The Dewsweepers: Seasons of Golf and Friendship

Rating:
Summary: A Jewel!!
Review: "Golf, and sometimes life, are full of new beginnings." So starts one of the most charming books on the subject of golf and life that I have read in quite some time. For this is not a "golf book" any more than Seabiscuit was about a horse race. The author, a former 2 handicap realizes as he advances into his 40's that "I wasn't just losing my ability to play the game the way I once had...Golf was ceasing to be fun."

Dodson discovers the group of guys that become The Dewseppers when he is enveigled to travel to Syracuse to speak at a charity fund raiser. The fellow doing the inviting had read his previous book "Final Rounds" and thought the author might have something worth listening to about golf forging lasting relationships. One thing leads to another and the antics and follys of The Dewsweepers become a thread which runs through the book, but the story is about much more than them.

It is about relationships of all kinds. A son and his mother. A boy and his father. A lovely lady named Wendy. Arnold Palmer. Aging friends. A chance meeting on a magical golf course. Brotherly love gone sour. And so many more.

Dodson has the most interesting way of making how we relate to each other, the humor, the sorrow, the mundane and the magificent all come alive in a very real way. I found the book enthralling.

Those who have reviewed this book and sniffed about some of the name dropping that occurs in it are missing the point entirely. People like Arnold Palmer just happen to be a real part of Dodson's life. To leave out the "names" is to fail to tell the story to it's fullest.

In the end he finds that the joy he had gotten from golf during his life was not lost. As he puts it, it was "merely waiting for me to catch up..."

There is a lot to learn about life and relationships in this book and I doubt there are any of us who could not benefit from that.

Rating:
Summary: A Jewel!!
Review: "Golf, and sometimes life, are full of new beginnings." So starts one of the most charming books on the subject of golf and life that I have read in quite some time. For this is not a "golf book" any more than Seabiscuit was about a horse race. The author, a former 2 handicap realizes as he advances into his 40's that "I wasn't just losing my ability to play the game the way I once had...Golf was ceasing to be fun."

Dodson discovers the group of guys that become The Dewseppers when he is enveigled to travel to Syracuse to speak at a charity fund raiser. The fellow doing the inviting had read his previous book "Final Rounds" and thought the author might have something worth listening to about golf forging lasting relationships. One thing leads to another and the antics and follys of The Dewsweepers become a thread which runs through the book, but the story is about much more than them.

It is about relationships of all kinds. A son and his mother. A boy and his father. A lovely lady named Wendy. Arnold Palmer. Aging friends. A chance meeting on a magical golf course. Brotherly love gone sour. And so many more.

Dodson has the most interesting way of making how we relate to each other, the humor, the sorrow, the mundane and the magificent all come alive in a very real way. I found the book enthralling.

Those who have reviewed this book and sniffed about some of the name dropping that occurs in it are missing the point entirely. People like Arnold Palmer just happen to be a real part of Dodson's life. To leave out the "names" is to fail to tell the story to it's fullest.

In the end he finds that the joy he had gotten from golf during his life was not lost. As he puts it, it was "merely waiting for me to catch up..."

There is a lot to learn about life and relationships in this book and I doubt there are any of us who could not benefit from that.

Rating:
Summary: Discover what golf is all about
Review: Dodson conveys the true feelings of playing golf with people who you can come to love almost as much as your family. I truely felt like buying copies for the other 3 guys in my foursome after I was done with it. Just like Final Rounds which I bought for my father. Not for the hard hearted it can bring tears to your eyes at times and cause outrageous laughter at others.

Rating:
Summary: Well above par!
Review: I cast my vote with the reviewers here who loved this book. Those that are sniffing about the "name dropping" and other such distractions have missed the point of the book entirely. "Golf, and sometimes life, is full of new beginnings," Dobson writes as the first line of the first chapter. And that is what this book is about. His love of the game has started to dry up; he is living in Maine while his girl friend lives in Syracuse (or Zerocuse as those who golf there call it for part of the year), his dear mother (Mrs. Congeniality) is slipping deeper into dementia; his brother has betrayed his trust and his ten year old son, after his final losing hockey game of the season looks at his father and says, "Dad, would you mind if I took golf lessons?" As Dobson then noted, "When you least expect it, the sun suddenly emerges from the gloom."

That is what this book is really about.The "Dewsweepers", while a real bunch of golfing nuts from Zerocuse, are really the prisim through which the author sees his life and deals with it, piece by piece as he finds that the joy of life has not been lost. It was merely waiting for him to catch up with it.

