BALLS!

About the Book

Read what the golf critics are saying about BALLS!:

* THE GOLF COLLECTORS SOCIETY BULLETIN - 3/2001

Gail W. Braman has written BALLS! (Confessions of a Rural Golf Course Owner). This is the story of the insanely odd and crazy people who frequent a nine-hole golf course beside Route 100 in Rochester, Vermont. The stories are so nearly unbelievable that one would think that the book is fiction, but I can personally vouch for the authenticity because I lived just a few miles from the course and have heard the inane questions and observed the outrageous behavior first hand... I have been hearing about this book for years and the fact that it is finally in print, despite the odds inherent in the publishing world, is a testament to the chutzpah and perseverance of Gail Braman. She owned the course, and as such interacted with the people, recorded her astute observations when it was all over and got it down on paper. You’ll enjoy the tale. -Bob Labbance, Editor

* GOLF BUSINESS(Nat’l Golf Course Owners Assoc)- 2/2001

Gail Braman made the mistake of telling her recently retired husband that she didn’t want him home for lunch. So, he went out and purchased a nine-hole golf course in rural Rochester, Vermont.

Braman captures this nine-year adventure as golf course owners. Through the pages of this account, you’re invited inside their world as inexperienced golf course owners, where you learn what really happens behind the scenes through humorous vignettes and anecdotes.

* HEARTHSTONE REVIEW (Duly Noted) - 4/01

A little investment property in bucolic Vermont, a pleasant summer-time diversion. That was the plan anyway. Before opening day was flooded out. Before the backhoes cleaning up the debris inflicted further damage. Before the discouraging financial realities set in, running a remote homespun golf course overshadowed by two tony resorts (The Hertz and Avis to their little 9-hole Rent A Wreck). The claustrophic Vermont golf season didn´t help. Nor did the vagaries of New England weather, a shortage of tourist center bathrooms or characters straight from central casting. For nearly a decade it sure made life interesting for Herb and Gail Braman.

About the Author

Gail W. Braman, hacker and free lance writer, now lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two cats. They have one son.. She is the former owner of the White River Golf Club and White River Driving Range in Rochester, Vermont and now has the time to pursue other interests. Life has its way of just happening but if anyone had told me years ago that I would be running a golf course in rural Vermont, I would have said ridiculous …this experience was so far removed from my reality. Despite growing up in affluent Westchester County, New York, I worked my way through undergraduate and graduate schools to become the first family member to attain a college degree and have a professional career as a teacher and high school guidance counselor. However, when my husband retired, I told him that I did not want him home for lunch! Thus begins this unusual story. Our lifestyle changed dramatically. Although no stranger to hard work, nothing could have prepared us for the outrageous people in general and golfers in particular we met during our nine year adventure in the north country.