Local pro bares all about golf in new book

Ah, nothing like making a quality first impression.

That’s precisely what Greg Rowley the author does when he writes about Greg Rowley the apprentice golf professional and his first day on the job.

On the first page of his new book “Golf: Naked, The Secrets of Golf – Revealed,” Rowley details the 1997 Hayden Lake Country Club men’s opening-day tournament. Rowley was plugged in as the foursome’s “A” player (read: best) when somebody didn’t show. He confesses to shooting 103 and whacking an errant shot off a passing motorist. Despite little help from the pro, Rowley’s team still won the event and he took a ton of ribbing.

The story immediately puts the reader, whether they’re a two-handicap or a golf neophyte, at ease and sets the tone for a funny, informative book that touches on nearly every aspect of the game.

And we do mean every aspect. Like how to name your league team, how to avoid wardrobe malfunctions (try to match the color of your belt, socks, shoes), how to properly tee a ball up (pinky in vs. pinky out), how a divot pattern should look on a grass driving range (bunched, not spaced) and how to work the table at the 19th hole.

There’s an accompanying booklet that explains betting games. It’s roughly the same size as a rules book and eventually will have a weatherproof cover for storage purposes inside your bag.

The project took about 14 months of writing, editing, rewriting and reorganizing to complete. Rowley hopes to have 5,000 copies available at area golf shops by Father’s Day and he’s signed on with Greanleaf Book Group for a planned September release date.

Rowley said the idea was hatched over a cocktail or two with Denny Ryerson, a member at The Club at Black Rock who also assisted with financial backing of the book, when each would recount “all the dumb stuff” they’d done when they began playing golf.

“I felt there was a hole in the market as far as real advice from a golf pro,” said Rowley, who writes that he stepped down as the pro at Black Rock in 2006 because he hadn’t seen his two daughters awake in weeks and his wife was tired of being a single parent.

The result isn’t an instruction manual, but a guide to truly enjoying a game that so often can be frustrating for participants. He writes about personal foibles and those of others, weaving them into the nuts and bolts of the book along with quotes, anecdotes, older brother Jeff’s graphics and Jeremy Deming’s illustrations.

The combination makes for a quick, entertaining read that still gets his points across.

“I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t telling everybody what to do, but this is what I’ve learned along the way,” said Rowley, who said the title of the book was suggested by his physical therapist. “Even at the perceived level of expertise my career would suggest, we’re all beginners every day and hopefully the reader will identify with that.”

To that end, Rowley often pokes fun at himself. At his Playing Ability Test (PAT), Rowley wore a hooded jacket to counter heavy winds. Teeing off on No. 2, a gust of wind kicked up the hood and it became entangled with the shaft of the club. As he continued his swing, part of his jacket slid over his head (Rowley writes, “Like a hockey player getting the bad end of a beating”). He paced off a 9-foot drive that barely cleared the tee box.

Three pages later, Rowley described a memorable lesson with a married couple that took a turn for the worse when the wife hit a low bullet that struck a bird. Rattled but moving forward with the lesson, the husband followed with another low screamer that hit a duck.

Rowley offers insights to the typical problems golfers encounter: dealing with the boorish playing partner, speeding up the pace of play, identifying sandbaggers and keeping your cool after dumping three straight into the pond.

A Mark Twain quote assists the section on sandbaggers: “It’s better to deserve honors and not have them, than to have them and not deserve them.” Rowley clarifies the role of operator error in wayward shots. “A golf ball is like a perfect child – it always does exactly what it’s told,” he writes. “So rather than react brutishly after a bad shot, ask yourself how well you communicated your intent.”

Rowley doubts he’ll return to working behind the desk at a pro shop any day soon. He’s already outlining a second book, which will pick up where this one left off. It’ll be more technical, instruction-driven.

There’s even talk about a “Golf: Naked” series of books, which would give the author a chance to make a quality lasting impression.