[.ca] Slices: Observations from the Wrong Side of the Fairway (ISBN 0470837349)

Laughs from beginning to end:
I play a lot of golf and read a lot of articles and books on golf insturction. Slices is a refreshing change. Instead of getting me all wound up about the techniques I should be trying to master, it made me loose by getting me to laugh about my ongoing golf frustrations. I.J. Schecter knows what we all go through on the course and writes about it with such insight and flair that you can't help but laugh along and not worry about what you scored on your last round. There are 30 stories in the collection, and they're all brilliant, from short ones like "The 23 Dumbest Things You Can Say on a Golf Course" to longer pieces like the hilarious "One for the Ages," which chronicles a tournament Schecter plays with his playing partners, all of whom are equally bad golfers. I'm keeping this book in my golf bag so that a laugh is never far.

Hilarious with capital H!:
I love books that can actually make me laugh out loud. Slices: Observations from the Wrong Side of the Fairway did it dozens of times. I applaud the author, I.J. Schecter, who is willing to laugh at his own efforts to tame golf and by doing so makes all of us other hackers feel better about our own games. The stories in this book are really, really funny, and they cover so many different aspects of golf. You'll definitely recognize some of the characters in Slices. I don't mean famous characters. I mean you'll see yourself and the people you play with in Schecter's descriptions. This is a really talented writer at work.

Every golfer should have this book:
Forget those instruction books you probably read all the time in hopes of curing your slice or improving your chipping or whatever. Get a copy of this hilarious collection and you'll forget all about what ails your game. Or at least you won't worry about it as much. I.J. Schecter has helped me rediscover the humor and fun in golf, which I admit I'd kind of lost recently in the constant, desperate attempt to lower my handicap. Schecter understands that to enjoy golf means to be able to laugh at yourself and all the little frustrations that go along with trying to get better. His style is quite unique, and his descriptions of his own attempts to improve will have you laughing yourself silly. What a great book for golfers everywhere. Can't wait for the sequel!

Cracked me up:
This is an awesome book. I read a lot of dry, instructional golf stuff in the hopes of improving my game, and a friend gave me this book by IJ Schecter as an alternative to all those. He said it would make me laugh, and was he ever right. I started laughing on the first page and barely stopped right until the end. Now whenever I have a frustrating round, which is most of them, I pick up Slices. Great to have a book like this at the bedside when you need a lift after a bad round. Golf needs writers like Schecter. Golfers do, too.

A true delight:
This is a wonderful, refreshing book from a writer who has serious writing chops. I.J. Schecter has such a talent for turns of phrase that I found myself looking forward to each next story not just for the hilarious descriptions of his deficient golf game but also for the unique ways he would use to write them. Each of the 30 stories have a lively pace and cheerful energy -- and relentless optimism even in the face of constant shanks and duffs -- that really endear them to the reader. I finished this book and immediately bought copies for all of my golfing friends -- all of whom have told me they loved it as much as I did.