Preferred Lies

A collection of stories from golfing's elite on the characters, courses and championships that make up the game's rich tapestry

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How does golf etiquette differ in Japan? And what did Tiger Woods’ last week of glory look like, before his spectacular fall? In Preferred Lies, veteran golf journalist Charles Happell and player and course architect Mike Clayton take you inside the ropes, drawing on their decades of experience in the game – from boarding Greg Norman’s yacht after his disastrous loss at the US Masters, to caddying at the Olympic Games when golf featured for the first time in over one hundred years.

They are joined by a host of contributors, including leading British golf writer John Huggan (who writes on the Ryder Cup, Seve Ballesteros and Peter Alliss) and five-time Open champion Peter Thomson with a paean on the Old Course at St Andrews. Ian Baker-Finch talks about his return to Royal Birkdale, seven years after winning the 1991 Open, when the club manager Norman Crewe provided him with a career highlight with his unbelievably generous welcome. And Cambridge graduate, Mark Nelson, takes us into the world of Oxbridge golf where, as a proud Cambridge Stymie, he represented his university in the great grudge match against the Oxford Divots.

Even committed golf fans will discover tales they’ve never heard, or new details on well-known subjects. Preferred Lies is a full round of golf stories from those who know the game best.