Joel Beall

“There is a deep contrast in modern golf between the sacred and the profane, and though many writers have explored the gulf, none have done it with such eloquence and insight as Joel Beall in his tremendous work Playing Dirty. This is a masterful examination of where golf went wrong at the professional level, and how salvation must come from its historical roots. While documenting golf’s late turn to greed and corruption with relentless courage, Beall also journeys to Scotland, the home of golf, to find what remains righteous and pure in the sport. This book is the reckoning we needed, and it comes with a bold and bracing refusal to let the mistakes of the past define the future. Like so many fans, I have spent the last few years wondering where golf’s heart has gone. I don’t have to wonder anymore—Joel Beall has found it.”

“Joel Beall is one of the last great golf writers. He is uncorrupted and without conflict, riding above a sea of influence peddlers arguing positions borne only of self-interest. He is also a great storyteller. Beall is an old school reporter with a reservoir of great high-level sources to lean on and provide a fuller picture of an issue from all sides. He’s also a great writer, mixing wit and flair to both inform and entertain on the biggest picture subjects in golf. And golf has been nothing but big picture debates and crises in recent years. Beall mixes that in-the-know reporting and great writing style to deliver this informed commentary, Playing Dirty, that golf diehards, casuals, and curious alike should read to understand this incomparably historic moment in the game.

— BRENDAN PORATH
Cohost of the Shotgun Start and writer the Fried Egg

“This here is an act of love. Joel Beall was meant to write this book, what amounts to a journey of how we square all the realities of a game that’s ours to play, but controlled by forces beyond our grasp. You can’t have golf without history. You can’t have that history without feeling angst over what it’s been twisted into. And you can’t have those feelings without a personal relationship with the game. That’s all here. Beall approaches golf from two directions. He’s the gifted journalist covering the game’s civil war. And he’s the player looking to believe there’s still some good in something that’s gone so far awry. You will join him for the ride, from frontline coverage of the PGA Tour and LIV, to the shorelines of Scotland,  and maybe see things differently in the end.” 

— BRENDAN QUINN
Senior enterprise writer for The Athletic/New York Times