This slice of the author's life is told with humor and insight. Many doors have been opened to Dobson during his life experiences that are not easily open to most of us. Yet, he takes us through them with the supreme talent of an accomplished story teller and leaves you feeling better for the experience of having been there. That's a fine recommendation for any book and this is one not to miss.

Rating:
Summary: I agree...pretentious and name dropping...
Review: In reading the reviews of the book it describes a bunch of "electic" old men golfers...I don't find an eclectic thing about them...they're a bunch of old, privileged rich guys, who have the time and money for taking golf trips...pretty boring read.

It's basically Dodson whining about a rough period in his life...something that we all face, but for some reason it seemed a little unexpected to him. Get over it and get in the real world.

Don't waste your dollars on this one.

Rating:
Summary: The Dewsweepers
Review: James Dodson has an innate ability to perfectly describe how a golfer really feels about courses, clubs, and the friendships that develop over years of playing the game. Inside the pages of this book are some of the most hilarious and wonderful accounts of men being boys and vice versa that the reader will ever stumble across. There is a mix of golf history, travel, family psychology and the tormenting trials of trying desperately to master a game that is impossible to master. If you play golf, at any level of capability, you will enjoy this book!

Rating:
Summary: The Dewsweepers: Seasons of Golf and Friendship
Review: Not exactly as advertised. The book was written as a diary of 1 particular year in the author's life. Yes, he found friendship. Yes, he is a namedropper. Yes, it will keep you interested enough to see if there is an epiphany. (Will let you read to discover.)

Rating:
Summary: Another Masterpiece by James Dodson
Review: One need not look any further than the magical pages of The Dewsweepers (or Final Rounds) to understand why those of us play this beautiful game. The Dewsweepers takes the reader to far greater places than the golf course (freudian slip). Instead, it is a journey into life's unexpected twists and turns -- yet always returning to peace and tranquil feeling that only golf provides. It reminds all -- that Friendship is more important than breaking 80. Like Final Rounds, The Dewsweepers is eloquently written. The diversity of characters can be a bit confusing but all in all it is a very good read. I'd really rate this 4 1/2 Stars, falling just short of Final Rounds.

Rating:
Summary: A little too pretentious
Review: The fundamental flaw of this book is that the author tries to pass himself off as everyman. We are supposed to be able to identify with his golf buddies and feel a kinship with the friendship he feels with his fellow Dewsweepers (the guys he golfs with). The problem is that most of us don't get to golf all over the world and at the most prestigious golf courses in our own country. He continually name drops throughout the book. He golfs with his buddy Arnold Palmer and seems to know many of the influential names in the world of golf. If his intention was to show us an example of golf friendships that we could identify with, he fell short.

I golf with my golf buddies every Sunday at a course where we pay ($$$) to play eighteen holes. We only dream of being able to hop on a plane and fly to Europe or Pebble Beach at the drop of a hat (like the author does with his fellow Dewsweepers). For most of us, a round at Pebble Beach is a lifelong dream that will probably go unfulfilled. For the author of this book, it is just an average day and a prelude to better rounds to come.

If you are a wealthy country club member and enjoy reading about the lifestyle that you are currently enjoying, this is the book for you. If you aren't, skip this book, call three of your buddies, and head out to the nearest public course. It will be a better way to spend your afternoon.

Rating:
Summary: Great writing, horrible editing and proofreading!
Review: Wow. I have read some of James Dodson's previous novels, namely Final Rounds and Faithful Travelers, and once again he paints a charming and smoothly-flowing story about his life between his divorce and trip with daughter Maggie (as described in Faithful Travelers) and the not-yet-occurring adventure in Europe with his son Jack (in The Road to Somewhere). This period of his life finds him rekindling his passion for golf and love while undergoing more trials and tribulations within his family... and not the somewhat-expected kind he dealt with in Final Rounds. What surprised me greatly about this book was the shoddy editing and/or proofreading I discovered. Three different golfer's names were mispelled, and on several occasions a double letter turned into a triple lettter (yes, just as I demonstrated). I suppose if I didn't expect books to be grammatically perfect it wouldn't be such a big deal, but come on... the guy shouldn't settle for such sub-par post-writing work on what is another great story. In fact, it's the lack of proofreading that keeps me from giving it the five stars this book probably deserves.