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Title details for Playing from the Rough by Jimmie James - Available

Playing from the Rough

A Personal Journey through America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses

by Jimmie James
Jimmie James
Audiobook
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1 of 1 copy available
A "wonderful story of passion, commitment, resilience, and determination," (Paul Gasol, former NBA All-Star) about one man's quest to become the first person to play each of America's 100 greatest golf courses in a single year, an odyssey that brings him face to face with the gulf between his impoverished childhood in the Jim Crow South and the successful executive he became.
When he set out to play each of Golf Digest's America's100 greatest golf courses in one year, Jimmie James knew he was attempting the impossible. But then again, he'd spent his entire life defying the odds.

James was born invisible. His birth certificate, long since filed away in some clerk's office in East Texas, recorded facts about him that were deemed most relevant in the late 1950s: "colored" and "illegitimate." His great-great-grandmother was enslaved, and his early life was confided by the privation and segregation of the late Jim Crow-era South.

Four decades later—having put himself through an HBCU and determinedly risen through the executive ranks at ExxonMobil—he embarked on his journey to play the 100 greatest golf courses in the United States. In a single year. From the first tee at Augusta National, the distance between the world he grew up in and the world of extreme privilege to which he'd now managed to gain access was impossible to ignore.

Playing from the Rough is a "delightful" (Kirkus Reviews), "beautiful story" (Andrew Campion, former COO of Nike) about race, class, family, and the power of perseverance, as James braids his love of golf with reflections on the path that took him from childhood poverty to the most exclusive and opulent golf courses in America.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 11, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797178332
      • File size: 295588 KB
      • Duration: 10:15:48

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from August 9, 2024

      Golfer and former ExxonMobil executive James came from humble beginnings. He is a Black man who was born in Jim Crow-era Texas and was raised by a single mother in a home without running water or electricity. James became the first in his family to finish high school, graduated college with a degree in engineering, and worked at ExxonMobil, becoming a senior executive over his 33-year career. After retiring, he embarked on an ambitious quest to play the United States' 100 greatest golf courses (as selected by Golf Digest) in one year. Narrating his own memoir, James intertwines details of his upbringing with glorious descriptions of the courses he played, from Georgia's Augusta National to Whispering Pines, TX. James's recollections of members, club pros, caddies, and others he met are gracious and uplifting, though he also reflects on the complicated experience of being a Black player in largely white environments. Sensitively delivered, James's story expresses his appreciation for the kindness of strangers and his belief in never losing sight of one's dreams. VERDICT A recommended debut memoir, perfect for those interested in the intersection of golf, travel, and the complexity of the human spirit.--Scott DiMarco

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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