Provides descriptions, synopsis of rules, historical evolution, notable players, events and records pertaining to each sport or game.

The specialized jargon of some sports can be quite esoteric. Non-Americans, for example, are likely puzzled by baseball terms such as bunt, cut-off man, and safety squeeze, while the non-British may pause over cricket's Chinaman, doosra, golden duck, off-break, popping crease, and yorker. This new dictionary gives the definitions of more than 8,000 terms used in sports and games from around the world, including mainstream sports like basketball and billiards alongside the more obscure netball and snooker. Entries cover sports equipment, strategies, venues, qualifying categories, awards, and administrative bodies, while a comprehensive system of cross-references offers assistance and clarification when needed. An appendix lists standard abbreviations of sports ruling bodies and administrative organizations.

Now available in paperback, the Encyclopedia of International Sports Studies is the most authoritative and comprehensive single-volume reference work ever published on sport. With over one million words of text arranged into more than 1000 entries and articles, it covers the full range of sub-disciplines within sports studies; including scientific, social scientific and medical approaches. The encyclopedia is alphabetically organized and consists of: principal articles covering key disciplinary areas, such as sports economics and sports history large topical entries on central subjects such as resistance training and the diagnosis of sports injuries smaller topical entries on subjects such as cross training and projectile motion short overviews of other important terms and concepts, from metabolism and motivation to muscle tension-length relationship. With over 150 contributing authors from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong and continental Europe, the Encyclopedia of International Sports Studies is an unparalleled work of sports scholarship. Accessibly written, facts-fronted and including full cross-referencing and guides to further reading throughout, this is an essential addition to the bookshelf of any student, researcher, teacher or professional working in sport.

Golf has been called the greatest of all games, but it has also been derided by none other than Mark Twain as nothing more than a good walk spoiled. Traditional teaching holds that golf originated in Scotland around the 15th century. However, there is historical evidence of games similar to golf being played in the low countries of Europe back in the 13th century. Over the many centuries of golf's evolution, the balls used have changed greatly, as have the clubs, the holes, the courses, and the entire game itself. The Historical Dictionary of Golf presents a comprehensive history of the game through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, photos, and over 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on places, teams, terminology, and people, including Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sörenstam, Lorena Ochoa, Phil Mickelson, and, of course, Tiger Woods. Appendixes of the members of the World Golf Hall of Fame, the Major Championships of Golf, the International Team Events, and the Professional Tour Awards are also included.