The Golf Omnibus

by P.G. Wodehouse

31 perfect golf shots from the pen of P.G. Wodehouse. Play the game the P.G. Wodehouse way—with wit, charm, and a touch of mischief. You'll discover:
• How love on the links can lead to the worst kinds of hazards.
• A nation where golf is God and all the subjects are in heaven.
• Wagers in the rough that can drive millionaires to distraction.
• The terrors of teeing off, the frustrations on the fairway, the perils of putting,
• And much, much more!
Stories that will keep you on course...and keep you laughing!

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Sports, Short Stories, Classics, Comedy, Classic Literature

467 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE, was a comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success during a career of more than seventy years and continues to be widely read over 40 years after his death. Despite the political and social upheavals that occurred during his life, much of which was spent in France and the United States, Wodehouse's main canvas remained that of prewar English upper-class society, reflecting his birth, education, and youthful writing career.

An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.

Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).

Reviews

[Dan Shonka · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Golf Omnibus is a fun read for any golfer. The fact that it's full of vintage golf vocabulary may have you running for some Wikipedia information, but that's probably for the best. It would do you good to bone up on some golf history. There's plenty here for lady golfers, too. In fact, these P.G. Wodehouse's short stories often swing around interaction between men and women with golf as the stage. The twists are humorous, and by the end of the book perhaps a bit predictable. Still, they are enjoyable, and the recurring characters are a hoot. Read it with a British accent and toss in a Scottish brogue now and then to maximize your reading pleasure.

[C. Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It was a morning when all nature shouted “Fore!”

Very enjoyable collection of stories about the golfers in another Wodehouse fantasy world in which the Club’s Oldest Member gently helps them through their troubles. Not laugh out loud funny as you will find in his Jeeves & Wooster universe, but charmingly written and the author’s prose will bring a frequent smile. Niblicks and brasseys and mashies are in the bags of our faithful golfers, and a love for the game binds these stories together. In his Jeeves Omnibus forward, the author advises against reading his short stories straight through. Good advice here, one story a week makes for a good dosage, and you won’t want to rush it anyway.

[Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lot of Wodehouse and a lot of golf. I like Wodehouse and I like golf, so I like this book as well, I just think 31 stories is maybe a few too many. I'm feeling awfully light-hearted and whimsical now.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Wodehouse but these stories were repetitive so didn't read the whole book.

[F.R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some excellent stories in here, but even a prose stylist of Wodehouse’s greatness struggles to make golf all that interesting. A number of the tales get so deep into the details of the game that - even with great lines sprinkled throughout - they can’t help but bore.

[Daniel Hiland · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect book for golfers and non-golfers alike, as well as a great introduction to Wodehouse's writing. There are thirty-one stories, spread across 467 pages, and a better time spent reading one will be hard-pressed to find. Lots of outrageous situations on and off the links involving romance, intrigue, slapstick, and some really bad golf. Having only spent a few hours on a driving range, and many days playing miniature golf, actual golf is a mystery to me. I've never understood the hold it has on people- but I also appreciate the amount of skill it must take to become proficient. So these stories hold a fascination for me- a foreign world where miracles and debacles occur in equal measure, where the proud are humbled and novices experience the occasional hole-in-one. So, in a way, the golf course is representative of Life itself. That being said, this collection is a treasure trove for those who love good comic writing. Yes, the stories are quite old, but the situations are timeless- so get yourself off to the Clubhouse, find a table at the terrace, order a seltzer and lemon, and sit back as the Oldest Member shares one story after another about golf, love and life- while you laugh yourself silly...

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

These shorts were perfect for a traveling read. Finish one off quickly, set aside, repeat.

Notes:

[Jonny · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the casual golf fan, the high-handicapper, the tour pro, and everyone in between, Wodehouse’s collection of golf hilarity are well worth reading—if not for the sole reason of meeting The Old Member and discovering what exactly a niblick is.

Read the full review here: www.jdwills.com/book-reviews/the-golf...

[Andrew Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short stories about love and golf. Given I know nothing about golf, and precious little about love, it is a mark of Wodehouse's genius that I enjoyed each and every one of these gems.

[Chet Makoski · Rating 5 out of 5]

All 31 golf short stories from: The Man Upstairs; The Clicking of Cuthbert; The Heart of a Goof; Mr Mulliner Speaking; Young Men in Spats; Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets; Nothing Serious; A Few Quick Ones; and Plum Pie.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent, amusing little stories that, while not necessarily about golf, manage to include a lot of golf in the background

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Especially fun if you are a golfer, but everyone should read this book!

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! (And I don't even like golf. Wodehouse is just that good.)

[Will Kastner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always have this book by my bedside. Always "Currently Reading."

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a great and entertaining book. Very humorous as Wodehouse is a master of the english language. A must read for anyone, especially a golfer. You will not be disappointed.

[Roshni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wodehouse is always rolling-on-the-floor laughing. He has the right kind of humor, not cheesy at all.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most hilarious collection of golf stories you will ever read. A special sense of humor needed.

[R.V. Raman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful collection of short stories.

[Steven Vaughan-Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never even held a golf club, never mind played the game, but I still loved these daffy, delightful tales.

[Mervyn Whyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the Master's best work. Repetitive and with a number of suspect storylines, it lacks the spark of Wodehouse's superior work. Even the greatest can't get it spot on every time.

[Brettsinclair70 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elegantly witty tales from another time and place. What ho!

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There comes a moment in married life when every wife gazes squarely at her husband and the scales seem to fall from her eyes and she sees him as he is -- one of Nature's Class A fatheads."

[Don Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there is a funnier writer in the English language then I ask fellow readers to point me to that author so I may jolly well enjoy as I have so many times reading Wodehouse!

[Gary Eastwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like golf and enjoy a bit of dry English humour to with it. You will love this book. Simple and charming stories.

[Jaana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mökiltä löytyi Wodehousen Vanhin jäsen, minulle ennestään tuntematon tarinakokoelma golfin maailmasta. Vielä Wodehouse-tunnelmissa äskettäin lukemani Psmith-kirjan jäljiltä, luin tämänkin, vaikka golf ei ole minulle alkuunkaan tuttua. Kirjassa on kuitenkin paljon tuttuja Wodehousen teemoja, pelottavia täti-ihmisiä, pelottavia morsiamia ja ennen kaikkea epävarmoja, koheltavia nuorukaisia, joiden tarinat kertoo golfkerhon terassilla päivystävä poskipartainen Vanhin jäsen. Vaikka tarinoissa on pelin kuvauksella iso osa, saattoi tarinoista nauttia ilmankin alan tuntemusta. Samalla opin hiukan ehkä ymmärtämään golfin suurenmoisuutta. Kahden Tarmion suomennokset olivat ihan hyviä, mutta kirjassa oli jonkin verran virheitä, henkilöiden nimien kirjoitusasu vaihteli. Golf-termien käyttöä en tietenkään osaa yhtään arvostella.

[J-H. vW · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was younger, I played golf (badly). But you do not have to be a golfer to enjoy this book, it is a humourous look at what some consider a silly pastime. Wodehouse is charming and endearing making this book very pleasant to read. It is basically a number of short stories with a common theme, so it also suitable for readers with a short attention span.

One word of warning though, this book is very British.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sports Illustrated's list of greatest books included one that dedicated a chapter to why women shouldn't play sports. THAT deserves a place on that list more than this. It took about seven "humorous" tales before I realized the entire collection is just shallow tales of how someone's life was changed by Edwardian debauchery on the links. "I can't love her, she plays CROQUET!" etc. I would've rather read 350 columns by Rick Reilly. In the dark.

[Achal Khaneja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been a wodehouse fan. These stories gave me a new high which was notches above the usually brilliant humor that pgw excels at.

Maybe the tales with flawed heroes with passions for sport ( sometimes verging and sometimes going beyond madness) resonated brilliantly with me.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A single tale told 31 times, and well and entertainingly told for the first 20 or so. The stories appear to be presented in the order in which they were written, and the later ones seem to me more bitter and less whimsical than the earlier.

[Matt Moran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny in small doses ... every story is basically the same.