King of Clubs

The Great Golf Marathon of 1938

Non-Fiction - Sports
168 Pages
Reviewed on 04/02/2013
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Author Biography

Jim Ducibella was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 after a 27-year newspaper career at the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk in which he was named Virginia sportswriter of the year seven times.

During that time, he covered more than 200 golf tournaments at all levels, and wrote well more than 1,000 stories on golf. He also covered the Washington Redskins of the NFL for 20 years.

Today he works at William & Mary as a web writer, and keeps his hand in the sports business as back-page columnist for The Virginia Golfer magazine.

"King of Clubs" was recently selected as the 2012 book of the year by the International Network of Golf.

Proud to say he was educated at Xavier University in Ohio and Marquette University, Ducibella lives in Williamsburg, VA. with his long-suffering wife Sue and Tucker, the wonder dog, whose distinctive tail-wagging Ducibella incorporated into the Smith Ferebee story.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Deepak Menon for Readers' Favorite

This factual story begins with a joint investment in a large piece of barren land by two stockbroker friends, and an early unsolicited large offer for the land. One of the friends Fred Tuerk urges sale, but the other, James Smith “Smitty” Ferebee, declines. The author reveals Ferebee's background revealing the basis of the emotional connection that Ferenbee has to the property. At this point we get to know more about Ferebee. Incredibly active with tremendous endurance, he used to routinely swim 4 1/2 miles through the sea with his father, take a 10 minute break and swim right back another 4 1/2 miles. One day, after a party at the local Golf Club which finished in the early hours of the morning, Ferebee proceeded to play an incredible 90 holes of golf at a stretch by the afternoon. Later, while Ferebee is surrounded by admirers, Tuerk challenges him to play an impossible number of rounds of golf in a short time, with their rights to their property at stake. Ferebee accepts, the bet is placed and, incredibly, Ferebee wins.

The author shows his great passion and his astounding and voluminous research. In this turbulent post recession period of American history, the story reveals eye opening background descriptions of people and places. Ferebee and Tuerk continue, with their friendship and betting, leading up to one of the greatest feats of endurance in the modern era, when Ferebee takes up the challenge to play 601 holes of golf in 8 cities in 4 Days! Anyone who has played 18 rounds of golf at a stretch in midsummer heat knows that it is impossible, but then 'Smitty' was different! The story leading to the 601 hole golf marathon, to my mind, is a great and inspiring tale of human endurance. I see a glowing row of 5 stars while ranking this.