Letters to a Young Golfer. Bob Duval and Carl Vigeland. Basic Books. $22.
A book by Jacksonville professional golfer Bob Duval? In golf, even a Tiger Woods biography is hardly a hit, so who’s going to buy in on the thoughts of our Bob?
It’s a pretty good read, friends. There’s a fairly equal amount of his personal life, tournament play and son David, the current British Open champ, to keep it moving along.
Bob Duval now is eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour, but his career may have been ended by a shoulder injury (don’t worry about him; he’s son David’s instructor, and we can assume he makes more than $30 a lesson.) Bob moved to Florida to attend Florida State, married a Fernandina Beach girl and moved there as an assistant professional. He’s worked as the head pro at Timuquana and Plantation, and also is on the teaching staff at Amelia Island.
The book’s format is a series of letters, some to son David and daughter Dierdre, but also others to various otherwise-unidentified people: Colin, John and Scottie are a few.
You’ll recognize some of the local names that pop up like Hyde Park Golf Club co-owner Billy Maxwell and Jacksonville U. basketball coach Hugh Durham, who is the answer to a tough trivia question: who was Bob Duval’s college golf coach?
Also showing up are two of Bob’s medical pals, Bob Moore and Dave Johnston, both St. Vincent’s doctors, ex-brother-in-law Bob Gideon, and stockbrokers Palmer Knight and his son, Palmer Jr., who was a big Little League pal of David’s.
Two are first names only: Colin would be Colin Armstrong, a Duval backer who is a local investor, and Murray is Murray Goff, a pal who you might know as an entertainer here.
The books goes into tremendous detail about the death of Bob’s eldest son, Brent, who died of aplastic anemia at 12. Not much detail is given to another traumatic event, the divorce from college sweetheart Diane and the subsequent marriage to Shari, the wife of a Plantation member.
It can get pretty intense, particularly the months leading up to Brent’s death. There’s also plenty about his trials to get on the Senior PGA Tour, so there are a few happy endings along the way, too.
On the way, he drops some instruction-type nuggets (example: “Do me a favor and don’t ever buy into those articles and videos that promise instant gratification in golf,” a thought he needs to tell David when the checks come for his Momentus gimmick endorsement.)
It’s well-written (Vigeland is a respected ghostwriter) and the “letter” format makes it easy going.
Twenty-two bucks? Maybe not, at least not for those who don’t know the Duvals. But, if you find a copy at the library, it’s worth 2-3 hours of your time.
— by Fred Seely