Article:Golf Fiction

The great sportswriter George Plimpton ( Paper Lion, The Bogey Man, etc.) proposed a "small ball" theory of sports writing: The smaller the ball used in the sport the better the writing about it. While one may point out notable exceptions here and there, it seems pretty clear there is considerably better baseball writing than football or basketball writing. But what's smaller than a baseball? A golf ball. Ergo, golf has the best writing. (We choose not to include Ping Pong or marbles in the world of sports.)

(Now comes the self-promotion) Into this rarefied world of classy golf writing comes a notable effort to undermine the Plimpton theory: Back Nine: The Austin Golf Club Stories. A friend and I have created a web-based set of interconnected short stories revolving around a slightly odd club in Austin, Texas. These stories are funny. They are free. There's no ads. We just want to write and let others enjoy it if they so choose. Take a gander. http://www.backninestories.com

- Red Wassenich (one of the authors)