The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year

Taylor Publsihing , 1992. Hardcover. Like New/Fine . 6x0x9. Signed by Author. Signed Curt Simpson" on half title page. Was there ever a year in golf like 1960? It was the year that the sport and its vivid personalities exploded on the consciousness of the nation, when the past, present, and future of the sport collided. Here was Arnold Palmer, the workingman's hero, "sweating, chain-smoking, shirt-tail flying"; Ben Hogan, the greatest player of the fifties, a perfectionist battling twin demons of age and nerves; and, making his big-time debut, a crew-cut college kid who seemed to have the makings of a champion: twenty-year-old Jack Nicklaus. And of course, the rest: Ken Venturi, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Doug Sanders, Gary Player, and the many other colorful characters who chased around a little white ball--and a dream. Would Palmer win the mythical Grand Slam of golf? Could Hogan win one more major tournament? Was Nicklaus the real thing? Even more than an intimate portrait of these men and their exciting times, The Eternal Summer is also an entertaining, perceptive, and hypnotically readable exploration of professional golf in America. Curt Sampson is a former golf touring professional and a regular contributor to Golf magazine. He is the author of seven books, six of them on golf, including the bestsellers The Masters and Hogan. His most recent book, Royal and Ancient, is a behind-the-scenes look at the British Open.