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Homer Kelley's Golfing Machine: The Curious Quest That Solved Golf
The remarkable story of a curious genius whose lifelong quest to unlock the science behind the perfect golf swing changed the game forever.
In 1939, an average Joe named Homer Kelley played golf for the first time and scored 116-a respectable score for a beginner, but frustrating for a science-minded perfectionist like Kelley. He did not play again for six months; then when he did, he carded a seventy-seven. Vexed, he grew increasingly obsessed and devoted over the next thirty years to solving the science behind the perfect golf swing, self-publishing his findings in 1969 in a book titled The Golfing Machine . This revolutionary book explained golf, unlike every other tome that merely described it. Unfortunately, the majority of golfers dismissed the book because it was all but unreadable, too thick with physics and geometry and scientific vernacular. The Golfing Machine seemed doomed to obscurity until visionary teacher Ben Doyle and superstar-in-the-making Bobby Clampett brought Kelley's teachings to prominence-only to witness Clampett implode on golf's most public stage. Validation finally came seventy years after Homer Kelley's lifework began, and twenty-five years after his death, when a teenage prodigy named Morgan Pressel became the youngest golfer, male or female, ever to win a major championship.
In Homer Kelley's Golfing Machine , veteran journalist Scott Gummer brings to light the untold story of golf's most curious genius. A colorful portrait of obsession and an enlightening look into the nuances of the game, Kelley's amazing journey illuminates an important but underappreciated chapter in the history of golf.
In 1939, an average Joe named Homer Kelley played golf for the first time and scored 116-a respectable score for a beginner, but frustrating for a science-minded perfectionist like Kelley. He did not play again for six months; then when he did, he carded a seventy-seven. Vexed, he grew increasingly obsessed and devoted over the next thirty years to solving the science behind the perfect golf swing, self-publishing his findings in 1969 in a book titled The Golfing Machine . This revolutionary book explained golf, unlike every other tome that merely described it. Unfortunately, the majority of golfers dismissed the book because it was all but unreadable, too thick with physics and geometry and scientific vernacular. The Golfing Machine seemed doomed to obscurity until visionary teacher Ben Doyle and superstar-in-the-making Bobby Clampett brought Kelley's teachings to prominence-only to witness Clampett implode on golf's most public stage. Validation finally came seventy years after Homer Kelley's lifework began, and twenty-five years after his death, when a teenage prodigy named Morgan Pressel became the youngest golfer, male or female, ever to win a major championship.
In Homer Kelley's Golfing Machine , veteran journalist Scott Gummer brings to light the untold story of golf's most curious genius. A colorful portrait of obsession and an enlightening look into the nuances of the game, Kelley's amazing journey illuminates an important but underappreciated chapter in the history of golf.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 14, 2009
45 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 30, 2017
A very enjoyable read
I found this to be a very interesting story, well told by the author. Would have given it 5 stars if there was a bit more detail on the actual Golfing Machine book, but then I probably wouldn't have understood it anyway!
I found this to be a very interesting story, well told by the author. Would have given it 5 stars if there was a bit more detail on the actual Golfing Machine book, but then I probably wouldn't have understood it anyway!
July 5, 2021
Very good
Excelent book about homer kelley and other contemporary golf events and people good read now i will study the actual book golfching machine
Excelent book about homer kelley and other contemporary golf events and people good read now i will study the actual book golfching machine
December 24, 2014
FIRST things first: "The Golfing Machine" by Homer Kelley is not available in ebook form on Amazon, which is unusual. So, when someone like myself searches for "The Golfing Machine" the only thing that pops us is this book, which as you can see from the thumbnail above, seems to be "Golfing Machine" and since it has the name Homer Kelley in the title AND is the only book that comes up under the search ... well ... you get the picture. Or maybe you don't. It's this: I thought I bought Homer Kelley's "The Golfing Machine" when I purchased this using my Kindle (it doesn't help that the Kindle has a small black and white screen too ...)
In any event, I read it, and it was mildly interesting. There really isn't enough content, let alone drama, to justify an entire book.
SPOILER: This guy was obsessed with golf and studied the golf swing from a technical point of view and wrote a technical book about the mechanics of the golf swing that broke new ground because such a technical book hadn't been written before.
The book, which is really a biography about a book and it's author and some of the author's friends and family, really didn't delve deep enough into Kelley's character, to really hold interest. The author spends a lot of time on tangents writing about the lineage and families of related characters, e.g. Bobby Clampett's mom and dad, etc.
The author, Scott Grummer, is a pretty good writer. He turns a phrase here and there, and he did a good job drawing a book out of not a whole lot of anything interesting.
As a golf nut who is technically minded, he did primer (warn) me about the book I really want to read. And, if there is any book that might need a book to preface it, it sounds like the Golfing Machine might be such a book.
If this review sounds a little catty, my apologies, but I feel like the guy who downloaded a song that was a cover of the song I really wanted to download, listened to it and thought, eehhh.
Now I'm off to read "The Golfing Machine".
In any event, I read it, and it was mildly interesting. There really isn't enough content, let alone drama, to justify an entire book.
SPOILER: This guy was obsessed with golf and studied the golf swing from a technical point of view and wrote a technical book about the mechanics of the golf swing that broke new ground because such a technical book hadn't been written before.
The book, which is really a biography about a book and it's author and some of the author's friends and family, really didn't delve deep enough into Kelley's character, to really hold interest. The author spends a lot of time on tangents writing about the lineage and families of related characters, e.g. Bobby Clampett's mom and dad, etc.
The author, Scott Grummer, is a pretty good writer. He turns a phrase here and there, and he did a good job drawing a book out of not a whole lot of anything interesting.
As a golf nut who is technically minded, he did primer (warn) me about the book I really want to read. And, if there is any book that might need a book to preface it, it sounds like the Golfing Machine might be such a book.
If this review sounds a little catty, my apologies, but I feel like the guy who downloaded a song that was a cover of the song I really wanted to download, listened to it and thought, eehhh.
Now I'm off to read "The Golfing Machine".
March 21, 2011
Sometimes the book appeared to be all over the board. Author also did not delve into enough detail for some of the issues such as Homer's decision to sell this book and apparently it surmounted only to breaking even. Would have liked to have more information as to what the state of the Golfing Machine is today as well. All in all though, a good interesting read.
August 28, 2012
A great read and understanding of a mans search for golfing perfection.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews