A guide to basic golf etiquette covers such topics as attire, playing through, and playing with strangers, in a reference that also takes into account such advances as satellite-based yardage systems and cellular phones.

Reflections on the game and getting through life’s hazards and roughs. In a game where players are expected to call their own penalties and scoring the least points leads to victory, decorum takes precedence over showmanship and philosophical questions become par for the course. Few other sports are as suited for ethical and metaphysical examination as golf. It is a game defined by dichotomies—relaxing, yet frustrating, social, yet solitary—and between these extremes there is room for much philosophical inquiry. In Golf and Philosophy: Lessons from the Links, a clubhouse full of skilled contributors tee off on a range of philosophical topics within the framework of the fairway. The book’s chapters are arranged in the style of an eighteen-hole golf course, with the front nine exploring ethical matters of rationality and social civility in a world of moral hazards and roughs. The back nine pries even deeper, slicing into matters of the metaphysical, including chapters on mysticism, idealism, identity, and meaning. Taken together, the collection examines the intellectual nature of this beloved pastime, considering the many nuances of a sport that requires high levels of concentration, patience, and consistency, as well as upstanding character. Golf and Philosophy celebrates the joys and complexities of the game, demonstrating that golf has much to teach both its spectators and participants about modern life. “Any volume built on the premise that if Aristotle and Plato were still here they’d likely be ardent golfers is apt to tickle a few brain cells.” ―Golf Magazine

The first putting book in more than a decade from the world’s best-known— and bestselling—golf instructor. With numerous bestselling books, coast-to-coast golf schools, and lessons to elite pros, Dave Pelz has founded an empire based upon his scientific approach to the game. His last putting book, Dave Pelz’s Putting Bible, was a blockbuster, but his fans are eager to learn the master’s newest and most up-to-date techniques. Their wait is finally over. In Dave Pelz’s Putting Games, he synthesizes the lessons he gives to elite pros, including Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Steve Elkington, Bo Van Pelt, and Mike Weir—not to mention the thousands of amateurs who attend the Dave Pelz Scoring Game schools and clinics every year. Pelz guides readers through the process of fine-tuning existing strokes, creating new skills and techniques, and using feedback devices at home, where it’s easy to find the time to make it happen, all in the name of improving your putting skills. Every golfer knows that improving his or her putting will lower scores, yet great putting remains one of the game’s most elusive goals. Filled with full-color instructional photos and step-by-step lessons, Dave Pelz’s Putting Games is the answer to a golfer’s dream: It shows the way to improve your putting by playing games in the comfort and convenience of your own home during the week, so you can shoot lower scores on the course on the weekends.

Much of our thinking is flawed because it is based on faulty intuition. By using the framework and tools of probability and statistics, we can overcome this to provide solutions to many real-world problems and paradoxes. We show how to do this, and find answers that are frequently very contrary to what we might expect. Along the way, we venture into diverse realms and thought experiments which challenge the way that we see the world. Features: An insightful and engaging discussion of some of the key ideas of probabilistic and statistical thinking Many classic and novel problems, paradoxes, and puzzles An exploration of some of the big questions involving the use of choice and reason in an uncertain world The application of probability, statistics, and Bayesian methods to a wide range of subjects, including economics, finance, law, and medicine Exercises, references, and links for those wishing to cross-reference or to probe further Solutions to exercises at the end of the book This book should serve as an invaluable and fascinating resource for university, college, and high school students who wish to extend their reading, as well as for teachers and lecturers who want to liven up their courses while retaining academic rigour. It will also appeal to anyone who wishes to develop skills with numbers or has an interest in the many statistical and other paradoxes that permeate our lives. Indeed, anyone studying the sciences, social sciences, or humanities on a formal or informal basis will enjoy and benefit from this book.