Africa has a rich golfing history, with numerous remarkable champions and administrators, both black and white, contributing to the sport’s development across the continent. The continent boasts 25 men’s and 4 women’s major titles, led by iconic figures like Gary Player, Bobby Locke, Ernie Els, and Nick Price, all of whom have left an indelible mark on the global stage.

While Southern Africa, particularly South Africa, has historically produced many of the continent’s elite golfers, notable talents have also emerged from countries outside this region. Golfers from Egypt, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Morocco, Kenya, Tanganyika, and Mozambique have made significant contributions, often flying under the radar compared to their Southern African counterparts.

The sport’s development in these regions has been accompanied by the emergence of new champions, signaling a bright future for African golf.

The Uncorrupted Pleasure Of An Old Bladed Putter is a love letter to golf, revealing something of the beauty, joy and comradeship that the author James Ellis-Caird has taken from his golfing life. In doing so, it is quietly revolutionary, depicting a vision of golf free from the constraints of convention and expectation, in which being 'good enough' is the goal, allowing space for personal expression, an appreciation of nature and the joy of the little things to come to the fore. A lesson not just for golf, but also perhaps for a quieter, gentler way to live our lives. Whether you're a non-golfer, a new golfer, an old golfer or an ex-golfer, The Uncorrupted Pleasure Of An Old Bladed Putter offers gentle words of wisdom and a fond conversational style that will have you reaching for the nearest golf club and falling in love with the game all over again.

'Terrific fun' David Walsh, Sunday Times   * *   'Thoroughly engaging' Washington Post A frank and revealing biography of legendary golf champion Phil Mickelson - who has led a big, controversial life - as reported by longtime Sports Illustrated writer and bestselling author Alan Shipnuck. Phil Mickelson is one of the most compelling figures in sports. For more than three decades he has been among the best golfers in the world, and his unmatched longevity was exemplified at the 2021 PGA Championship, when Mickelson, on the cusp of turning fifty-one, became the oldest player in history to win a major championship.  In this raw and unauthorised biog­raphy, Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories, crushing defeats and countless controversies. Mickelson is a multi-faceted character, and all his warring impulses are on display in these pages: he is a smart-ass who built an empire on being the consummate professional; a loving husband dogged by salacious rumours; a high-stakes gambler who knows the house always wins but can’t tear himself away. Mickelson’s career and public image have been defined by the contrast with his lifelong rival, Tiger Woods. Where Woods is robotic and reticent, Mickelson is affable and extroverted, an incorrigible showman. In their early years together on Tour, Mickelson lacked Tiger’s laser focus and discipline, yet as Tiger’s career has been curtailed by scandal, addiction and a broken body, Phil sails on, still relevant on the golf course and in the marketplace. Phil is the perfect marriage of subject and author. Shipnuck delivers numerous revelations, from the true scale of Mickelson’s massive gambling losses to the secretive backstory of the Saudi golf league that Mickelson championed. But Phil also celebrates Mickelson’s random acts of kindness and generosity of spirit, to which friends and strangers alike can attest. Shipnuck has covered Mickelson for his entire career, allowing him to take readers inside the ropes with a thrilling immediacy and intimacy. The result is the juiciest and liveliest golf book in years - full of heart, humour and unexpected turns.

In the wake of the 1929 stock-market crash, an amateur golfer began a decade of unparalleled achievement, seeming a ray of light in an otherwise depressed America. Bobby Jones won the British Amateur Championship, the British Open, the US Open and the US Amateur Championship. A new phrase was born: The Grand Slam. A modest, sensitive man, a lawyer from a middle-class Atlanta family, Jones had barely survived a sickly childhood, and took up golf at the age of five for health reasons. He made his debut at the US Amateur Championship in 1916 and his genius was recognised by his inspiration, Francis Ouimet. However, he had an ungovernable temper and it wasn't until 1923 that Jones harnessed his talent and eclipsed Ouimet. His health was never good and the strain of completing the Slam exacted a ferocious toll; the US Open, played in July in blazing heat, nearly killed him. Jones fought to keep his fragile condition a secret from a country suffering from the Depression, but at the age of 28, after winning the US Amateur, he retired. His abrupt disappearance at the height of his renown inspired an impenetrable myth, to this day still fiercely protected by family and friends.

Golf fans will not forget the 39th Ryder Cup in a hurry. Staged at the Medinah Country Club just outside of Chicago, the 2012 event has already gone down as the most remarkable competition in its 85-year history. The American team had home advantage, and a golf course unapologetically set up to suit its own players. Supported by tens of thousands of loud and proud fans, the USA's star-studded line-up dominated the first two days and ended the Saturday with a seemingly unassailable 10-6 advantage. No away team had ever won the Ryder Cup from such an unpromising position. Sunday was singles day, traditionally the forte of American teams. The situation looked bleak, especially when European team member and number 1 golfer in the world, Rory McIlroy, very nearly missed his tee-off time. Yet slowly but surely, the European team - who had top-loaded their line-up in one last throw of the dice - started to turn the scoreboard blue. With inspirational captain Jose Maria Olazabal stiring European blood with thoughts of the late Ryder Cup magician Seve Ballesteros (whose silhouette was emblazoned on the players' sweaters and bags), the tide turned and the previously dominant American players started to crumble in the face of the onslaught. Suddenly European players were holing miraculous putts to win holes out of the blue. Something very special was happening. When German Martin Kaymer sank his putt on the eighteenth green to clinch the point that retained the Ryder Cup, the most astonishing comeback in the event's long and distinuished history was complete. Miracle at Medinah is the compelling narrative of those amazing three days in Illinois, a fitting chronicle of an unbelievable sporting story.