Three worthwhile books landed on my desk this summer, and it’s easy to recommend them to you as a golf enthusiast and devotee. One of the books examines the reverse-engineered principles of the home of the Masters Tournament. The second inserts us into a youthful gang of soon-to-be high school students, as they bask in the setting sun of their younger years, with golf as a frame. The third offers an assessment of a life lived, with caddying and caddies forming the nucleus, around which all other particles take up their orbit.

It’s not easy to write an extended piece. There has to be a connected, continuous thread, whose logic and sense never waver, never fade. Lord knows I’ve tried, on many occasions, to tell such a story. I’m a bit better at waxing anecdotal, which is why you’ll find my name in the byline of Tour Rundown, golf course reviews, and equipment, and apparel assessments. The ability to consider a story’s worth and stitch it together so that it looks and fits properly is a gift from the literary magi. These three volumes join those that precede them as worthy members of golf’s literary pantheon. Crease their bindings on a cool summer morning, a crisp fall afternoon, or a cold winter’s evening, and lose yourself in their stories.

A look into: “The Augusta Principles”

John Sabino has undertaken at least two immense goals in his lifetime. The first was to select a Top 100 golf courses list and complete it. The second was to overcome a cancer diagnosis. He checked the first box a few years ago and is now fully devoted to completing the second task. Sabino has written three books on golf, and with no indifference to the first two, it is this most recent one that will elevate him to a new plateau among the game’s literati.

“The Augusta Principles” is a volume written without the direct assistance of the Augusta National Golf Club nor its members. Sabino reminds us of the way of ANGC, with no sense of ill will or regret. He has been fortunate, working in the investment world, to have access to the tournament on multiple occasions. As a keen observer, Sabino began to coalesce a series of elements that isolate the club and the tournament from others that fall short.

“I had no access to Augusta National leadership, employeees, or members as I wrote this book. Their invaluable brain trust operates behind closed doors, as is their right as a private club. As a result, I set out to reverse engineer their operating philosophies.”

With unique brilliance, Sabino sets out twenty critical chapters in his book. He identifies ten principles that build and drive the Augusta engine, and follows each reveal with a chapter on how to do that precise thing. For example, principle one is Exercise Restraint. The author follows nine pages on exercising restraint in Georgia, with a brief chapter on How to exercise restraint. So many writers have crafted revelatory volumes on myriad subjects, but few take you by the hand, nod, and declare, “Now, this is HOW you do it.”

The tenth principle is Use scarcity to create value. I’m going to live that principle, and leave the remaining eight principles to you, to discover and embrace. The book is not a hefty tome, as it weighs in at 200 pages. It is one that you and I will resist completing, so lost in its value will we get.

A look ahead: “The Philly Phenoms”

It happened so fast that we didn’t have time to run away. We didn’t even have time to initiate our emergency backup plan. We just had to cringe and cross our fingers as the ball made a beeline right toward the O’Brien house.

It takes a knack to target a book for the #InBeTween set that also appeals to adults. A.B Hollingsworth succeeded with “Flatbellies,” a tale about boys growing to men, with golf as the shared talisman and salve. Nate Oxman joins the guild this year with “The Philly Phenoms.” During that time in a young man’s development, obsession is the operative word for interests new and old. The protagonist, a lad named Lee, wishes for nothing more than greatness as a golfer. The key to his success is the membership his family holds at a posh, suburban club. The problem is that dad Sam, the golfing stud of the family, no longer plays.

Oxman mixes the proper amount of folktale elements in his cauldron, as if he were channeling Vladimir Propp. Propp detailed 31 functions in Russian folktales nearly 100 years ago. To this day, proper storytelling, intentionally or not, features the majority of these functions. Antagonist? You’ve got it. False hero and dispatacher? Check and check. It’s up to you to pick up a copy of “The Philly Phenoms,” to determine if Lee, Sam, and the others reach both understanding and resolution.

A look back: “Hit it Right Center and we make it”

There aren’t too many folks who have lived the golfing life of John Hand. Through caddying, family enthusiasm, and a fine demeanor, John Hand has been to places, met people, and played courses that exist only in the fantasy world of the common golfer. His parents and brother sewed seeds of appreciation for low scores and fine architecture, but it was the loopers, the bag toters, the caddies, that inspired Hand’s great affection for the auld gyame.

“I loved my parents very much. They were, however, very stingy with their golf genes.”

John Hand has been fortunate to spend time along the game’s most hallowed fairways. Sleepy Hollow, Ekwanok, and Seminole all had, or now have, solid caddy programs, as John Hand passed through. Try as he might, Hand’s game never developed to the level of his mother and father, nor his older sibling. His work of life followed a path that encouraged part- and full-time employees of clubs and courses to take advantage of scholarship opportunities to further their educations.

Over the years, Hand has served the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholarship Fund, the Ekwanok Trust, and other missions that use the great game to provide education, experience, and opportunity. His inspiration came from fellow caddies, caddy masters, skins games, and other facets of the work-life balance.

“You know, John, it looks like you are never going to be as good a golfer as you like to be, so why don’t you just try to enjoy the good company of everyone in your foursome?”

Those words came from Hand’s father, Jim Hand, USGA president in 1984-85, but they might as well have come from his mother. The Hands were enthusiastic competitors, but never at the expense of civility and decorum. They passed those principles along to their two sons, who in turn, spread the message farther and deeper. Throughout the 18 chapters of “Hit it right center,” myriad examples of doing the right thing and making it abound.

A few weeks ago, a friend and former coaching opponent asked me about worthwhile golf reads. I always start with “The Legend of Bagger Vance” and proceed to anything by P.G. Wodehouse. Brian, I now have three more titles to recommend for your shelf. Read them in any order; you’ll enjoy each one.