Starting Time A True Account of the Origins of Creation, Sex, Death, and Golf Gray Kochhar-Lindgren At last, the true nature of the universe has been revealed, and as many of us have long suspected the mystery all began with a very special round of golf. In Starting Time, Bobby and Mickey--that famous First Twosome--tee it off at the original Big Bang and the universe unfolds as nine miraculous holes, each a world unto itself. The match is on. Bobby smacks a shot off a buffalo pie and from deep beneath a lake. Mickey counters with a shot hit naked from the sea and scimitar-struck putts rattle into the middle of the cup. Accompanied by their raucous zoological gallery, and towards a shimmer much like a promise. The first round ends--if it does--on the Road Hole at a place that's almost the St. Andrews we know and love. Bobby and Mick, dressed and undressed, go at it hard as creators, playing partners, and adversaries--gloriously battling the tribulations of golf as they aim for that sweet spot that marks the smooth swing of ecstasy.

Sports / Fiction Original paperback, 124 pages List Price: $11.95 Sale Price: $10.16 ISBN 1-883991-11-0

What a golf course and what a twosome Kochhar-Lindgren has fashioned! Shots are hit from underwater and from off bare rock. Galleries of birds, bear, and raccoon follow along as the two go at each other and that "old skinflint," Mr. Par. The happy pair discovers the joys of sex in the shadows of giant redwoods, the nations of the earth come forth, tragedy cuts disastrously through the air, and, then, by the 8th hole, Bobby and Mickey are once again singing in the rain, hoping to finish before a torrential thunderstorm drowns the world.

It sounds odd, doesn't it? It is odd, but wonderful and fantastic as only the unexpected can be. How did this little gem itself come into being? The author recounts that it grew out of his love for golf, a long affair with ancient mythologies, and his dream life. "Not dreams about any particular hole in Starting Time," he clarified. "Just lots of dreams about playing golf. I figured I should somehow work on them, pay attention to them, and the book is the result. A gift from the unconscious, as it were."

Kochhar-Lindgren continues to be an avid player on courses around his home outside Philadelphia, but claims to need, rather desperately, the services of a teaching pro. "I push it on the weekdays, and pull it on Saturday," he quipped. "No idea why."

While his golf game might not be consistent, his writing style is: lushly imaginative when the world is abloom, then austere and precise when grief bangs up against Bobby and Mickey, threatening to wreck the First Match forever.

I've been reading Starting Time all day, on and off, and now the sun's edging the horizon. Maybe I'll brew another pot of coffee and begin again, from the beginning. Another round of Starting Time, a book that will find its place on that special shelf dedicated to golf's most splendid visionary fiction.

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