In Search of the Greatest Golf Swing: Chasing the Legend of Mike Austin, the Man Who Launched the World's Longest Drive and Taught Me to Hit Like a Pro

In Search of the Greatest Golf Swing: Chasing the Legend of Mike Austin, the Man Who Launched the World's Longest Drive and Taught Me to Hit Like a Pro

by Philip Reed

224 pages· 2004· ISBN 9780786713660
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About
“Can you teach an ordinary golfer like me to drive the ball 300 yards?” With this question sportswriter Philip Reed’s search for the greatest golf swing begins. When Reed met ninety-year old Mike Austin, he knew that Austin held the record for the longest drive ever—an awesome 515-yard shot during a Senior PGA event. What he didn’t know is that he was forging a bond with a man whose amazing life he has now chronicled in a book that is charming, funny, and wise. As Reed’s tutelage under his cantankerous teacher begins, he learns of Austin’s winning wagers on trick shots, sharing a Hollywood apartment with Errol Flynn; giving secret lessons to Howard Hughes; and matching shots against Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. As Reed's drives get longer, Austin’s health worsens. Mike soon suffers a stroke that silences him, but Reed is sure that Mike wants someone to tell his story—of a man who could do one thing better than anyone else, who possessed the most prodigious golf swing ever. This book is not just for golfers, but for all readers who savor heartwarming stories of unexpected friendships and are eager to learn secrets of living life to the fullest.

Discussion questions for In Search of the Greatest Golf Swing: Chasing the Legend of Mike Austin, the Man Who Launched the World's Longest Drive and Taught Me to Hit Like a Pro

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  1. 1

    How does the dynamic between the author as a middle-aged student and Mike Austin as a ninety-year-old, cantankerous teacher set the tone for the book, and how does their unexpected bond evolve over time?

  2. 2

    Beyond the mechanics of the sport, what does the pursuit of the "greatest golf swing" reveal about human ambition, obsession, and the desire for self-improvement at any stage of life?

  3. 3

    Mike Austin led a remarkably colorful life that included Hollywood apartment-sharing with Errol Flynn and giving secret lessons to Howard Hughes; how do these larger-than-life historical anecdotes enhance or distract from the core narrative of his golfing genius?

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