Without a doubt, Peter Jacobsen holds a place in my dream foursome. He has a reputation as golf’s funnyman, a role which he fills well, but he’s also a fan-friendly, fun, and totally “gets it” when it comes to being a professional in the public eye.

When I picked up a copy of Embedded Balls by Jacobsen with Jack Sheehan, I had high expectations that I’d be getting candid Jacobsen at his best. I wasn’t disappointed.

Chapter List

1. Memories of Payne
2. Tinseltown and Big John
3. Plugged In
4. A Breakout Year
5. Hartford and My Heart
6. Please…I’m Trying to Concentrate Here
7. A Senior Moment…Interrupted
8. The U.S. Senior Open : How it All Went Down
9. The Pros and the Ams
10. Tiger and Fluff…And Other Stuff
11. Carrying on a “Tradition”
12. Things We Can Do Better

This book is absolutely packed full of interesting and funny anecdotes. Here’s a look at a few of my favorites:

• There’s a hillarious story about his father meeting Clint Eastwood inside the ropes at the Gerald Ford Invitational.
• There’s a touching and funny chapter about his friend, the late Payne Stewart.
• One incident I had never heard about - John Daly missing drilling a drive into a spectator’s face by about a foot - at a golf clinic.
• He includes a chapter about what Tour pros can do better, including a story about a dressing down he got from Arnold Palmer about signing an illegible autograph for a fan.
• He recounts his difficult recovery from hip surgery and his subsequent win at the 2004 U.S. Senior Open
• There’s a look at his foray into Hollywood, both in his supporting role in the movie Tin Cup (one of my favorites) and his show Plugged In on The Golf Channel (also one of my favorites).

The Good

Where do I start? The book reads like Jacobsen is sitting right there in my living room shooting the breeze. Once I started, I had trouble putting it down. I mentioned a few of my favorite moments above, but there are tons of great stories shared in this book. Some of them brought back well publicized stories like the saga of one-time Tiger caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan, who looped for Jacobsen for a long time prior to that. Some were things I hadn’t heard like the story of an apprehensive Arnold Palmer and his participation in a show with trick-shot artist Chuck “The Hit Man” Hiter.

The Bad

What’s not to like? Sometimes I have trouble formulating criticism about books I review (I don’t tend to review the bad ones). I’m pretty sure I’m covered here, though - I wouldn’t change a thing in this book.

Conclusion

If you’re a fan of Peter Jacobsen, then you’ll love this book. Even if you’re not, I still think you’re going to like it. It was fun and interesting and a great behind the scenes look at the experiences of a long time tour pro. Through the good and a bad, Jacobsen maintains a positive attitude and describing him as fan-friendly is an understatement. And boy does he know how to tell a story!

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