Title: Burke and Demaret: The Wit and Wisdom of Golf’s Most Colorful Duo
Author: Bill Pelham
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-52454-300-6
Pages: 254
Genre: Memoir/Humor
Reviewed by: Susan Brown
Pacific Book Review Star
Awarded to Books of Excellent Merit
A golf pro who writes an engaging and humorous book which celebrates the game of golf is, in golf parlance, a hole-in-one. Burke and Demaret: The Wit and Wisdom of Golf’s Most Colorful Duo is an amusing walk down memory lane by author Bill Pelham. In it he showcases the fun and games of two of golf’s most gifted players, Jackie Burke and Jimmy Demaret and the golf club they founded in 1957, Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas.
Through Mr. Pelham’s eyes we see the heyday of golf unfold around these two champion golfers for whom the book is named. Both were inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame; both won major golf championships multiple times and both were larger- than-life characters who created a golf club which played host to most of the celebrated golfers to ever play the game.
With the personalities of Burke and Demaret as the ever present backdrop, these stories are chock-full of anecdotes about legendary visitors like Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Phil Harris, as well as other sports greats like Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Willie Mays and Roger Maris. No one got off Champions’ course without creating a story that was told again and again at the 19th hole in the clubhouse.
The deep affection that Mr. Pelham had for these two is evident throughout the book. He writes the stories in such a way that never makes fun of either of them, but captures the fun-loving, and sometimes mischievous spirits, and helped define them as golf’s most colorful duo. They loved a good time, both on and off the golf course, but they were also committed to the Houston community, leveraging their status in the world of golf to bring pro and amateur tournaments to the area which still continue today.
There’s a section in the book on Demaret’s wit, a man who by his own account never met a microphone he didn’t like; and one on Burke’s Wisdom that includes sagacious quips about life like, “You’re either in bounds or out-of-bounds.” Other segments include stories about members, tournaments, staff people and a little history about what brought the two together.
For close to 60 years, these two played through life as friends, business partners and golfing buddies. Mr. Pelham pays tribute to what they accomplished together and the impact they had on a sports activity that was so much more than just a game to this twosome. It’s a feel-good read … like sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole for the win. This book would make a great gift for every golfer or golf fan.
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