'Golf List Mania' by Leonard Shapiro & Ed Sherman

By: Dr. John Wagner


This book will be enjoyable for golf nuts who need to learn more about the people involved in golf. There are over 120 different lists of "stuff" about the game.

It includes such topics as the Best U.S. Opens, Best Bodies - followed by Worst Bodies/Best Golfers, My All Time Favorite Courses by Jack Nicklaus, and so forth.

Despite its orientation toward trivia, the book does make for what I feel is fun reading, with some new stuff, old stuff and just stuff (including stuff I really don't need to know, such as three chapters on Tiger Woods).

Since I love to play all kinds of "specials," I liked the section Want to Bet? I learned a new one called Whacking that deals with the possibility of a three-putt.

You also learn some history of the game as the book covers a lot of the greats and not-so-greats from the past. So if you a looking for a good read that you can enjoy for a few minutes, put down and read some more later, this is the one for you.

"Golf List Mania," by Leonard Shapiro and Ed Sherman, $15, Running Press Book Publishers, ISBN 978-0-7624-4069-6.

Dr. John Wagner has been a Seattle dentist for 37 years. He's been published in several dental journals as well as had several articles appear in the turf magazine for Pacific Northwest golf course superintendents. John has served as a guest lecturer at the University of Washington Business School for several years and as a guest lecturer for several dental societies. Dr. Wagner is the co-designer (with Steve Shea of the Berger Partnership) of a golf course in Japan that cost over $120 million and was built by Wadsworth Golf Construction. He's a Past President of the Washington State Golf Association and a Trustee of the Pacific Coast Golf Association. A 7 handicap, John is currently a member of the USGA Green Section and a Director of the WSGA.