Around the World in 80 Rounds: Chasing a Golf Ball from Tierra del Fuego to the Land of the Midnight Sun

by David Wood, Turk Pipkin (Foreword)

“Jealous. That’s what I am. Green with golf envy…Why didn’t we think of that? I mean, what golfer worth his, or her, balls wouldn’t want to trade all the troubles of life for the adventure and privilege of teeing it up everywhere from the glacial volcanoes of the Andes to the Arctic Circle in Norway?”--from the foreword by Turk Pipkin At 47, David Wood sold everything he owned and set out to fulfill every golfer’s For one year, he traveled the world (covering 60,000 miles and every continent except Antartica) by plane, boat, train, motorcycle and rickshaw, to play the game he loves in the most exotic locales, including the world’s highest, driest, hottest, coldest, and most remote golf courses, and lived to tell the tale. Along the way, he met a bevy of fascinating characters, including surly cabbies, taxi drivers with a death wish, welcoming golf course managers, threatening kangaroos, and golf pros out for a quick game. David faced dire situations, such as bouts of food poisoning in India and Egypt, altitude sickness in Argentina, getting booted out of the Ukraine by armed guards, and muddling through with limited language skills, but through it all he maintained a sense of humor and of course his passion for golf, which he played every chance he got.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 18, 2008

Reviews

[Michael Stetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the Funniest damn golf book I’ve ever read.

[Taylor Michalski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read if you like golf and traveling.

[Chana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very funny and enjoyable book.
David Wood has a passion for the game of golf. One day in Seattle he decided to sell his condo and go around the world playing golf on the remotest and most unusual and best golf courses including the southernmost in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina, and the northernmost in the world, Tromso, Norway. He plays in Alice Springs, Australia (his description of kangaroos had me choking with laughter), Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (wart hogs and other wildlife on the course, signs to watch out for alligators), many courses in Asia where a massage is often part of the golf package, Arica, Chile which has the driest course in the world, a course next to the pyramids in Eygpt, another on the Red Sea. His whole trip is pretty astounding and fun to tag along on via this book.
He says, "I had played golf and made new friends in twenty-two countries and on every continent except Antarctica." and
"Finally, we came to my final hole of the adventure -- a 200-yard par-three with the green sitting directly in back of the charming one-story wooden clubhouse. It was funny, but I was extremely nervous. I wanted my final tee-shot to be memorable and pure, not some ugly miss-hit clanking weakly shy of the green as I'd done hundreds of times during my travels. .... Slowly, I lined up the final shot, I took a deep breath. I then struck my four-iron, at least, near the sweet spot. For once, I hadn't choked! The ball soared like a rocket through the pristine Norwegian air. Holding my follow-through as if posing for the cover of a golf magazine, I watched the shot climb against the backdrop of jagged peaks off in the distance. I hoped the ball would never come down so I could just keep watching its flight forever. A well-hit golf ball is a rare and beautiful thing to witness. When you're the one who hit it, and when you're standing at the top the world when you did, life is good."
I don't play golf, never even once, but I found that very moving! I appreciate that the book is written in such a way that someone who knows nothing about golf could easily follow what was going on and learn something about the game as well.
One more quote: "The trip had been my own journey -- one I had just made up while daydreaming back in Seattle as I had wondered where the world's southernmost and northernmost golf courses were on the globe. I loved that I had acted on my silly idea -- life is short."

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the books where the audio experience is likely to result in a different impression than the reading printed version. I was expecting the author-narrator to be a bit more ... shall I say, sophisticated. My concern that the golf details (which didn't particularly interest me) would overshadow the story was unfounded; it's pretty much a travel narrative with golfing highlights. Wood has a great way with words in terms of analogies and cultural references, I'll certainly grant him that.
But, his claim of food poisoning within minutes of eating "a few shards of tainted lettuce" sounded exaggerated, nor could I manage much sympathy for his trip being semi-derailed by his ignorance of the need for a visa at one point. Finally, his sad-sack-guy fawning over all the beautiful women on his trip was stale by the time he laid it on thickest near the end in Hungary.
Recommended, with limited enthusiasm.

[Turi Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this book was written for me. It combines the travel book, the "guy takes a year off of his life to do something" book ,and a golf book all in one. Plus, he shares a lot of similarities with me as far as golf goes - likes links courses and public courses, walks instead of riding when at all possible, caddied growing up, and likes to go out as a single and join up with a group. My only complaint about the book is that after awhile, it seemed like he was just starting to shill for courses that comped him green fees and meals. It also seemed like he didn't have much of a choice - a course in, say, Singapore would call ahead to an acquaintance in China and set up VIP treatment. Anyway, a really fun read. Definitely recommended for golfers who like travel stories.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an excellent quick read for any golfing enthusiast. It details David Wood's global trip to visit the world's most interesting golf courses. He visits the southern and northern most golf courses in the world. The golf course at the highest and lowest elevation in the world, etc. The most interesting part of the book is not the golf per say but the context that golf is viewed and played in around the world. Great stories from people he meets in Chile, New Zealand, Australia, China, India, Russia, etc. Really as much a book about world travel as it is about golf.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book sounds like quite a differnt one for me to read but with my husband being such a golfer i had to read this book. This is really any golfers dream to be able to do what David Wood did. Even thought I pick up a gold club once a year ... the courses described in this book sound like some of the most amazing places to golf in the world. A must read for a golfer or someone who appreciates the sport.

[Cindy May]

I'm not a golfer, but I enjoyed reading his stories about the best and worst golf courses around the world. I was recommended this book by the Book-a-Day calendar and it was certainly an enjoyable read.

[Dugger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story about one of my life dreams - play golf around the world.

[Eric Arndt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the idea of this book, but the writing the forced humor were not executed very well. Overall though, I enjoyed it. Had Bill Bryson wrote this, it would be in my top 5 for sure!

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book. The writer is from Seattle and his favorite local course is West Seattle!