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The surest sign that the new golf season has begun is the annual Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Nothing represents golf more than the Masters. While this year's event has been somewhat overshadowed by the controversy concerning membership at Augusta National, the reverence that all golfers feel towards the first of the four professional major golf championships is difficult to diminish. THE MASTERS: A Hole-by-Hole History of America's Golf Classic, by David Sowell, is a remembrance of this tournament in a fashion different than a simple year-by-year account. Unlike the other major golf championships that rotate their courses annually, the Masters is played each year at the same setting, Augusta National Golf Club. Over the years, the course has been modified, but part of the tradition and aura of the event comes from the fact that a sub-culture has been established that is Augusta National. Each year, the second week in April is Masters week in Augusta, Georgia. The players prime their game for Augusta, the fans beg and plead for tickets and the course welcomes a tradition that embodies the game of golf. Sowell provides the reader with diagrams as well as the history, heartbreak and legend of each hole and its contribution to the Masters aura.

Gene Sarazen's double eagle at the fifteenth hole was the shot that perhaps started the Masters down the road to icon status. While it is true that Bobby Jones --- the founder of Augusta and the Masters --- did see Sarazen's shot, the number of other spectators who actually observed the shot in the days before television was very small. "How many people actually saw the shot?" Sarazen would be asked. "Twenty-two" was the answer. "How many claimed to have seen it?" was the next question. Sarazen would pause, smile and say, "Twenty-two thousand." THE MASTERS is a wonderful book to read as you watch the tournament or if you have been lucky enough to walk the grounds of Augusta National.

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The Masters, Augusta National and Bobby Jones are indivisible concepts. Jones, legendary golfer of the 1920s, retired from competitive golf in 1930 after winning the golf grand slam of his era: the United States Amateur and Open Championships and the British Open and Amateur Championships. The decade of the 1920s was dominated by sports legends. Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey and Red Grange were revered as professional sports legends. Bobby Jones embodied the spirit of a true amateur athlete. In addition to his golf achievements, Jones was a man of remarkable accomplishments. He earned degrees from Georgia Tech, Harvard and Emory Law School. After retirement, Jones and other associates built Augusta National and established the Masters as an invitational tournament. In 1953, Jones cooperated with longtime friend O.B. Keeler in an authorized biography.

THE BOBBY JONES STORY: The Authorized Biography, by O.B. Keeler, has once again been released in an edition to coincide with the centennial of Jones's birth and the 50th anniversary of its original publication. While Keeler gives us substantial insight into the golfing life of Bobby Jones, there is little material other than golf mentioned. Bobby Jones was a complex man who did much more than just play golf. He studied literature at Harvard and practiced law for many years in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, he helped design and create one of America's greatest golf courses. This authorized biography, written 50 years ago, was not intended to be an exhaustive study of the life and accomplishments of a legend. While that work is still to be written, this biography is an excellent introduction to one of America's true sports heroes.

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The work of another golf legend has also been reproduced in a new collection. BERNARD DARWIN ON GOLF, edited by Jeff Silverman, is a collection of the works of one of England's outstanding golf writers. Darwin was the grandson of Charles Darwin, author of THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES. Just like Bobby Jones, of whom he would often write, Darwin was educated as an attorney but quickly abandoned the law to start a career in journalism. Darwin was the golf correspondent to The Times of London from 1907 to 1953.

The passage of time has in no way diminished the prescient observations of a man enamored by the game of golf. Writing in The American Golfer decades ago, Darwin bemoaned the fact that an "unnamed man of science in the midlands had discovered a golf ball that, owing to a particular and nicely adjusted marking, would spin neither to the right nor to the left and, however cut, flew straight in the direction in which it was hit." The search for the perfect item of golf equipment began five minutes after the first round of golf was completed. Bernard Darwin is timeless. Writing in 1947 in an article titled "The Golfer's Cigarette," Darwin questioned whether golfers should smoke during a round. "It is curious to remember that once upon a time, and not really so very long ago, it was not deemed the right thing to smoke in a match of importance," wrote Darwin. It is almost as if Darwin had a looking glass into the future. One can read Darwin and feel as if his articles were written for any contemporary golf publication. If you have never experienced Bernard Darwin, pick up this collection. It is a worthy addition to any golf library.

