The Golf Omnibus

It’s hard to remember a time where I’ve had as much fun reading as when reading anything by P.G. Wodehouse. It’s not that he’s over-the-top hilarious to make you laugh out loud (although I have on occasion). It’s more of a pervasive humor underlying every sentence that puts a permanent smile on your face that you couldn’t get rid of if you tried.

The Golf Omnibus is a collection of 31 short stories centered around “The terrors of teeing off, the frustrations on the fairway, the perils of putting, and much, much more!” That’s from the Amazon sales copy, and I thought it was funny.

Anyway, most of these stories follow the exact same basic plot, but they each provide their own unique blend of hilarity. Never have so many men wooed so many women through the game of golf than in the pages of this book. Does that happen in real life? Who cares. That’s not why you’re reading this.

There have been multiple periods in my life where I’ve read one of these short stories before going to bed, and I can assure you that those were some of my best night’s sleep. There truly may be no better way to end a day (particularly one spent playing golf) than with a cup of tea and a Wodehouse short story.

For the casual golf fan, the high-handicapper, the tour pro, and everyone in between, Wodehouse’s collection of golf hilarity are well worth reading—if not for the sole reason of meeting The Old Member and discovering what exactly a niblick is.

Favorite Quote

Golf acts as a corrective against sinful pride. I attribute the insane arrogance of the later Roman Emperors almost entirely to the fact that, never having played golf, they never knew that strange chastening humility which is engendered by a topped chip shot. If Cleopatra had been ousted in the first round of the Ladies' Singles, we should have heard a lot less of her proud imperiousness.