Golf is supposed to be a quiet game. A stroll across manicured lawns, a polite clap here and there, and maybe-if the golf gods are smiling-a birdie or two. But People I Met Playing Golf is not that game. This is the version with larger-than-life characters, bizarre detours, unforgettable encounters, and more stories than any clubhouse bar could possibly hold.
Across 120 pages of humor and color, Thomas Johnson takes you along on a journey not just across golf courses, but through the oddities and personalities that make the game endlessly entertaining. Each chapter is like reaching a new hole on the course: different terrain, unexpected hazards, and just enough drama to keep you swinging.
Front Nine: The Introductions These early stories tee things up with a colorful cast. There's the shoe collector who could outfit a small army, the marketing "legend" whose resume somehow always comes up before the appetizers arrive, and a waitress who delivered a one-liner strong enough to silence a table of self-proclaimed big shots. In these opening chapters, you'll meet the people who remind you that golf is rarely about golf-it's about who's standing beside you on the tee box.
Back Nine: The Escalations The stakes rise as the book moves deeper into the round. Here, Johnson encounters characters who could have been pulled from a novel-only they're real. The man who turns the rules of golf into a personal religion, the friend who insists on bringing high drama to every foursome, and the stranger whose single-armed swing left everyone questioning what "limitations" really mean. The fairways might be straight, but the stories take some serious doglegs.
Beyond the Ropes: The Observers Not all the stories happen inside the ropes. Some unfold in the gallery, the parking lot, or the dark corners of a casino after a round in Las Vegas. In these chapters, Johnson introduces us to characters who hover at the edge of the game: the self-styled influencer, the mysterious doctor with a golf bag full of secrets, and a gambler whose idea of a side bet could bankrupt a small nation
People I Met Playing Golf is not a swing manual, not a travel guide, and definitely not a sermon on etiquette. It's a collection of stories-funny, strange, and sometimes a little unbelievable-about what happens when you chase a little white ball around the world and meet the people doing the same.
If you've ever walked off a course thinking, "I'll remember that foursome forever," this book is for you.
