Golf Through the Eyes of a Child

In the promotional material accompanying the review copy of Golf Through the Eyes of a Child, the author, Dominique DeSerres, is quoted as saying that he “imagined the concept for this book after introducing golf to my 6-year-old son.” Observing that his son was eager to join him “for a practice session or for a round” led DeSerres to ask the question, “What does this new little golfer, with fresh eyes, see in the sport that draws him to it?” He goes on to say, “Though this picture book, I aimed to touch on most major themes that are associated with golf, to get to the very essence of the sport, to distill it if you will.”

DeSerres would certainly not agree with the person who coined the phrase, “Golf is a good walk spoiled”, as the first point the book makes is that the game takes people into park-like settings, and “Summer days are meant to be spent outside”. Henry, the book’s young narrator, describes golf as an activity that can be shared with friends and family, that can be played competitively or just for fun, that is constantly new as every course, hole and shot is different, and that is self-regulated (see Excerpt). Though the author’s approach is largely an appeal to the reader’s affective domain, the text does dip into “informing” or “teaching” by pointing out the differing roles of the various clubs (driver, irons, wedges and a putter), addressing club choice, and explaining what a round of golf entails. At the end of the book, DeSerres returns to the pastoral scene that he had initially created.

Oh, and before I finish, did I mention how calm and peaceful golf can be?

When I play early in the morning, my shoes sometimes leave footprints on the wet grass.
When I play at dusk, I can witness the sunset and all of the beautiful colours that light up the sky.
I can feel the cooler air creeping in and can hear the birds and insects chirping as they get ready for bed.

The promotional material accompanying the review copy also explained how Aga Kubish created the book’s full-colour illustrations. “The artist worked from carefully produced photographs to draw the initial outlines of the artwork. Black ink strokes were then added to the contours and within in order to provide texture....The final step involved carefully filling the drawings with rich colours, ensuring for example that each shade of green is associated with its correct grass length.”

A shortcoming of Golf Through the Eyes of a Child is that its contents could leave the impression that golf is an activity for males only. Though the illustrations on three of the early pages in the book include a young girl, a mother, and a boy of colour, that inclusivity is then abandoned for the remainder of the book. The incorporation of the word “child” (and in red) in the title could also be a turnoff to the older end of the book’s intended reading audience.

That the contents of Golf Through the Eyes of a Child will bring other youngsters to the sport remains to be seen as it is challenging to use a static medium to create interest in something that is dynamic.