BOOK OF THE DAY: Fergal Quinnreviews Touching Greatnessby Dermot Gilleece. Transworld Ireland; pp 310; £12.99
I PICKED up Dermot Gilleece's Touching Greatnesswith a feeling of teeing off the first tee with him and wondering whether he would entertain me. I wasn't disappointed.
You see, I played golf with Peter Alliss on a few occasions. It was a joy because not only did I admire the BBC commentator's play, but I was enthralled at his humour and the abundance of great golfing anecdotes he told. So I was delighted that the book was full of yarns and wasn't just a list of courses, places and records.
Gems of folklore and legends are mixed with golf trivia, such as the time Tiger Woods took four shots more than Payne Stewart on the short third at Ballybunion - Stewart had had a hole in one!
I learned of Eddie Hackett's ability to create golf courses all around Ireland and giving "The Man Above" credit for some of the more challenging holes.
When Gilleece quotes Hackett receiving complaints about the tee on the 16th in Waterville from golfers who claimed they didn't feel comfortable there, Eddie's reply was: "You're not meant to feel comfortable there."
I learned titbits of information that surprised me - such as Niall Tóibín being the MC who introduced Jack Nicklaus to the crowd in Royal Dublin in 1986. Nicklaus was playing against Seve Ballesteros but displayed a keen sense of occasion by dressing in a white shirt, yellow sweater and green slacks as close as he could get to our national colours.
Afterwards Nicklaus commented: "I never imagined having lunch in Dublin Ireland and dinner in Dublin Ohio on the same day," which he did as he left Ireland for Muirfield Village.
I had the pleasure of being at the opening of Mount Juliet on Sunday, 14th July, 1991. Gilleece's vignette added to my memories.
"On hearing that there was to be an exhibition match between Nicklaus and Christy O'Connor snr, which would be refereed by Joe Carr, the local remarked: 'Be God! That's like having Christy Ring, Mick Mackey and Jimmy Langton [all-time hurling greats] in the same half-forward line'."
This is a book that Irish golfers will relish. They get to meet the world's best and they meet them on Irish golf courses.
The author of Touching Greatnessappears to have met - and remembered - personalities with great memories of practically every golf course on the Emerald Isle.
Reading this book you really feel you have played with some of the world golfing greats.
To be part of a game between Gene Sarazen and Harry Vardon in 1923 gives the impression that the author was there in Lytham and St Annes because he describes the match in such detail.
Nor could he have been present when the legendary Vardon played Little Island in 1909, having travelled there from Delgany, but again the description makes you feel that Gilleece was on the fairway with them.
This book is an enchanting history for anyone who has ever caught the golfing bug. From comparing how much the prize-money was for Ireland's first winner of the Open (Fred Daly got £150 in 1947) to what was won by Pádraig Harrington, the comparison is put into Roddy Doyle parlance - and all the more readable for that!
I did not count the number of Irish golf courses mentioned, but it seems there are very few omitted, and there appears to be an entertaining tale about each one.
Golf widows/widowers will find this book the perfect gift for the Christmas stocking and, because it is unputdownable, it might keep the golfer at home over the holiday.
• Senator Feargal Quinn is a member of Howth GC, Portmarnock GC and incoming captain of the Oireachtas Golf Society.