RONALD COLBY

18 Golf Poems

18 Poems about the fickle, challenging, perplexing and whimsical game of golf.

Complete with photographs and an essay at the end of the book where Colby reflects upon the sport and its fans, 18 Golf Poems is the perfect Father’s Day gift for those who love the sport, and the perfect gift at any time for all golf aficionados.

Colby's second passion is golf, which is expressed in his new book, 18 Golf Poems And a Recollection at the 19th Hole. Colby says he’s “written these poems primarily for golfers but also for non-players who need confirmation of the absurdities and complexities of the game.” He’s been playing golf since he was eleven, and like many, he became a devoted fan of the game.

In “First Tee Jitters,” he writes,

Could it be, the view from player’s rounds completed
drinking and staring through clubhouse windows
that makes golfer on the first tee so anxious?

In “Escape” he expresses emotions:

Eviscerated by guilt and strife
he arrives and drives
his shots breaking boundaries, incurring penalties
creating snowmen sans snow.

Ronald Colby: 18 Golf Poems: Table of Contents

Ronald Colby: 18 Golf Poems: Introduction

Ronald Colby: 18 Golf Poems: I Saw a Woman Swinging

“I Saw a Woman Swinging” expresses his shock “at the power” of the female golfer.

In “My Father’s Latenight Swing,” Colby reminisces about his childhood, when,

Near midnight,
I take a lonesome whisky to my chair
and nestling, remember as a child
how in the darkness of my room
I could hear my father’s swing.

“Relief” is a contemplation about death:

Golf is a game
to be played
A poor metaphor for strife and life
We’re only ticking up digits
Numbers whose meaning will fade away
Unlike the Reaper
Who shall appear one day.

At the end of the day, it’s the “Long Shadows” cast across the course, where

Palms reach yards to catch last rays, and the golfer, resigned to the days end…
Lifting his bag, golfer stares as
sun loses its grip on rays and slides from view
leaving nothing behind but an afterglow.

Order your copy!

18 Poems about the fickle, challenging, perplexing and whimsical game of golf.

Complete with photographs and an essay at the end of the book where Colby reflects upon the sport and its fans, 18 Golf Poems is the perfect Father’s Day gift for those who love the sport, and the perfect gift at any time for all golf aficionados.

Order Your Copy Here

RONALD COLBY