have included to make it a longer read, but I was disappointed in the overall length. Other than that, it was an entertaining, fun read. For a real golf fan, who has closely followed the careers of both players, there were almost no new stories, but that is to be expected.

Let me begin by saying I hate golf. As a child my parents made me caddy. In the miserable hot and humid summers the South routinely suffers through. Where I could see but not enjoy the country club pool....as I sweated it out pulling a heavy load of stupid golf clubs up hills and into the rough...slapping at mosquitos.So in my mind, when anyone says "golf" I think "child abuse."But I bought the book for my Father as a Father's Day present as Dad played golf for 70 years.Then I read it and told him, "I'm almost embarrassed to say this, but I read, "The Secret of Golf" and am finally getting interested in golf."Dad answered, "People can get interested in anything if the story is well-told.""The Secret of Golf" is a story well-told.Thanks for writing it!

I"m a big fan of Joe Posnanski, and having grown up in Kansas during Tom Watson's heyday, a big fan of Tom Watson as well. This book reads like a Joe Pos column (which I like), but the 18 golf holes/chapters format seemed a little forced, as the 18 holes seemed to have little to do with the actual story. In addition, there were glimpses of Tom Watson the man, although IMO he could have delved much deeper here. It would have been fine to skim the surface here if it was for the sake of delving into the golf matches in great detail. But we really only got descriptions of the big turning points of the golf matches. So I (personally) wasn't satisfied with either aspect.Finally, there are some sections of the book where actual golf tips are shared. These were even more spare than the details of Watson and the golf matches against Nicklaus. IMO, these should have been omitted completely. Maybe I missed the point.While the above are all criticisms, this is still an enjoyable read, but it could have much more, I think.

Fun book to read and very informative. It allows me to converse intelligently with my son!

I think this era of golf, and this rivalry, hasn't had as much coverage as it deserves, so I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's is Watson-centric because of Posnanski's Kansas City ties, but I think that Watson deserves the ink since we already have a plethora of books about the Golden Bear.

I will say this is more of a biography of Mr. Watson than of the the friendship between Mr. Watson and Mr. Nicklaus. That friendship comes into play late in the book. Overall very enjoyable and if I could would have given 4.5

This is a wonderful collection of stories. I got it for the stories, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a few golf tips in it that worked for me. It’s a very enjoyable book.

Great book - Joe P is one of the best sportswriters alive today and his treatment of Tom Watson is even handed and very insightful. Told in the context of Watson's relationship with Jack Nicklaus through the turning point of the 1977 Open Championship, this story provided insight into two legends and I even came away with a couple handy tips for my golf game!

I wish I had read this before playing St Andrews with Mr Watson in 2011. Will read again. Highly recommend.

Very interesting and well written..

Well pleased with book, great condition and delivered 5 days earlier than advertised, will certainly use world of books when ordering other books,first class service .

One of the most enjoyable golfing reads I have had in a long time.Both Nicklaus & Watson are heroes of mine. It was great to get so much insight to both their characters and friendship.