Men in Green

By: Michael Bamberger

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

One night in a Chicago restaurant, Michael Bamberger draws up a list of golf heroes. Nine are living legends, like Arnold and Jack. Nine are secret legends, like Dolphus "Golf Ball" Hull: a windblown tour caddie from Jackson, Mississippi. What they all share is a game that courses through their collective veins like a drug.

Accompanied by a sidekick and friend, a former tour player who is a secret legend himself, Bamberger seeks to locate and get to know these luminaries. All the while he is hopeful that they will answer a certain difficult question: When and where were you happiest?

In their travels these detectives from the Golf Division uncover life and death, sickness and health, unusual marriages and unlikely friendships, trophies lost and won, comic tales from lives lived on the road, lost loves and second chances, and a cheating scandal that reveals volumes about an icon in their midst. They take us from Arnold Palmer's private warehouse in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to the 12th green at Augusta National. Men in Green time travels to forgotten places in a lost world.

©2015 Michael Bamberger (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[E]namored with the game, [Michael's] prose is thankfully straightforward and free of sanctimony or syrupy, romantic sentiments, and his interviews and game accounts are extensive without being tedious." ( Kirkus)

Interesting but cover misleading

Enjoyed the book but I was expecting a story about golfers at the Masters, especially when you look at the "cover". Instead it was a bucket list of golfers that the author wanted to meet and talk with. As I said, still enjoyable but was fooled by the cover.

Great stories, hard to follow

I did enjoy this book a lot, but it definitely left me wanting. I often had to go back and listen again because he switches around so much. But it is a solid selection for golf lovers.

Awesome!

Great on all accounts! Sorry it ended! Kudos to the author, narrator and production team.

A drive through golf and life for the ages

This was a tremendous, whimsical, elegant narrative about life in and around a golf course seen through the game’s legends and those behind the scenes who made author Michael Bamberger who he is today. Marvelous from start to finish.

Great stories and great writing

I've read Michael Bamberger for years in Sports Illustrated, and I've always enjoyed his writing style. This book is terrific -- a legitimate page-turner (which I wouldn't have believed given that at its core it's a book about golfers).

Bamberger tracks down "living legends" like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Hale Irwin but also introduces the reader to his "secret legends" including former tour caddies, a USGA official, and others with as much -- if not more -- to share than the names you've known for years.

Bamberger weaves a particularly dramatic story around Ken Venturi's accusation of cheating against Arnold Palmer at the 1958 Masters. I'd heard the accusation but the back story was more compelling than I could've imagined, and it displays human frailties in full relief.

Along for the ride on Bamberger's tour is Mike Donald, 1990 US Open runner-up to Hale Irwin. Bamberger's long-time friendship -- including highs and lows -- with Donald adds a very human dimension to what is already a wonderful read.

Pure golf

This is a fantastic book for any golfer who has golf in their blood. Great story telling! The author’s passion is evident and brings you back to great moments in your own golf life. Well done Michael Banberger.

Average but not really worth it in my opinion

If you are interested in learning a little more about Arnie, Jack or Ken Venturi then this provides just that, very little. Writing is decent but story just isn’t that good and the ending was underwhelming.

good not great

i enjoyed this book as a new fan of the game of golf but agree that it’s arrangement didn’t serve the overall experience

Pretentious

Some good stories and the performer is excellent. This book is all about the “deeper meaning” and “spiritual” aspects of golf. God I hate bullshit like this. Golf is a great game and loads of fun. Why not leave it at that? I wish they would. Mr. Bamberger is a good writer when not looking at the deeper meaning of it all.

Story jumps around

There is no flow to this story. Author tends to talk more about his good friend and ex-PGA Tour pro Mike Donald. The narrator is definitely not a golfer as he mispronounced Jimmy Demerit’s name and others. Very monotone narrative. There were a few interesting stories but I won’t re-listen.