Golf Books #39 (Sam: The One and Only Sam Snead)

Do you love golf? Do you love history? Do you love biographies? If you answered “yes” to any two of these three, then you should read Sam–The One and Only Sam Snead.

Al Barkow does a wonderful job of making Sam Snead come alive as a player and a person. Sam Snead was probably one of the most athletically gifted people to ever play golf. Well into his sixties he could jump straight up from a standing position and touch the top of a seven foot door with his foot. In his seventies he could still bend over to pick up a golf ball from a cup without bending his knees. He was the Tiger Woods and John Daly of his day. In an exhibition he often used a persimmon driver and a balata ball and would average over three hundred yards with them.

He won 81 PGA tournaments, a record that still stands, yet his career winnings from all of them would total less than one first place finish of a mid-level tour event today. As a human being he was generous to family, friends, and the community. He bought the house his brother Homer raised his family in and provided another house for his sister, Janet. Nearly every church in the county where he lived most of his life can point to a piano, organ, or new roof only because of Sam’s private generosity.

Any tour pro or club professional down on his luck could count on Sam to help out–even if the debt could never be repaid.

Sam Snead had character and was a character and this book allows you to see both. And there are a fair number of great golf tips and tournament and exhibition stories sprinkled throughout.

Until now, few people could truly say they knew Sam Snead his fears, his secrets, his dark side. Until today, there has never been a definitive biography of one of the greatest golfers of all time. Sam is not only a peek behind the mask, but an arresting look into the life of one of the game’s most engaging yet enigmatic figures.

Al Barkow is a veteran golf reporter and recipient of the 2005 PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. He lives in Albany, California, USA. (source)