Commentary
Whenever there was a problem in life, Jim Dodson and his father would hit the golf course and figure it out while driving and putting. But Jim's father was now 80 and golf was getting more difficult. The two decide to visit the Scottish course the father first played during World War II. Just before they leave for their trip, however, they learn that Jim's father has cancer and only a few months to live. Taking their trip to St. Andrews and Muirfield despite this news, they play and talk, and Jim learns not only the secrets of his father's past, but even more reasons to admire him.

Publisher's Notes
Their relationship was forged on the golf course. Whenever there was a problem in their lives, Jim Dodson and his father would play a round and figure it out while smashing drives and lining up putts. But Jims father was now 80 years old (Jim was 40) and his drives were not carrying the greens like they used to. Father and son could not play golf together forever, so they decided to take one last trip together--to the Scottish links where the father first played during World War II. Just before they left, however, the trip took on sudden significance as Jims father found out his cancer had returned, and he had but a few months to live. Still they went, determined not to dwell on the inevitable, but to honor their lives and loves together: love for each other, their families, and for the game that helped keep them close. While playing in the world-renowned courses at St. Andrews and Muirfield, they encounter great golf lore and legend; but more importantly, a son learns secrets of his father's past and to admire him even more than he thought possible. In the process, he takes home some very important lessons about the meaning of family. Written with searing honesty and unbounded wit, Final Rounds is a tribute to a very special game and the fathers and sons who make it so.

Named one of the "Top Ten Books of 1996" by "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution", this poignant celebration of the love between a father, a son, and the game they shared, recounts a "glinting, lyrical, heartbreaking, hilarious pilgrimage" ("Yankee Magazine") that will appeal to golfers and non-golfers alike.

Reviews
"'Final Rounds' is a beautiful, deeply moving tribute to the love between father and son and their shared passion for golf. I have never read a more eloquent book about golf as a game where hearts can meet."

Michael Murphy

"James Dodson has accomplished something in 'Final Rounds' that every writer years to experience. He has written a story that lives triumphantly on and off the page, one that elevates the craft of writing to mastery. It is not a book about golf. It is a book about who we may be in the best of our moments. And it is unforgettable."

Terry Kay

"Only incidentally a golf book, this story of intergenerational love will appeal to all readers, mainly because Dodson knows not to push it too hard."

Michael Harris

"One cannot help but be moved by this alternately funny and sad, beautifully written elegy to a man and a game."

"This story of intergenerational love will appeal to all readers."

"You don't need to be a golfer to enjoy this wonderful book."

"For when the book is done...what lingers is not so much the memory of the golf journey, but a life's journey as seen through the eyes of a father and son who were lucky enough to be best friends."