The Golfer's Wife: From Birdies to Quadruple Bogies and the Rough in Between

by Janet Thompson

Overview

For some, golf is an instant passion. These golfers practice religiously, play often, watch it on TV, and frequently attend tournaments. Then there's the other kind of golfer. This group simply enjoys the occasional round, weather permitting, and doesn't take the game too seriously. Things get interesting when those two kinds of people marry each other.

Such was the case for Janet and Steve Thompson, who married over thirty-five years ago and have been golfing together ever since. In The Golfer's Wife, Janet combines her story with those of seven professional golfers' wives, examining how a wife's relationship with golf can affect her relationship with her husband—and vice versa—with self-deprecating humor and a generous spirit. At the intersection of memoir and biography, this look into the love of the game—and the love of the player—will charm both the golfer and nongolfer alike.

A portion of the proceeds from The Golfer's Wife will be donated to the following charities: the Brandt & Mandy Snedeker Foundation, the Brighter Days Foundation, the Charley Hoffman Foundation, Crystal Coast Hospice House, the Jacobsen Youth Initiative, Juvenile Diabetes Research, and the Micaela's Army Foundation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637551066
Publisher:	Amplify Publishing
Publication date:	04/05/2022
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Golf comes naturally for some, but for others, they marry into it! Unbeknownst to Janet Thompson as she was walking down the aisle, her husband-to-be was a die-hard golfer. Not necessarily wanting to be the quintessential "golf widow" after the honeymoon, Janet headed for the fairway. (Although, for her, it was more like the rough.)

Janet lives with her husband, Steve, in Florida and New Hampshire. The pair enjoy golfing, hiking, biking, and spending time with their five young grandchildren. In the summers, Janet volunteers her time for the Gundalow Company, sailing with school-age children on the Piscataqua River in a replica of a boat launched in 1886.

Janet believes, "When taking up golf, a sense of humor and the ability to bend a few rules helps!" Had she read a book like this before she started playing the game, it would have made a difference in her love/hate relationship with golf.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Why I Play 5

Cinder-Ellie: Ellie Day 13

2 Golf: Relaxing or Stressful? You Decide! 21

3 Rules Are Made to Be Broken 33

Partnership for Life: Lisa Lye 37

4 Fun at the Club 53

5 Golf 101 63

Role Play: Jan Jacobsen 73

6 Birthday Surprises 89

7 A Piece of Paradise 103

Building Character by Giving Back: Mandy Snedeker 111

8 Retired, Not Retired 125

9 Living Like a Celebrity 133

Normal People, Good al Something: Stacy Hoffman 139

10 Male Bonding 151

11 The Caddies 161

12 The Key West Adventure 171

The Rules of the Road: Sarah Strange 177

13 Like Mother, Like Daughters 197

Stay Grounded: Kristy Weibring 203

14 Being a Golfer's Wife 219

List of Charities 221

Acknowledgments 223

About the Author 224

Editorial Reviews

2022-03-14
In this debut memoir, the wife of a golfer learns to love the peculiarities of the sport.

In 1985,Thompson married a passionate player of the sport of golf. As she saw it, she had two choices: Either sit at home while Steve enjoyed the links, or figure out a way to enjoy them herself. So began her journey to a love of the sport, and this is Thompson’s how-to manual for others who may be about to embark on a similar road of golf spousedom, which she hopes will make “a difference in other golf spouses’ love/less-than-love relationship with the game.” Drawing on her nearly four decades of golf experience, she offers a wide range of tips, from how to avoid bickering on the green to how best not to overthink a shot. In addition, she profiles the wives of several professional golfers, such as Sarah Strange, the wife of two-time U.S. Open champ Curtis Strange, to learn what it’s like to be a golf spouse at the highest levels of the game. (As it turns out, most of them didn’t realize quite what they were getting into either.) Thompson’s prose is bubbly and self-deprecating, as when she notes how golf has taught her to conserve her energy: “Not that it’s a lot of exercise—I always take a cart. It’s the mental stress that wears on me. So, to make it even more enjoyable when I’m playing particularly badly, I will indulge in a beer or cocktail right on the fairway.” Thompson’s vision aligns with a familiar lifestyle of country clubs and laid-back Florida retirement, and it will likely appeal to readers who live in or aspire to such a milieu. The author mostly takes an earnest tone, and readers may be slightly disappointed that the book isn’t a bit jokier. Nevertheless, she offers some good advice, including things that might not occur to the uninitiated, such as how vacations can sometimes revolve solely around trips to the links.

A sincere discussion of what it’s like to be in a relationship with a golf aficionado.

Kirkus Reviews