The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year

Very written book. I found this one of the best books on golf history that I have read.Very interesting for golfers and perhaps the non golfer.

If you love golf and its history, this is the book. Curt Sampson is once again great and meticulous with the details. He loves the games and its immortal characters. This is a great golf history book. The coming about of the greatest rivalry in golf between Palmer and Nicklaus is well detailed here. Ben Hogan, already the greatest golfer of his generation, seemed to be reaching out for his last glory. It seems that the sport is no longer as elegant as it once was because the characters are no longer as heroic as they once were. Highly recommended and a very good book to read over and over.

Curt Sampson has ably resurrected the magic of golf in 1960, the famous year in which Palmer became King, Nicklaus loomed, and Hogan and Snead made last runs at majors. Reading this tale one is transported back to what seems to us nostalgically as a simpler time. For a golf nut it is so much fun to relive those dramatic events. I would have given this book 5 stars except John Feinstein has demonstrated what a 5-star golf book is really like (The Majors, A Good Walk Spoiled). Sampson does not quite write with the same level of detail and insight as Feinstein, and lapses a bit more into the rehashing of familiar stories, but he is still quite good.

Only on the fringe of my teenage years in 1960, Sampson marvelously chronicles this year in golf and society. Society we all know because of the revolution that was gaining momentum. TV is growing and would play a major role in golf's history as well. Along with three individuals, Hogan, Palmer and Nicklaus.The "y" in the road is the televised Open at Cherry Creek, when Palmer made the celebrated charge. Hogan tries but comes short, and Nicklaus, not knowing for sure his position, didn't really grind, or he likely would have tied. Palmer wins, the sport grows, and as fate seemed to dictate, the game is on the way to the marvelous heights we now see it occupy.Reading this wonderful book, it gives one more insight and compassion into those early pioneers who made it what it is. Today's pros seemed so pampered, however, the stress is large and looming larger. Sampson is articulate writer and delivers great insights: Hagen's saying to Sarazen before the shot heard round the world at Augusta: "Come on, hurry up, I've got a date tonight."; and Gary Player calls up Hogan for some advice on his swing, so Hogan asks, whose clubs do you play? When Player answers Dunlop, Hogan responds, "Ask Mr. Dunlop." Empathy for those like Sampson who wrote passionately about the game and didn't really make a living, let alone get rich. Loved the story about Bob Drum being snubbed by his paper until they hear Palmer is leading The Open, then cable him to send a story. Upon receipt of telegram, Drum crumbles it into ball, and said: "Hope to hell you get it."This is a must for any serious golf collection of books on the game.

I've read a lot of golf books. This is one of my favorites, and I'm glad to see it's finally back in print--there are a lot of golfers I need to recommend this to. It's more just plain fun to read than almost any one I can name. One of golf's great years, and one of the sport's all-time great cast of characters: Hogan, past his prime at 48 but trying to win one more major; Arnie, the greatest golfer of the 50s, trying to win the Grand Slam; 20-year-old Nicklaus, the chunky college kid; and plenty of other characters, like the irascible Charlie Sifford, the first black player on the tour; the legendary Sam Snead; Chi Chi Rodriguez, who weighed 118 pounds; party animal Doug Sanders; Gary Player, the Man in Black from South Africa; and several others. Reading about these guys is just fascinating, they come alive in this book, and the story of how several of them could have and should have won the Open is one of the best in golf. Sampson has a breezy, highly readable style and has a good sense of humor. I highly recommend this book to any fan of golf.