Playing Dirty: Searching for the Soul of Golf in the Brazen New Era of Sportswashing - Hardcover

by Joel Beall (Author)

A journey to rediscover golf's soul in Scotland amidst sportswashing and civil war.

Greed and self-preservation have overtaken professional golf, with factions battling to buy and control its ecosystem without accounting for the cost and collateral damage of their ambitions. As the top level of golf threatens to tear itself in two, Golf Digest senior writer Joel Beall travels to Scotland, the birthplace of golf, to see if the soul of the sport is intact.

Here, far from the boardroom battles, the game still breathes as it was meant to--pure and democratic. Links and life intertwine without ceremony: fairways spill into village squares, first tees lurk behind bus stops, flagsticks wave to fishermen. Duck into any pub and you'll find half the day's tee sheet has preceded you, scorecards spread across tables like battle maps, pints marking the spots where glory was found or lost.

• For golf enthusiasts seeking a deeper connection to the sport's history and traditions.
• For readers interested in the cultural and political forces shaping modern golf.
• For anyone who appreciates travel writing and the beauty of Scottish landscapes.

This is golf's last pure kingdom, where wealth is measured not in gold but in twilight rounds, where every weary wanderer can find refuge. Will Beall find the soul of golf before it's lost forever?

Author Biography

JOEL BEALL is a Senior Writer at Golf Digest. He has been called " the best feature writer in golf" and " golf's top profiler." Beall has won over a dozen honors from the Golf Writers Association of America, and his story on golf and autism was named one of 2021's best sports features by The Athletic.

Beall covers the sport with a focus on longform storytelling, columns, news, investigations and in-tournament coverage. His pieces have helped rescue a golfer from a war zone while putting a con man behind bars.

Beall also shepherds the popular monthly " Undercover Caddie" column and has contributed to the Normal Sport book series along with the book What's Great About Golf.

Prior to joining Golf Digest in 2015, Beall worked for FOX Sports, the Cincinnati Enquirer and WhatIfSports.com. Beall was born in Ohio and now lives in Connecticut with his wife, dog, and broken short game.