If you wanted to remember how Monty explained away all that stuff last year, you might have bought the Golf World when he gave a pretty definitive interview but finding it - that s the problem. If its not on the coffee table, it will have competed with other lifestyle magazines that abound in any home, competed to stay available and not sent away to the recycling factory. Its not going to be an instant reference and these is a difference between a book and a magazine.

What Golf World have done is take some of their very best features on top pros, from the youth of Sergio Garcia (the research on Sergio s start to his career in comparison to that of Tiger is very thought provoking) through to Greg Norman (the work ethic throughout his life is outstanding - when you find out about it) and then to the retirement of Arnie from the Masters - and there is Dougherty, Donald and Casey to go with the wonderful piece on Rose.

If you ever wanted to know what makes a top 3 teacher or psychologist (and missed the issues of Golf World when these features first appeared, Vanstiphout, Harmon and Leadbetter tell all). The third section of the book is all about something that will never happen to us mortal golfers - a round with Player, Watson, Jacklin, Clarke and Gary Orr - and Nick Faldo appears twice, once playing a round and another as an in-depth interview ... he must be good that Faldo guy.

To go with top journalism is the best golf photography, with virtually every feature incorporating at least one of the special portrait (or similar) pictures that the Golf World photographers produce for these lead articles. Just as in Golf Escapes , the other publication from Haynes and Emap for 2003, a photo of a course can inspire and a picture of a famous face tells much more than words can give a reader.

This book does miss out a few names, features which may have or have not (yet) appeared in Golf World. Its a pity but then again its not something to regret because there should be another of these books next year, and the year after that. This is top notch stuff and Golf World owns just about the history of the modern game. As a magazine, it reports on the news, and its writers have the ear of all the World s players (and their agents) so the magazine delivers. This is the perfect way to present what is of interest to anyone who enjoys golf, either as a player or as a spectator. Buy it.

The Game Within is printed by Haynes for Haynes Publishing and Emap Active.

Its available from all good bookshops, priced £16.99

ISBN 1 84425 142 X