On Par

The Everyday Golfer's Survival Guide

By Bill Pennington
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Hardcover, 9780547548449, 320pp.)

Publication Date: May 15, 2012

Other Editions of This Title: Paperback

Categories: Golf - General

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Bill Pennington writes the "On Par" column and stars in the related video series on www.nytimes.com. Pennington, who covers a number of sports in addition to golf, joined the New York Times in 1997 from the Bergen Record, where he was a sports columnist. A six-time winner of the Associated Press Sports Editor’s writing award, Pennington has also written for the New York Times Magazine, Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, and a number of other publications. A longtime golfer himself, Pennington grew up near some of New England’s historic golf courses, but he has not been able to get his handicap below 11. He lives with his wife, Joyce, and three children in Warwick, N.Y.

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"No one can completely cover the game of golf like Bill Pennington and no book can comprehensively tell the story of the sport with the same wit, wisdom and knowledge like On Par: The Everyday Golfer's Survival Guide."
-- Jim Nantz, CBS Sports

"As a regular reader of Bill's On Par column in The New York Times, I was wondering what fertile golf terrain could possibly be left for him to farm? I soon found out his surplus was even better. And I know he can dig with the best of them. I played a round of golf with him!"
-- Dan Hicks, NBC Sports Golf Host

"Bill Pennington takes his first-hand experience as a golfer, as well as his years of getting to know professionals, and delivers a phenomenal guide to the sport I love so much. He does a great job of breaking down the fundamentals of golf to something everybody can enjoy and understand. As all golfers know, the sport is about more than being able to hit a good shot and this book takes you through the journey, arming you with everything you need to know."
--Annika Sorenstam

"Put a copy of Bill Pennington's On Par on your shelf and another copy in your golf bag. Often funny, always smart, Pennington zeroes in on the essence of a royally crazy old game."
--Kevin Cook, author of Titanic Thompson and Tommy's Honor

"One of the great joys during the golf season is reading Bill Pennington’s golf page, 'On Par,' in The New York Times each Monday morning. Imagine that – a whole page devoted to all things golf! My heart be still. And now we have this wonderful book that’s much more than my Monday morning read. Trust me, if you’re an avid golfer, you’ll devour each and every word."
-- Martin Davis, golf historian and author, The American Golfer

"On Par is the ideal guide for golfers who don’t hit their pitching wedge 160 yards, get paid for wearing white belts, or hang out with Las Vegas cocktail waitresses. And it wouldn’t do those other guys any harm, either."
– David Owen, author of My Usual Game