Among golf’s many charms is its legacy of literature, which has created a library of books that range from illuminating biographies to coffee-table collections to novels with the game and its characters at their often funny core.
At this time of year, when new golf books – like the azaleas down South – are in bloom, three new editions stand out not just for their stories but for their authors.
Alan Shipnuck’s “Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf’s Most Human Superstar,” arrives on Tuesday, coinciding with the anniversary of McIlroy’s emotional 2025 Masters victory, a divine plot twist in a story Shipnuck was working on long before last April unfolded.
Gene Wojciechowski’s charming novel “All Carry” was released last week and tells a story that blends a touch of fantasy with a brilliantly authentic and often humorous look at how the game works on the inside for players, caddies, the media and others captured by its spell.
Shipnuck is one of the game’s most honored and impactful writers, sometimes ruffling feathers but invariably getting to the heart of whatever or whomever is his subject, as he did in his biography of Phil Mickelson.
“(Rory)’s a big personality, he’s had a big life and he lets people into his heart and tells you what he’s thinking. That’s very rare for a superstar, especially in golf.”
Alan Shipnuck
In this case, it’s McIlroy, who initially didn’t take kindly to having his story told without his approval but who, after getting an early copy, made peace with the author.
The book thoroughly details McIlroy’s life and career, sprinkling it with anecdotes and insights that elevate a story that has an undeniable magnetism. If you have a sense of who McIlroy is, you will understand him better after reading Shipnuck’s book about him.
“He’s a big personality, he’s had a big life and he lets people into his heart and tells you what he’s thinking. That’s very rare for a superstar, especially in golf,” Shipnuck said.
“We saw the outpouring for him at the Masters last year. People are invested in his journey and he’s had enough controversy to add more complexity to the story.”
Wojciechowski, a longtime sportswriter who became a familiar face on ESPN’s golf and college football coverage, built his novel around what might happen if a set of magical persimmon woods meant for Jack Nicklaus wound up in the hands of an ordinary person, an idea that had been in his head for several years.
With years of experience covering professional golf, Wojciechowski brilliantly captures the color and the characters who exist within the game’s orbit, blending in stories and moments that are more real than fictional.
“The premise is preposterous but using all those years around golf and the things we’ve seen, I felt like if I put enough authenticity around the story, it starts to feel possible,” Wojciechowski said.
“If you get them to feel it’s possible, then it starts to feel real and maybe you have them.”
A third entry belongs to Bill Fields, a PGA of America lifetime achievement in journalism award winner who has written a book about his rich life in golf titled “A Quick Nine Before Dark.”
Warm and insightful, Fields shares his story in the game from his soft Southern roots through his years of writing about and photographing many of the game’s most impactful figures, an engrossing reminiscence about a golf life well lived.
Shipnuck, Wojciechowski and Fields have accomplished something difficult in golf – they have found the sweet spot.
Ron Green Jr.
Top: Maryna Terletska, Getty images
