The Masters of the Spirit: A Golf Fable

The Way of Golf is explored in this eccentric but charming New Age tale by avid golf fan Fisher (The Legend of Tommy Morris). Zachary Tobias, a salesman who was a promising golfer in his teens but gave up the game to earn a conventional living, finds himself, in 1976, on an imaginary course competing against the eight greatest golfers of all time, including Bobby Jones. ""I was so dumbfounded in the presence of these masters that I forgot that Bobby Jones had been dead since 1971,"" says Zach. From each master, Zach learns a lesson ""for all people struggling to find their way on the course of life."" Walter Hagen talks about bringing order out of chaos; Gary Player about unity; Tony Lema about joy; Jack Nicklaus about attention; Byron Nelson about integrity; Arnold Palmer about love; Ben Hogan about fearlessness; Jones about destiny. To ground her story, Fisher draws on biographical material from each golfer's life; to give it some emotional depth, she casts the entire novel as a tale told by Zach to his daughter, who is in a hospital and who may have cancer. There's some real wisdom here, but also a glossing over of the less spiritual aspects of pro athletics, including golf: the intense competitiveness and ambition, the greed, the lust for fame and glory. Golfers who want to combine spiritual search with their hunt for that sliced ball, however, will find Fisher's fable to their liking. (Apr.)