Feeling up to par : medicine from tee to green

Feeling Up to Par: Medicine From Tee to Green, edited by Cornelius N. Stover, John R. McCarroll, and William J. Mallon, 205 pp, with illus, $59, ISBN 0-8036-8203-4, Philadelphia, Pa, FA Davis Co, 1994. This is an unusual little volume. In its aims to guide, inform, and entertain both the medical professional and the impaired golfer, it risks satisfying neither. However, the editors and the contributors they have chosen, two dozen in all, succeed admirably. They avoid the Scylla of oversimplification and the Charybdis of arcane language. The scope of the book is laudable, and the depth of coverage in each chapter commendable. "Back Pain: Diagnosis and Treatment," for instance, would stand on its own in any general medical treatise. We are titillated in the beginning by behind-the-scenes descriptions of the maladies afflicting some of our favorite golf personalities. I shared what follows, a discussion of the basic elements of playing the game, including the psychological aspects, with a partner of mine who is a true devotee and an accomplished golfer. He responded with enthusiasm, even suggesting that he gleaned some real pearls from the chapter "The Psychology of Golf." The nutrition section contains excellent fundamental guidance for a sport that some have criticized as providing a less than rigorous aerobic workout. "Vi¬ sion and Golf might offer those in need of excuses some imaginative grounds for the hook or slice that's so hard to exorcise. Cardiovascular and physical chal¬ lenges to play are handled well, includ¬ ing a conservative recommendation that, considering golfers' ages, golf pro¬ fessionals and course personnel should be certified in cardiopulmonary resus¬ citation. The coverage of the game for the physically challenged is a gold mine of information and advice, including many otherwise hard-to-find solutions for upper-extremity amputees inter¬ ested in the game. The illustrations arewell reproduced, despite the cost-containing choices of black-and-white photos and matte fin¬ ish paper. Excellent line drawings ap¬ pear throughout.