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Everyone who plays golf knows that there is both a psychological and spiritual aspect to the game that serves as a major attraction. The Holy Grail of golf is the endless pursuit of "being in the zone," that effortless moment when the club seems to make perfect contact with the ball and the result is the shot of our dreams. ON THE SWEET SPOT, written by Dr. Richard Keefe, a sports psychologist at Duke University, offers an interesting view of the methods that people can undertake to achieve maximum physical performance. While the book may seem to be very technical in its approach, there are important lessons to be learned by golfers of all skill levels. Golf is a very individual game; as a result, golfers --- more than other athletes --- need a process to help them enhance their performance skills. Imagery, focus, relaxation and self-talk are methods Keefe advocates to accomplish optimal performance. For those readers attuned to sports psychology, ON THE SWEET SPOT is a valuable book.

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Deepak Chopra has written extensively on spiritual potential and the connection between mysticism and science. He did not discover the mystery and allure of golf until recent years. Like many, after a few rounds, he became a passionate participant of the game. Chopra's training and background cause him to view golf in a far different manner than most golf neophytes. GOLF FOR ENLIGHTENMENT seeks the same result as ON THE SWEET SPOT but arrives there by traveling a different path. Chopra does not suggest that golfers seek to attain the perfect swing. Instead, golfers should strive for expanded awareness combining sharp focus and awareness. External mechanics cannot accomplish nearly as much as expanded awareness. Chopra's method of teaching in GOLF FOR ENLIGHTENMENT is through two characters: Adam, the frustrated golf "everyman" and a female golf pro, Wendy. Through a series of seven lessons, Wendy seeks to teach Adam about his inner game of golf. Each lesson has three parts: The Lesson, Playing the Game, and Applied to Life. Followers of Chopra's philosophy will obviously welcome the opportunity to apply those principles to the game of golf.

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Two final books complete the offerings for spring. Most avid golfers eventually seek the opportunity to combine travel with golf. For most, the ultimate pilgrimage is the trip to the golf Mecca of Scotland and St. Andrews. ALL COURSES GREAT AND SMALL by James W. Finegan is a reminder that the British Isles includes not only Scotland and Ireland, but also England and Wales. The book is a summary of the golf opportunities around London and other less traveled areas of England. Copious course descriptions, along with hotel and restaurant information, are the essence of this book. Anyone contemplating a trip to Great Britain will find this book an essential guide to alternatives to the courses that receive the greatest amount of publicity. Finegan has other little known but equally alluring courses to recommend to anyone considering a visit to England.

Geoff Shackelford has written for every major golf magazine on the subject of golf course design. GROUNDS FOR GOLF is an explanation for the average golfer on the fundamentals, history and theories of golf architecture. Shackelford believes that even average golfers can benefit from knowledge about design philosophy. He discusses the various schools of course design: The Natural School, The Penal School, The Strategic School, The Heroic School, The Freeway School, The Framing School and The Next School. All of the various schools are exemplified by well-known courses across the country. Understanding the theories of bunker and hazard placement can be very useful information to assist a golfer in strategy. Along the way, we meet the great architects from Donald Ross to Pete Dye. Photographs of the great holes from Pinehurst to Pebble Beach serve as examples for Shackelford. There is a great deal in this book for golfers of all skill levels. This book may very well surprise and delight you. No matter what your handicap or playing ability, the tactics of playing an individual hole are often the difference between par, bogey --- or worse. Knowledge of course design may help your game as much as that new driver you've been covetously eyeing in the pro shop.

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