Sports

In It's Not My Fault, author Joshua Shifrin helps tennis players make sense of their most monumental losses on the court. The next time a player goes down in defeat, he or she can always explain the woeful loss with "My opponent was a pusher . . . I can't play against pushers." Or after a bad shot, tennis gurus might try to get out of dodge by uttering, "There was a leaf on the court and I couldn't concentrate."

From splitters to spitters; from a frozen rope to the suicide squeeze; from extra innings to no hitters, baseball is truly a great game. But nothing hypes up a crowd like a home run, a round tripper, a big bomb . . . the long ball! Hitting the ball out of the park is one of the greatest feats in baseball, and doing so in the clutch can make an average player a hero overnight.

It’s a golf hall of fame, shame, and arcane. Collected in this handsome volume are more than one hundred of golf’s greatest moments—from the famous to the long forgotten—from the links of Scotland in the 1800s to the 1938 U.S. Open, the 1954 US Women’s Open to the 2010 Masters, and even to the little known Martini Invitational in 1971… and starring the giants of the game down to the struggling pros and amateurs.

In the French Open in 1989, a 17-year-old, Michael Chang, worked his way through the draw to the fourth round and ended up playing number one-seeded and three-time champion, Ivan Lendl. As the game progressed, the outlook was bleak for Chang, who lost the first two sets. However, he came back and won the second two to find himself serving at 4-3 in the fifth. Then he did the unthinkable.

In Golf's Best Excuses, author Joshua Shifrin takes a witty approach in helping golfers make sense of their worst days on the course. The next time a player goes down in defeat, he or she can always explain the woeful round with “My golf clubs are too old.” Or after a bad putt, golfers might try to explain the mishap with, “There were too many spike marks on the green.”

From concise one-liners to fuller-length quips, Shifrin takes you from the fairway to the green and beyond. Some of the hundreds of jokes include:
Why do true golfers always avoid pie whenever possible? Because they are worried that they might get a slice.
Why are golf balls similar to eggs? Because they’re white, normally sold by the dozen, and every week you need to buy more of them.
How many golfers does it take to change a light bulb? Fore!
What gives most golfers nightmares? The Bogeyman.
Where can you find a golfer on most Saturday nights? Out clubbing, of course.
Golf is very similar to paying your taxes. You strive for the green but eventually come out in the hole.
And many more!
The perfect gift for golf gurus everywhere!