I am a golf junkie. I love to play, and I love to watch… and I mean watch all the tours: PGA, DP World Tour, LIV Golf, TGL… I could go on and on. Naturally, I read golf memoirs. So when I learned Bubba Watson had a book out, naturally, I purchased Up and Down: Victories and Struggles in the Course of Life.
Title: Up and Down: Victories and Struggles in the Course of Life
Series: N/A
Author(s): Bubba Watson (Author), Don Yaeger
Genre(s): Memoir, Autobiography, Non-Fiction, Golf
Length: 240 pages
Release Date: November 2, 2021
Blurb: He was a small-town boy who burst onto the international golf scene with a dramatic hook shot from deep in the woods to win the Masters— before the game he loved almost killed him. Opening up about the toll that chasing and achieving his dream of being a champion golfer took on his mental health, Bubba Watson shares his powerful story of the breaking point that gave him clarity.
Bubba Watson is known as the big-hitting left-handed golfer who plays with the pink driver—the small-town kid who grew up as a child golf prodigy before going on to win two Masters Tournaments, competing in the Olympics, and rising to be the number two golfer in the world.
But every dream comes with a price. Feeling that he was never good enough, Bubba began to let the constant criticism from fans and commentators haunt his thoughts. Success in the game he loved was killing him.
In Up and Down, Bubba opens up about his debilitating anxiety attacks, the death of his father and namesake, adopting his children, and how reaching a breaking point professionally and personally drew him closer to his family and God.
Golf is what Bubba Watson does, but it is not who he is. Through his story, you’ll learn how he overcame his anxiety and feelings of inadequacy, found his true identity not in the standards of the world, but in the God who already knows he is enough, learned to trust God with his gifts, family, and biggest dreams, became the husband, father, friend, and mentor he was called to be. Life, like golf, is filled with ups and downs. Up and Down is the inspiring story of an imperfect man striving to become the best person he can be—wherever the course may take him.
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I enjoy memoirs and autobiographies, especially about my fave rock bands, groupies, the rock industry, and golfers. So when I heard Bubba had a book, I was in.
I have my fave golfers, and although Bubba wasn’t one of them, I enjoyed watching him play on both the PGA and LIV tours.
The book dives deep into Bubba’s childhood and goes all the way up to the present day, when it ends. Bubba uses a no-nonsense approach to storytelling, something he also uses on the golf course, and the narrative fits his personality.
Did the book grab me like other memoirs or autobiographies? Honestly, there were parts I enjoyed and other parts where I struggled to get through.
I enjoyed learning about his parents, his hometown, how he met his wife, and what sparked him to become a pro golfer. My fave part is when he delves into his struggles with his mental health, something that many people can relate to. Some might say he was unlikable during this period, but I never found him unlikable. Maybe I just knew something more than just having a temper and quirks was going on with him when I’d watch him during a tournament.
It’s a wonderful read of coming up from nothing to becoming one of the biggest players in golf, and how he managed being in a golfing fishbowl. It’s more than a golf story; it’s a life story.
Maggie Blackbird 