PLAYING FROM THE ROUGH by Jimmie James is a very different book from the one I expected to read over Father’s Day weekend.

The story of a golfer seeking to play the 100 greatest golf courses in the United States had me believing that it would be penned by a professional golf writer using his influence and connections to gain special access to America’s top-ranked courses. I also thought that the accompanying stories would offer readers insight into these courses and their history. Many of them are private clubs, and even those that are open to all golfers carry greens fees that make the cost of a round of golf prohibitive. Of the 100 courses talked about in this book, I was familiar with several dozen but only had the fortune of playing three or four. I hoped that PLAYING FROM THE ROUGH might add to my limited golf knowledge.

"PLAYING FROM THE ROUGH is far better than the book I had anticipated. It’s an uplifting story of life in America at a time when we all can use a dose of optimism."

But Jimmie James is not a golf writer with connections to the greatest courses. In fact, his background makes his accomplishments in the sport truly remarkable. James was born in 1959 in East Texas. His birth certificate recorded facts about his infancy that were considered most important in that era, so he was classified as “Colored” and “Illegitimate.” Overcoming life in the Jim Crow South, James became a top executive at Exxon Mobil. When his wife relocated to Atlanta to become the Dean of Emory University’s School of Business, James decided that spending more time with his teenage children would be better than continuing in the rat race of the corporate world.

Shortly thereafter, James had the opportunity to play a round of golf at Augusta National, the crown jewel of American golf courses and the home of The Masters. He thought it would be wonderful to use this experience as a stepping stone to playing all of America’s top courses as defined yearly by Golf Digest magazine. He would take advantage of some business and golf connections to wrangle invitations to some of the most exclusive clubs.

There is some irony to the fact that a few of the places James visits only became open to Black members in recent decades. One endearing quality of the book is that throughout his golfing adventure, he never forgets the adversity and bias he experienced in his life. So he takes the opportunity to engage the caddies, maintenance workers and other personnel who are often ignored by members of country clubs, and his humanity shows in his interactions with them. He shares his philosophy with those he meets: “In the end, it’s not about which America we live in. It’s about understanding and respecting both. It’s about realizing that we are all in this together.”

James occasionally provides readers with golf history, such as his round at Cherry Hills in Denver where he seeks to accomplish what Ben Hogan could not in 1960: hitting a ball on the green from the pond in front of the 17th hole. In the end, one of the main attractions of the sport is that even for brief moments, golfers of average ability can hit one or two shots identical to those of the greats.

PLAYING FROM THE ROUGH is far better than the book I had anticipated. It’s an uplifting story of life in America at a time when we all can use a dose of optimism.