Book Review: Tripp Bowden’s “All the Memorable Rounds"

What makes a golf course memorable to you? It may the layout or design quirks specific to the architect. Perhaps it’s the maintenance ... manicured fairways, lightning-fast greens or powder-soft bunkers.

For me, it’s the experience. That’s what made reading Tripp Bowden’s “All the Memorable Rounds: Golf Adventures and Misadventures, from Augusta National to Cypress Point and Beyond” so enjoyable.

Ask me about the fifth hole of a course - great or otherwise - I’ve only played once and I’m at a loss. Ask me about the time my buddy four-jacked a green and tossed his putter in the lake and I’m right back in the moment. It’s the experience.

I played the Blue Monster at Doral a few years ago. I don’t know the eighth hole from the 12th, but I can tell you about the hybrid I hit from a fairway bunker to within a few feet of the hole. That was an experience!

My stories pale in comparison to Bowden’s, of course, which is why he wrote the book and I’m (only) blogging about the book.

The first-ever full time white caddie at Augusta National Golf Club, Bowden writes about his experiences toting bags for some of the luckiest men alive - members of The Masters home.

But that’s not all. From his first few rounds at West Lake Country Club in Georgia to a “mythical” round at Cypress Point and everywhere in between, Bowden takes the reader on a journey through his love affair with golf - a passion handed down by his dad (Pop). He’s been able to play some of the greatest courses in the world, but it’s not always about the course ... it’s the experience.

“All the Memorable Rounds: Golf Adventures and Misadventures, from Augusta National to Cypress Point and Beyond” is available May 2. In the meantime, check out another Bowden title, “Freddie & Me: Life Lessons from Freddie Bennett, Augusta National’s Legendary Caddy Master.”

Check out many other golf titles at skyhorsepublishing.com.