America! What Have You Done To The Auld Game?
By W. Eric Laing

If you like to golf for the thrill of the sport, the exercise, being in the great outdoors and the competition (against yourself as much as against others) you will relate to this book.

If you like to use your time on the golf course to socialize, make phone calls, take Mulligans till you get the shot you like or line up every putt as if you were Tiger at the Masters you will think the author is indeed a "grumpy old Scotsman" as he calls himself.

Author W. Eric Laing is that "grumpy old Scotsman" and he is actively calling for a return to the 3 and ½ hour round of golf. He has golfed all over including, of course, his native Scotland - home of the game. And he has found that rounds in America are plagued by slow play significantly more than anywhere else.

He wants amateur golfers to observe and course managers to enforce Rule 1, Subsection 1 in the USGA rulebook that deals with courtesy on the course and consideration of other players.

The author gives lots of history and interesting information about the game. But the meat of the book is the numerous examples of bad behavior and discourtesy on the course that many of us have also suffered through.

Various sections address various specific problem areas such as the never ending search for a lost ball and hackers who have watched too much golf on TV spending far too much time emulating those TV pros.

He also gets into other causes of slow play including betting, golf carts, bad manners and even course design. Golf has become a vehicle for people to do business and for them, a 4 & ½ or 5 hour round casually talking business may be OK.

But sportsmen such as the author who want to get a few rounds in without all the ancillary activities, should be able to play through. It comes down to common courtesy which unfortunately seems to be less and less "common."