Any time I let my imagination wander into thoughts of a dream foursome, David Feherty is always, and I mean always, one of the winners (that is if playing a round with me would be considered “winning”).

His humorous take on golf and life always gives me a smile.

His 4th book, An Idiot for All Seasons is a collection of some of his best columns from Golf Magazine. Included are many of his Sidespin columns, featured monthly on the last page of the magazine, as well as some of his work from Golf Magazine’s website, GolfOnline.com (now Golf.com). As the title sort of suggests, the columns are arranged by season. The material usually follows that trend too (for instance, non golf related stuff in the off season, etc.)

As a bonus, each column is followed by a letter (and response) from his mailbag on GolfOnline.com.

Whenever Golf Magazine arrives at my door, I always start with the back page. I read his columns with unapologetic zealotry.

The Good

• His style is completely unique and is virtually guaranteed to give you a chuckle. Self-deprecating, sarcastic, acidic, and funny. He has mastered the art of painting a humorous picture with words.
• There are 50 essays printed in the book including a letter with each one, a good amount of material.
• If you wade through the humor and sarcasm, there are some great points made in many of the columns. He has interesting thoughts on topics ranging from the PGA Tour to the Ryder Cup to the abolition of par from the game.
• I love the public jabs he takes at his friends, especially Gary McCord, Lanny Wadkins, and members of the CBS broadcast team that he works with. It reminds me of my own circle of friends.

The Bad

• This is a reprint of existing material. Aside from the foreword, if you’re a loyal Feherty reader, you may have read all the material in the book already.
• Not really a negative so much, but some of the material isn’t really golf related. I just wanted to throw that out there in case anyone expects all golf, all the time. It’s a seasonal collection and golf (and golf commentating - his current job at CBS) has an off season.

Conclusion

When I picked up this book I didn’t know anything about it beforehand and didn’t realize it was a collection of existing columns. That was pretty disappointing since I’ve been a loyal reader of his for quite a while and I figured it was going to be all déjà vu.

What I found, though, as I dove in to the book, was that I have either missed a lot of his columns over the years, or that I simply didn’t remember reading most of them. There was one column from 2005 and all the rest were from 2004 and earlier, with some being from the late 1990’s.

Yet, I only specifically recalled reading a handful of them and another handful seemed vaguely familiar.

If you’re a loyal reader of his who actually has a decent memory, then you might want to leave this one alone.

On the other hand, if you’re not a reader of his or if you simply can’t get enough Feherty, then this book is a winner. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even the parts that were already familiar to me.

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Further Reading:

An Idiot for All Seasons (Amazon.com)
Other Books by David Feherty (Amazon.com)

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